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FUZZY, FURRY HAT

Name: FUZZY, FURRY HAT
Author: Etienne Delessert
ISBN: 978-1-56846-296-7

by Etienne Delessert ; illustrated by Etienne Delessert ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2016

Younger readers will relish the merriment; older readers may find deeper meaning.

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Delessert’s signature surreal style is an apt accompaniment to a story inspired by Edward Lear.

Perched atop a 1,000-year-old beech tree is a lonely bear. More fantastical than realistic, this bear sports the titular “fuzzy, furry hat” bedecked with ribbons and bells. When the bear gives the hat a shake, the jingling attracts cardinals, who land on its head and enjoy the “fuzzy grass.” Soon a wild assortment of animals follows, from tiny, airborn alligators and elephants to sizable butterflies and flying fish, and they begin to make more music and build homes on the hat. This whimsical and vibrantly illustrated scenario derives from Edward Lear’s nonsense poem “The Quangle Wangle’s Hat,” in which an imaginary creature rests atop a funny tree and draws an equally outrageous mix of animals with the music of its hat. Here Delessert departs from the original and adds to the story as a few giant raindrops turn into a deluge that lasts for months. During the rain, the animals make the best of their situation, hunkering down together and shielding one another as they can. Up high and safe in the hat, they rejoice with music once again when the sun returns. Readers of Delessert’s previous picture books will recognize many familiar creatures as well as some that are named in Lear’s poem.

Younger readers will relish the merriment; older readers may find deeper meaning. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-56846-296-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Creative Editions/Creative Company

Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
NONSENSE!
by Edward Lear ; illustrated by Etienne Delessert

- BOOK REVIEW
UP & DOWN
by Etienne Delessert ; illustrated by Etienne Delessert

- BOOK REVIEW
NIGHT CIRCUS
by Etienne Delessert ; illustrated by Etienne Delessert

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK LOST AND FOUND

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18, 2026

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.

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Beep! Beep! Beep! Toad and Little Blue Truck get ready for a hayride.

After the titular vehicle is loaded with hay, Toad is nowhere to be found. “Beep! Beep! Beep! Where are you, Toad?” asks Little Blue Truck. All the barnyard animals look for him. Sheep searches the meadow. Goose and Duck check the pond. Others pitch in, too, but Toad seems to have disappeared…until Hen hears snoring coming from the pile of hay in the back of Little Blue Truck. Although the text’s scansion is imperfect in places (adults may want to pre-read to ensure a smooth read-aloud), the bouncy meter and rhyming text nevertheless capture the energy of the search and the farmyard community’s concern for Toad’s safety, making this a solid storytime choice. Eye-catching illustrations with rich, fully saturated colors balance the right level of detail while still highlighting the animal that is the focus of each verse. By introducing one farm animal at a time, Schertle also helps the youngest readers begin to identify barnyard animals by name and understand their unique farm homes. Traditional animal sounds are part of the text, and listeners will add them to their vocabulary. It all ends with the promised hayride, bringing the tale to a joyous ending.

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026

ISBN: 9780063436121

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)