In fact, the longer it takes to turn the page, the more outrageous the narrator's voice becomes. Some books rely on speedy page turns to keep their flow, but this one works at any speed. Like a classic comedy routine, the interplay of text, art, and page turns allow any adult reading this aloud to make it a hit. The central idea here is clever, but it's the pacing that is impeccable. I guess I am drawn to books with rather simple art that doesn't upstage the concept. He trusts the reader to come to his or her own conclusion, but there are plenty of clues for those willing to follow them. It might be fun to pair this with Marla Frazee's A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever, another book that tells opposing stories in text and art.Īs he did in I Want My Hat Back, Klassen isn't telling what really happens. After the first spread, the reader can't help being aware of the narrator's self delusion. The only change in the main characters from page to page is their eyes, subtly encouraging a deadpan delivery. As Robin says in her review, "The eyes have it." The perspective never changes, there are no close-up or far-away variations in point of view. The horizontal book shows him speeding away against a black deep-sea background while the much MUCH larger fish pursues. Talk about tricky! The narrator here is pretty much amoral and definitely unreliable, boasting that he just stole a hat from a big fish and will certainly get away with it. She says he lived and I say he didn't, but I think we agree on the ending of this book. Robin and I don't agree about what happened to the rabbit in that one. This time Jon Klassen is working as illustrator AND author in a companion to last year's I Want My Hat Back. As you can see, we love This Is Not My Hat.
I couldn't let her have both Extra Yarn AND this one. Robin just reviewed this book for the Magazine ( here it is, complete with Jon Klassen's take on his favorite chapeau), but I forgot it was already hers and rushed to claim it when we were divvying up titles.
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