School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Mary the cow's favorite hat is missing, so she sets out to find it. On her search, she asks a stork in an orange hat, a beaver in a hot-air balloon, a chicken in a cook's hat, a pig balancing precariously on the edge of a diving board, a baseball-playing kangaroo, and several other animals if they have seen it, and each creature refers her to someone else. Finally, she asks a bear, who says he hasn't seen the hat, "-but what do you think of my new kite?" Of course, he's flying a pink flowered hat. The brightly colored acrylic artwork complements this delightfully understated story to a tee. Many of the stylized illustrations have clever details and are quite humorous. Readers will cheer Mary on as she tracks down her chapeau. A perfect fit for storytimes.-Kristin de Lacoste, South Regional Public Library, Pembroke Pines, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Madcap musings on animal antics make for a droll debut from a French author/artist. The text, about a cow named Mary who goes from one animal to the next in search of her chapeau, is relatively bland: " `Have you seen a lost hat?' `Afraid not,' said the toucan. `But maybe the bees know where it is.' " The illustrations, however, are splendidly silly. Rendered in what appears to be a combination of prints and paints, the compositions set boxy-bodied creatures in hats against boldly blended color fields. The sight gags include a goldfish wearing a bowler hat, headed for vacation by flying from a plain aquarium to one kitted out with a miniature palm tree; penguins at their dance lessons; and the aforesaid toucan, shown in a beret, painting a picture of a birdcage. More subtle details abound as well. A pig in an old-fashioned bathing suit prepares to dive into a tiled swimming pool; small fish have been etched into the brushstrokes of the pool water, which is also enhanced by a marine-blue postage stamp. The story line may drag a bit, but the visual comedy is constant. Ages 3-8. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
