The Magic Hat

The Magic Hat
AuthorMem Fox
IllustratorTricia Tusa
Cover artistTricia Tusa
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's picture book
Published2002 (Scholastic Australia)
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages32 (unpaginated)
ISBN9781865044637
OCLC861936952

The Magic Hat is a 2002 children's picture book by Mem Fox and illustrated by Tricia Tusa. It is about a wizard's hat that appears in a crowded park and alights on people's heads, turning them into various animals. Then, the hat's owner, a wizard, shows up and restores things back to normal.

Reception

A review in Booklist of The Magic Hat wrote: "The bouncy rhyme is fun if undistinguished, but the artwork, in its oversize format, overflows with good humor".[1] Books+Publishing found it "..a picture book about happiness that IS happy..".[2]

The Magic Hat has also been reviewed by Kirkus Reviews,[3] Publishers Weekly,[4] School Library Journal,[5] Horn Book Guides,[6] Magpies,[7]Magpies,[8] and the Australian Book Review.[9]

It was the chosen book for the 2007 National Simultaneous Storytime.[10]

References

  1. ^ Ilene Cooper. "The Magic Hat". Booklist. American Library Association. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  2. ^ Kerry White (2002). "The Magic Hat". booksandpublishing.com.au. Books+Publishing. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  3. ^ "The Magic Hat (starred review)". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Media LLC. 1 March 2002. Retrieved 28 September 2021. broad, lively successor to Tony Johnston's Witch's Hat (1984)
  4. ^ "The Magic Hat". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz LLC. 1 April 2002. Retrieved 28 September 2021. rollicking, rhyming read-aloud is indeed magic
  5. ^ Wendy Lukehart. "The Magic Hat". School Library Journal. Media Source Inc. Retrieved 28 September 2021. Tusa's ink-and-watercolor images dance with life (even the flowers seem to be in motion); kinetic, double-page designs spill off the pages. Add this to your favorite headpiece storytime. Children will be bursting to participate.
  6. ^ "The Magic Hat". Horn Book Guides. Media Source Inc. Retrieved 28 September 2021. Despite the slight premise, preschoolers will enjoy staying one step ahead of the text. The kinetic ink and watercolor images appropriately and effortlessly add to the mayhem.
  7. ^ "The Magic Hat". Magpies: Talking About Books For Children. Vol. 17. Magpies Magazine. May 2002. p. 27. ISSN 0817-0088.
  8. ^ "Welcoming Back Picture Books From The Past". Magpies: Talking About Books For Children. Vol. 27, no. 3. Magpies Magazine. July 2012. p. 20. ISSN 0817-0088.
  9. ^ Catherine Noske; Virginia Lowe (June 2002). "Children's Books: Tales for a Dry Country". Australian Book Review. No. 242. Australian Book Review Inc. pp. 61, 62.
  10. ^ "Previous NSS Events 2001-2021". alia.org.au. Australian Library and Information Association. Retrieved 28 September 2021.