WHOSE HAT IS IT?

Using just 85 words to go with delicate, woodsy scenes defined by washes of greens and yellows behind lots of short, fine pen strokes, Gorbachev sends a very small turtle on a quest to return a very large, windblown pink hat to its rightful owner. Even newly emergent readers will be comfortable with the time-honored question-and-answer structure, as well as the mild silliness here. After Turtle asks three obviously unsuitable candidates—a mouse, a crocodile, and a beaver—if the hat is theirs, its true owner, Elephant, gratefully reclaims it. “You are welcome!” Turtle shouts happily to close the episode off. A simple, repetitive pleaser for young children who find the Berenstains’ primers a bit too frenetic. (Easy reader. 4-6)