Rating: WORTHY!
If You Have a Hat sounds like a Lyle Lovett song title, but it's really a young children's book of fun nonsense. I like children's books to try and offer some educational content if possible, but that doesn't mean there can't be room in your collection for those which are purely crazy, of course. Besides, what is there to do with a smile if you don't put it on your face? It's wasted! Now that's educational!
From the author who brought you Spot the Duck and Don't Juggle Bees neither of which I've read, but both of which seem eminently sensible titles, comes this lengthy (for a children's book) collection of colorful drawings and ridiculous rhymes. It begins, "If you have a hat, put it on your head. If you have a bedbug, tuck him up in bed." I'm frankly not entirely convinced of the wisdom of that latter idea, but definitely hats are in order if you live under a sweltering sun. It would have been nice if the bed bug had been gender neutral, as indeed their choice of victim is, but it's a minor issue in a full book of fun - minor as long as you're aware it's an issue.
You can't argue with the good advice to help seeds grow into flowers, and to build towers with bricks. Who doesn't want to build a tower when faced with a pile of Lego bricks? I mean, come on, they're asking for it! We get boats and Band-Aids, cameras and chickadees (okay so maybe it wasn't. Leave my alliteration alone!), music and hippos. This author seems very fond of hippos, by and large. Especially large. But at least they're clean hippos.
No one can argue that music requires dancing. Even if you're laying in bed listening to this story you can dance with your fingertips or try to dance your tongue on the end of your nose, right? But not on someone else's nose. That's stretching things too far! Apple pie and clouds in the sky, airplanes and fun and games and you have yourself a great romp for kids. I enjoyed this immensely, and I recommend it.
