HATS ARE NOT FOR CATS!

Who should wear hats? Dogs or cats?

A cat wearing a fez is admonished by a dog in a top hat: “Hats are not for cats.” The dog goes on to catalog the types of hats that just don’t work for cats: “Not hats that are festive or hats that are fun. / Not hats for the cold or hats for the sun. / Not hats that are fussy or hats that are frilly. / Not hats that are serious… / or hats that are silly!” Heedless, the cat keeps trying on different hats as it bounces through the pages, but every fashion choice is nixed by the hound. After the exhaustive list—capped by an enormous, spread-dominating eruption of “HATS ARE NOT FOR CATS!”—the gray puss begs to differ…and brings a parade of hat-wearing cats by to prove that hats are for everyone (including turtles, ducks, and canaries). Rayner’s inclusive celebration of chapeaux is a delightful debut. The big, shaggy dog and fluffy puss speak in color-coded dialogue balloons, providing all the text of the tale. The scribbly, smudgy figures appear to be done in watercolor and charcoal and are placed on expansive white space. Although they speak, show emotion, and wear hats, they are not otherwise anthropomorphic, and the sight of these four-legged critters in the various hats amps the silliness.

An exuberant update on the theme of cats in hats.