Millie's Marvellous Hat

September 28, 2009
Whimsy drives both the text and airy watercolor art of Kitamura’s (The Young Inferno
) story of a girl with a creative and colorful imagination. Millie finds a fabulous feathered chapeau in an elegant shop, but has no money. When the accommodating clerk brings out an invisible hat that fits her perfectly, she reaches into her purse and gives him “all she had in it.” Prompted by items she spies while walking, Millie imagines her hat to be a peacock, a stack of bakery cakes and a bouquet of flowers, among other things. Her imagination then turns outward and she notices that passersby are also wearing hats that slyly reflect their professions, passions and inner lives (a putting green for a businessman, a seal balancing a ball for a woman burdened with a pile of parcels, a pair of angry dinosaurs for two arguing boys). Sheer joyfulness leads Millie (and her hat) to sing on her way home, causing a riot of rainbows and animals to trail from her head. A cheerful tribute to a determined and optimistic imagination. Ages 4–8.

September 1, 2009
K-Gr 3-When Millicent cannot afford the hat she sees in a store window, the clerk remembers that he has a special one that's perfect for her budget. This imaginary hat can be any size, shape, or color that she prefers. As she walks down the street wearing it, Millie is inspired. Soon she has a hat like a peacock, then a cake, next a flower, and then a fountain. In the park she discovers that everyone has a special hat. Back home she tells her parents all about her day and soon they too are sporting hats. Kitamura's idea and writing are solid, but his illustrations are not as successful as in his "Duck Is Dirty" (Farrar, 1996; o.p.) or "UFO Diary" (Andersen, 2007). For example, the store clerk is described as kindly but looks decidedly sour, and the cake hat is less than appetizing. Overall the book doesn't display a joyful burst of imagination."Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2009
Preschool-G A work that celebrates the imagination, Kitamuras latest picture book features appealing illustrations and a message thats hardly subtle. The books young heroine (looking like Madeline, another girl about town) begins the action by stopping to buy a feathered hat. She doesnt have a penny in her purse, but the salesman searches for the perfect hat. He brings out a box: It can be any size, shape or color you wish. All you have to do is imagine it. The resulting hat parade showcases Kitamuras cheery, off-kilter images, including a peacock hat (not just a few feathers, but an entire, gigantic peacock), a cake hat (no fewer than 13 cakes high), and a fountain hat. Millie notices that everyone has a hata kangaroo hat here, an accordion hat thereand she even brightens up an old ladys dark, murky pond hat. Back at home, she assures her mother that she has a hat, too: You only have to imagine it! The final page, featuring dad with a sizable penguin hat, is worth the didacticism.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)