Book Review: Hooray for Hat by Brian Won

Hooray for Hat is a picturebook written and illustrated by Brian Won. Readers first meet Elephant, who  wakes up grumpy. He is unhappy until he hears his doorbell ring and discovers a surprise box at the front door. Inside is a hat which immediately cheers Elephant, and makes him want to show off his surprise. Elephant marches off to show Zebra, but Zebra is having a grumpy day too. So, Elephant shares his new hat and cheers up his friend. The pair then 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.

Hooray for Hat is a wonderful book for showing readers of all ages that doing something nice makes the person on the receiving end happy, but can make the doer very happy as well. All it takes to make Elephant happy is a modest surprise, which inspires him to share with others that need some cheering as well. I loved the premise, and the final result. The artwork and the hats are simply fabulous and add to the fun and feel of the story.

I would recommend Hooray for Hat for classroom, storytime, and family time reading. I think it works well whether the reading is sharing with a group or one on one. The story is sweet, fun, and contains a message we could all stand to be reminded of without leaving readers and listeners feeling preached to.