The Hat

<b>A delightfully original companion book to Jan Brett's bestseller <i>The Mitten</i>.</b><br><br>When Lisa's woolen stocking flies off the clothesline Hedgie finds it and pokes his nose in. He tries to pull it out but the stocking gets stuck on his prickles -- and the fun begins.<br><br>A mother hen comes by then a noisy goose a talkative barn cat a playful farm dog a mama pig and her piglets and a pony. They all laugh at Hedgie especially when he pretends he's wearing a new hat. But in the end it is clever Hedgie who has the last laugh.<br><br>And where is Lisa when all of this is going on? She's in Jan Brett's signature borders getting ready for winter until she realizes her stocking is missing and she enters the story to look for it.<br><br>Luminous paintings of a Scandinavian farm and the forest around it are bathed in northern light as the snow begins to fall and the adventure unfolds. A clever and appealing picture book . . . . Brett's illustrations are done in her trademark style of highly detailed depictions of her characters and a creative use of borders. . . . The pictures story and subject matter make this a natural for sharing aloud.—<i>School Library Journal</i><br><br> <br>In a companion book to Brett's <i>The Mitten</i> (1989) a little girl decides to unpack her winter woolens from their decorated chest and hang them out on a line to air before winter comes. . . . The satisfying story celebrates the cozy hearth home and barnyard of picturesque Scandinavian country life frozen in time. Brett's somber tones of pre-winter are enlivened by the intricate colorful clothing; her fine independent heroine is in charge of the story and the inventive little hedgehog triumphs as well.—<i>Kirkus Reviews</i> With over thirty four million books in print Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.<p>As a child Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me and I hope others as well that such places might be real.</p><p>As a student at the Boston Museum School she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain she says. I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting.</p><p>Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband Joe Hearne who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs to Japanese gardens I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books.</p>