Hats Off to Mr. Pockles! by David Litchfield, Sally Lloyd-Jones
Published by Schwartz & Wade Books on January 29th 2019
ISBN: 0399558152
Pages: 32
Genres: Adventure, Animals, Humor
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads

“Hats off to Mr. Pockles” is an  imaginative and clever  picture book for ages 4  through 8.  Mr. Pockles, an odd little dog,  has a huge collection of hats.  “For Mr. Pockles,  going without a hat was like going around without any pants on.” Mr. Pockles owns  “an eating cornflakes hat, a drinking a cup of tea hat, and a going to bed hat among many others  BUT  a scarcity of  friends.  “It’s funny how wearing a hat cheers a personage up,” said Mr. Pockles.  But one day it didn’t and Mr. Pockles desperately wanted to attend “hat day” at the PandaPolitan Club. But Mr. Pockles was not a black and white  panda  and not allowed to attend.   To cheer himself up,  he dicided to buy a treat at the “Treat House,” whereupon he meets  Mrs. Lady Coco Fitz-Tulip sporting a hat decorated with banans, grapes, and pineapples. What happens,  after some bunny rabbits begin to snack upon her hat is well . . . both funny and very silly

A nice book to utilize when discussing how it feels to be left out and to not have many friends.  Young children will  enjoy the silliness of this story while  learning about  kindness, compassion, generousity and inclusiveness.  This book wonderfully demonstrates the  fact that  our similarities are much more significant  and universal in nature  than our perceived differences.  The story ends on a positive note by showing the happiness that can result from making new friends, sharing, and by discovering the pure joy of being alive and celebrating life all together.

The illustrations in the book are bright, lively and humorous while  accentuating and supporting  the text nicely.

Reviewed by Connie M. Smith, Breakwtaer School. Portland, ME