Review: I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

The bear's hat is gone and he wants it back. In the course of his search he encounters several animals whom he questions in turn but neither the tortoise, the fox, the mole, the rabbit, or the deer seem able to help. All seems lost. Then bear remembers that he HAS seen his hat. The surprising climax to this tale is both shocking and thrilling in its "no holds barred" denouement. It is fair to say that Klassen is exploring bold and uncharted territory here.

I Want My Hat Back is Jon Klassen's debut as both illustrator and storyteller. It has deservedly been included in the New York Times' Ten Best Illustrated Books of the Year (2011) and continues to receive critical claim from all circles. Klassen has  been involved in numerous other projects including work as animator for the stop-motion animated film of Neil Gaiman's Coraline and illustrator for Cat's Night Out, which won him the 2010 Governor General's Literary Award for illustration.

Part of the strength of I Want My Hat Back is its understated simplicity. The muted coffee coloured palette and sparse, functional language lend bear an undiluted power. Readers should note this is no sentimental portrayal of charming talking animals. The illustrator has expressed a preference for simplicity of expression in his animated characters over exaggerated features: “Books give you an extra tool to tell what the character is doing an feeling, so it’s fun to try and push that. I also think that people can relate to characters not being over the top. A lot of times you can be having huge emotions, but you’re standing still and looking blank.”


I Want My Hat Back is a beautifully illustrated and masterfully told story that readers will return to again and again. The visual humour and subtle clues encourages the attentive reader. Children can enjoy the additional pleasure of being in on the joke that is not immediately apparent to the characters in the story.

Enjoy the tantalising book trailer here.