Book Descriptions
for Hooray for Hat! by Brian Won
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Waking up in a bad mood, Elephant stomps down the stairs when the doorbell rings. He calls through the door, “Go away! I’m grumpy!” But there’s a present waiting outside and he can’t stay grumpy when he discovers what’s inside. “Hooray for hat!” Eager to show Zebra his fancy new headwear, Elephant finds his friend in a familiar state: “Go away! I’m grumpy!” Elephant takes the top hat off of the multi-hat, tiered creation he’d been given and offers it to Zebra. “Hooray for Hat!” Grumpy Turtle and grumpy Owl are likewise gifted and their moods transformed. Lion, however, is not so easily cheered. He’s concerned about their friend Giraffe, who isn’t feeling well. With all the hats from the original creation now shared among the friends, there’s only one answer. When Giraffe is given the original stacked-hat creation, the real gift is obvious. “Hooray for friends!” A deceptively simple narrative makes terrific use of repetition to build anticipation and invite participation in a picture book that also has great visual appeal and humor. Highly Commended, 2015 Charlotte Zolotow Award (Ages 2–5)
CCBC Choices 2015. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2015. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
Elephant wakes up grumpy—until ding, dong! What’s in the surprise box at the front door? A hat! HOORAY FOR HAT! Elephant marches off to show Zebra, but Zebra is having a grumpy day, too—until Elephant shares his new hat and cheers up his friend. Off they march to show Turtle! The parade continues as every animal brightens the day of a grumpy friend. An irresistible celebration of friendship, sharing, and fabulous hats.
One grumpy elephant and a surprising new hat start a parade of kindness.
- Picture Book About Feelings: Helps little ones see that it’s okay to be grumpy, and shows how friendship can turn a bad day around.
- Sharing and Kindness: A gentle lesson about how sharing something small, like a hat, can create big smiles for everyone.
- Perfect for Reading Aloud: With a fun, repetitive cheer of ‘HOORAY FOR HAT!’, this story is engaging for story time and builds early reading confidence.
- Social Emotional Learning: A sweet and simple introduction to empathy as Elephant, Zebra, Turtle, and Owl learn to help their friends.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.
