Hats Off to Mr. Pockles!

October 15, 2018
A lonely dachshund named Mr. Pockles finds new friends when he shares his extensive collection of elaborately decorated hats with other animals from his town.Mr. Pockles lives all alone in his house with a hat-shaped roof, surrounded by his collection of imaginative hats, each one named and adorned with thematic decorations for every occasion. He longs to attend the Hat Day celebration at the PandaPolitan Club, but only pandas are allowed at the exclusive destination. While stopping in a bakery for a treat to cheer himself up, Mr. Pockles meets Lady Coco Fitz-Tulip, a grande dame of the panda set on her way to the Hat Day event. She is wearing a Carmen Miranda-style hat covered with fruit, and in a hilarious sequence, her hat is eaten by baby bunnies. Mr. Pockles invites Lady Fitz-Tulip and the other animals from the cafe back to his house, where they all choose new hats. Lady Fitz-Tulip takes everyone to Hat Day as her special guests, as "friends of pandas are invited, too." The drolly humorous story is told in a strong narrative voice, with melodramatic flair, clever dialogue, and distinctive personalities for both Mr. Pockles and Lady Fitz-Tulip. Vibrant mixed-media illustrations use a cool palette with jewel-toned accents and glowing lights in the city buildings that impart a fairy-tale aura to the setting. This amusing story is delicately threaded with some subtle lessons about sharing, making friends, and including everyone. (Picture book. 4-8)

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December 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 2-Mr. Pockles is a lonely dog with a wonderful hat for every occasion and not a friend to share them with. Leaving his Hat House one day, he witnesses the destruction of a beautiful hat and he alone can rectify the problem. Through his fabulous collection, Mr. Pockles connects with his neighbor and learns that by sharing his hobby he can make friends. This story about friendship and self-expression falls short of captivating due to its awkward sentences and jumpy storytelling; this however, does not diminish the beautifully enthralling illustrations. With big bold images that dominate the pages, the story can be navigated and enjoyed primarily through digital pictures. While the images and subject matter target beginning readers, the word choice and sentence structure require greater comprehension. VERDICT Purchase this attractive work where anthropomorphic animal tales are enjoyed.-Haley Amendt, Hinton Municipal Library, Alberta

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2018
Grades K-2 Depressed Mr. Pockles may have more fancy hats than Bartholomew Cubbins, but he has neither friends nor, being a dog, an invitation to Hat Day at the pandas-only PandaPolitan Club. All of this (except the dog part) changes, though, when some hungry baby bunnies create a fashion emergency by chowing down on the fruit-laden bonnet of black-and-white socialite Coco Fitz-Tulip. Mr. Pockles not only has the perfect replacement?an extravagantly plumed confection?but enough headgear in his sumptuous stash to outfit an entire crowd of bare-headed onlookers when the delighted diva invites one and all to join her at the club. Littlefield echoes and magnifies the stylish swing of Lloyd-Jones' tale with illustrations that not only feature arrays and displays of fantastically baroque toppers but also a palette of colors so glowingly warm and intense that the animal figures, their dress, and surroundings all seem to sparkle with joie de vivre. The stark contrast between Mr. Pockles' unstinting generosity and the darker emotions in Jon Klassen's Hat trilogy suggest thought-provoking storytime pairings, too.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)