School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-Everyone wakes up in a bad mood now and again, and Elephant is no exception. When the doorbell rings, he stomps down the stairs shouting, "GO AWAY! I'M GRUMPY"--the first of two refrains in the book, this one printed in large black caps. Elephant finds a surprise present: a box of whimsical hats! Putting the whole stack on his head, the now happy pachyderm shouts, "HOORAY FOR HAT!" with the second refrain in extra large multicolored caps. He goes to visit his friend Zebra, who is also grumpy. Elephant gives Zebra one of the hats, which instantly lifts her spirits. They drop in on their grouchy friends Turtle, Owl, Lion, and Giraffe, giving out hats and cheer, and becoming a veritable parade as each animal joins in on the fun. Though created digitally, Won's bold minimalist illustrations truly look like saturated watercolors, wonderfully offset by the expansive white background. The accompanying text matches the illustrations in its simplicity and formulaic repetition, making this tale a good choice for both beginning readers and for storytimes, especially if accompanied by a silly hat craft. A lighthearted celebration of friendship and sharing that does not hit the readers over the head with its moral.-Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this debut, Won explores the way a simple gift and a little attention from friends can have nearly magical healing properties. "When Elephant woke up, he was very grumpy," Won starts, drawing the elephant with dark frowning eyebrows and scribbly black lines above his head. The doorbell rings. "Go away! I'm grumpy!" he scowls. But the delivery is a box full of hats, and Elephant cheers right up after putting them on in a tall stack: "I'll show Zebra!" His good deed has the knock-on effect of a line of dominoes. Zebra and the animals that follow are all grumpy, each gets a hat, and the cheer spreads. Won's retro-style artwork uses muted hues and gives forms volume with watercolor-style shading. Owl's hat is a sort of graduation cap meets awning affair, while Elephant's has both a cuckoo and a handy cupholder. "I love this hat," Lion says when they arrive at his cave. "But I can't cheer while our friend Giraffe is not feeling well. What can we do?" Readers will know the answer to this one. Ages 4-8. Agency: East West Literary Agency. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.