I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

The bear’s hat is gone, and he wants it back. Patiently and politely, he asks the animals he comes across, one by one, whether they have seen it. Each animal says no, some more elaborately than others. But just as the bear begins to become despondent, a deer comes by and asks a simple question that sparks the bear’s memory and renews his search with a vengeance. Told completely in dialogue, this delicious take on the classic repetitive tale plays out in sly illustrations laced with visual humor— and winks at the reader with a wry irreverence that will have kids of all ages thrilled to be in on the joke.

“Deliberately understated, with delectable results… Skillful characterizations; though they’re simply drawn and have little to say, each animal emerges fully realized.”
-Publisher’s Weekly (starred review) 

If I were to sum up this picture book in one word I think I would go with this: Deadpan. And deadpan picture books are rare beasts indeed. They can be done (Edward Gorey’s work comes to mind) but pulling them off so that they’re as appealing to children as they are to adults is no small feat. I think Klassen got away with it here, though. It’ll be the wry child that takes to I Want My Hat Back but the world is full of wry youth. So equally consider both the five-year-old in your life as well as the irony-filled college grad when looking for the right gift. Klassen is straddling the market and we end up the winners. A great little book.
-Elizabeth Bird, School Library Journal blogger