This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen was awarded the 2013 Caldecott Medal on January 28. Jon Klassen was also the illustrator on the Honor medal winning Extra Yarn, something that has only happened once before in the 75 year history of the Caldecott Awards.
A little fish has stolen a hat from a big, sleeping fish. After a couple of pages, it is clear that the little fish (the text) does not match the pictures, the big fish part of the story. The little fish is headed towards a place “where the plants are big and tall and close together”. He is sure he will never be found. The ending is more ambiguous that Klassen’s previous book, I Want My Hat Back. The big fish gets his hat back but the fate of the little fish is not known. I test drove this story with a few first and second graders this week. They are pretty sure they know how it ends. They also liked the disconnect between the words and the pictures. It made for a more careful reading of the book. The AR level for the book is 2.0 but with a little help with a few “bigger” words, a mid year first grader who knows his or her sight words can read it and obey the "five finger" rule.
The Yulupa Library has one copy and the Sonoma County Library has many copies of this book.
Reading level: 2.0
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