Aunt Lucy Went to Buy a Hat - Hardcover

PreSchool-Grade 2--In this rhyming tale, ditzy Aunt Lucy madly searches for her new blue hat, which readers will immediately notice is tied around her neck and hanging against her back. As she heads out the door to buy a new one, the bonnet is blown away by the wind. After trying to get the woman's attention, a red bird carries it along as Aunt Lucy visits shops all over town. She is easily distracted by things that rhyme with whatever item she is looking for. So, instead of a hat, she gets a cat. Instead of milk, she picks up some silk, and so on. When she finally comes out of her daze long enough to remember why she went out in the first place, her new cat rescues the very hat she lost at the beginning of the book. The text, which has a wonderful singsong quality, reads aloud well. Children will love the hilarious and wacky collage illustrations that add many details to the narrative. "Now who'd imagine/All of that/From going out/To buy a hat?" This romp would be a fine choice to top off Esphyr Slobodkina's Caps for Sale (HarperCollins, 1947) and Ezra Jack Keats's Jennie's Hat (Viking, 2003) in a storytime about headgear.--Bina Williams, Bridgeport Public Library, CT
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