Parents' Guide to

We Found a Hat

By Jan Carr, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 3+

Two turtles, one hat, and a satisfyingly dreamy solution.

Book Jon Klassen Picture Book 2016
We Found a Hat Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

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age 4+

Based on 1 parent review

Jen B.
Jen B. Parent
August 6, 2018
age 4+
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

In WE FOUND A HAT, two turtles find a hat: "But there is only one hat. And there are two of us." They try it on and it looks good on both of them: "But it would not be right if one of us had a hat and the other did not." So they decide to leave the hat and watch the sunset, though the second turtle's eyes drift back to the hat and we know he still covets it. When his friend slips to sleep, he sees his chance and returns to the hat but reconsiders when his friend wakes up enough to recount his dream -- that both of them have hats. So both turtles go to sleep, and both -- very satisfyingly! -- wear their own hats as they float together through the starry night sky.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (1):

This sly and sweet third picture book in Jon Klassen's hat trilogy gets at the thorny question of what to do when there's only one thing and two friends both want it. In the first two books, the bear appeared to eat the bunny and it seemed the big fish ate the little fish -- unusually edgy conclusions for picture books. But in We Found a Hat, the conflict isn't life-threatening, and kids will identify with the turtle whose gaze keeps shifting back as he contemplates sneaking back to get it when his rival drifts to sleep. Readers might wonder if the turtles could share, but Klassen envisions a dreamier solution in which each turtle happily gets its own hat.

There's very little text, divided up into three sections, and sepia-tinged art jibes with the desert setting. The one bright burst of color is the sunset the turtles watch, as the sun sets on this interesting conceptual trilogy.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the problem of two turtles wanting the same thing in We Found a Hat. Can you think of other solutions? Would it work for them to share?

  • The first two sections end with the one turtle shifting his eyes back toward the hat. What do you think he's thinking?

  • Have you read the other books in this hat trilogy? How are the endings to those books different?

Book Details

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