The Queen's Hat

by Steve Antony, Steve Antony (Illustrator)

Overview

A wild romp around London as the Queen loses her hat! From Steve Antony, the author and illustrator of PLEASE, MR. PANDA and BETTY GOES BANANAS! A sudden gust of wind sets off a marvelous adventure for the Queen, lots of Queen's men, and one very special hat. Just where will that hat land? Following a hysterical, epic hat chase, the Queen is reunited with her hat -- and the royal baby! Young children will love the search-and-find fun of the story, the hysterical mayhem that breaks loose, and Steve Antony's winning art style. THE QUEEN'S HAT shows some of London's most famous sites, and back matter explains their significance.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545913300
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/25/2015
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	22 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Steve Antony is the popular author and illustrator of Please, Mr. Panda, The Queen's Hat, Green Lizards vs. Red Rectangles, and Betty Goes Bananas. The Queen's Hat was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal in the UK. Steve lives in Swindon, England. Visit him online at www.steveantony.com.

Editorial Reviews

05/11/2015
Antony (Please, Mr. Panda) returns with a diversion as tasty as tea and scones. The Queen of England sets off from the palace on her way “to visit someone very special” (the new royal infant, readers are meant to understand). She strides along in her trademark sensible shoes and coat, a prim corgi by her side, when the wind blows “the Queen’s favorite hat right off her head.” The Coldstream Guards, in their red jackets and huge fur hats, rush to her rescue, chasing pell-mell after the hat, but the wind carries it still higher. In a series of gloriously deadpan spreads, ever-growing numbers of guards (and the Queen) clamber across one of the Trafalgar lions, pack like clowns into the London Underground, tramp across the London Bridge, swarm up Big Ben, and rise right up into the air before everyone lands as safely as Mary Poppins, under their own umbrellas. The book’s charm comes from the Keystone Kops–like effect of seeing so many dignified, uniformed figures descend into distinctly undignified chaos. It’s a trim, stylish story tailor-made for Anglophiles. Ages 3–5. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

THE QUEEN'S HAT was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal in the UK!

Praise for PLEASE, MR. PANDA by Steve Antony
"Smart design decisions by Antony ... distinguish his visual storytelling. The warm gray backdrop and parade of black and white animals (a skunk, an ostrich, an orca) make the candy-colored doughnuts look all the more tantalizing. Novel perspectives ... provide freshness, too." --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Praise for BETTY GOES BANANAS by Steve Antony
"Childlike illustrations in pencil and graphite sticks ... draw children into Betty's life with humor. ... Teachers and parents of short-fused toddlers will read this over and over." --KIRKUS REVIEWS

From the Publisher

When a gust of wind lifts the Queen of England’s hat right off her head, she and her Foot Guards give chase through London. The hat’s journey through the air takes the group through, on, and over such iconic landmarks as Trafalgar Square, the London Zoo, the London Underground, the London Eye, Tower Bridge, and Big Ben, until it lands on a baby’s head outside of Kensington Palace. The font size grows in some places and follows the curves and lines of some of the landmarks in other places, which gives both a sense of movement and dimension. The illustrations are limited to a color palette of red, blue, black, and white, creating a nice backdrop to this simple tale. Red, white, and blue are, of course, also the colors of the British flag. Children will enjoy poring over the illustrations of the Foot Guards scrambling over the Tower Bridge, up Big Ben, and around the London Eye. The story is followed by a brief description of each landmark. Although it is unlikely that a kindergartner would be able to read this story independently, he or she would certainly be able to recognize some words and answer questions about the text, enabling teachers to meet some of the Common Core State Standards. Reviewer: Wendy Miller Kibler; Ages 3 to 5.

Children's Literature - Wendy Miller Kibler

06/01/2015
PreS-Gr 1—A frantic frolic through London in an attempt to recover the queen's blue-and-red hat introduces readers to some of the famous sights in the English capital. When a gust of wind blows the hat off her head, the queen, her corgi, and her uniformed Buckingham Palace guards take off in hot pursuit. They climb over one of the lions at Trafalgar Square, run through the London Zoo, travel by Underground (while the queen drives) and scale the London Eye, Tower Bridge, and Big Ben, but to no avail. The wind is relentless and keeps the hat just out of reach until it finally comes to rest on the head of the youngest heir to the throne. The queen places it back on her head and calmly walks away with the baby in a perambulator. The blue, red, and black cartoon illustrations on white pages are the highlight here, with humorous details aplenty. VERDICT A slight story, stylish art, and a page of brief facts about the city create a breezy but ephemeral offering that might not warrant repeated readings.—Maryann H. Owen, Children's Literature Specialist, Mt. Pleasant, WI

School Library Journal

2015-05-18
Pursued by a corgi sporting an argyle vest, a cartoonish queen figure runs through London chasing her hat, which is being whisked away by a strong breeze. The humorous chase takes readers on a whistle-stop tour of all the tourist sights, from Buckingham Palace through Trafalgar Square, London Zoo (animal chaos), down into the Underground, 'round the London Eye, over Tower Bridge, up and down Big Ben, and finally to Kensington Palace, where, miraculously, the hat lands gently on the head of the royal baby being pushed in a pram. Of course a queen can't run through London unattended; she is aided in her pursuit of the hat by increasing numbers of identical royal guards, dressed in traditional tall busby hats, who fill up every available space. These figures add a repetitive decorative element, and ranks of them appear like wallpaper on the endpapers and cover. Attractively designed with effective use of white space, the book is eye-catching and amusing and has a surreal element that kids will love. A helpful glossary provides additional facts about London landmarks. Happily close to the most recent royal birth, this whimsical, British-themed picture book provides a kidcentric introduction to the geography of London and a great opportunity for spontaneous counting and observation activities. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews