Common Sense Media Review
By Jan Carr
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Spirited animal story celebrates friends, hats, and parades.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Elephant wakes up feeling grumpy but is cheered significantly when he finds a surprise present outside his door containing a stack of whimsical hats. He puts them on and marches off to show Zebra, but Zebra is feeling grumpy, too -- until Elephant gives him a hat. Together, the two march off to show Turtle, holed up sullenly in his shell, and offer Turtle a hat, too. Soon a parade of happy animals is marching across the page, wearing hats, and cheering, "Hooray for Hat!" But when all the hats are distributed, Giraffe is still hatless and feeling blue. So the animals stack all the hats back in the box and deliver the present to Giraffe: "Hooray for Friends!"
Is It Any Good?
Break out the Sousa marches: This lively book is an excellent excuse for a parade. With repeated refrains and very little text, the book is rhythmic and spirited, and the spare but colorful pictures of the animals on parade are contagiously fun. Young readers will enjoy the kid-friendly predictability of the story and the simple, cheering message. Feeling grumpy? Keep a lookout for unexpected things that might cheer you. Don a hat! And if friends are feeling grumpy, too? Share your good cheer!
Hooray for Hat! would make an excellent story-time prelude to a spontaneous parade at home or in preschool.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about feeling grumpy. When do you feel grumpy? What makes you feel better?
When a friend needs cheering up, what can you do to help?
Why do hats make us feel different? What kind of hats do you like to wear?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Brian Won
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Friendship , Animals ( Wild Animals )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Publication date : June 3, 2014
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 40
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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