Starred Review ALA Booklist (Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

Starred Review In this concluding volume of a thematic trilogy, Klassen employs all his trademark dry wit and deadpan humor to tell the story of a hat-related caper. Unlike its predecessors (I Want My Hat Back, 2011, and This Is Not My Hat, 2012), the hat in question has already been found. Two big-eyed turtles stumble across a white cowboy hat in the middle of the desert and take turns trying it on. It suits them both, they decide: "But it would not be right if one of us had a hat and the other did not. There is only one thing to do. We must leave the hat here and forget that we found it." This is easier said than done: as they watch the sunset and go to sleep, one turtle in particular just can't keep his mind off the hat. Most of the story is told through that turtle's expressive eyes, as it glances furtively between its companion and the hat. The three-part narrative has a distinctly western feel, complete with a desert setting drawn in dusty pink and brown tones d then, of course, there's the sense of impending betrayal. The conclusion might surprise even those familiar with Klassen's twist endings, and the growing tensions, simple narrative, and intriguing details will endear this to many. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: An extensive author tour and national publicity campaign are just the tip of the marketing-plan iceberg for this latest from Caldecott-winning Klassen.

School Library Journal Starred Review (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

PreS-Gr 3 The conclusion to the "Hat" trilogy offers the sly humor fans have come to expect along with a surprisingly tender ending. When a pair of googly-eyed tortoises find a 10-gallon hatwhich they both agree would look good on either of themthey decide to leave it be rather than risk inequity between them. But as should be expected of any Klassen animal in close proximity to headgear, it becomes obvious that one of the tortoises still very much covets the hat. As in his previous works, Klassen takes a minimalist approach, with an economy of words and simple, textured shapes. The repetition of certain phrases and the organization of the title into three parts make this entry flow like an easy reader. Full-page compositions showcase the bare desert landscape, with soft gradients of muted orange as the sole bit of color in the gray and black palette. Fans of the previous "Hat" books who follow the subtle clues and motivations will likely suspect an ironic ending. In a charming turn, the conflict is resolved through empathy and the bonds of friendshipKlassen's animals have clearly evolved in their thinking since the bear in I Want My Hat Back and the fish in This Is Not My Hat . The lightest touch of the surreal adds to the dreamy melancholy of this tale. VERDICT A different but wholly delightful and thought-provoking capper to Klassen's ingenious series. Kiera Parrott , School Library Journal

Horn Book

Amidst a desert landscape, two turtles find a hat together, but "there is only one," so they leave it. Visually, the book is unmistakably Klassen's: monochromatic palette, dialogue/monologue text, and telltale eyes that telegraph what's really happening. The book's tenderness and uplifting ending is just as surprising as the black humor in I Want My Hat Back and This Is Not My Hat.

Kirkus Reviews

Rounding out what is now being called the Hat Trilogy, Klassen presents the story of two tortoises that find a hat.I Want My Hat Back (2011) concerns the victim of a hat theft. The Caldecott-winning This Is Not My Hat (2012) focuses on the perpetrator of a similar crime. In each book, the picture-text dynamic implies that the hat's rightful owner does violence to the thief at the end. This tale is both more ambiguous and less action-oriented. Two tortoises find one hat in the desert. Each tries it on; though it comically covers each tortoise's entire head, "it looks good on both of us," they conclude. Deciding that one hat is not enough for two tortoises, they leave it in order to watch the sunset from a nearby rock, where they later bed down. Klassen employs his customary flat, minimalist style in a desert palette, his characters' heavy-lidded eyes doing the subtextual heavy lifting: they may say they are watching the sunset, but each is clearly thinking about the hat. The final act, in which one tortoise descends the rock toward the hat and the other, though supposedly sleeping, narrates a star-filled dream in which they both wear hats, challenges readers to construct their own endings. There are no belly laughs here, but patient children and Klassen's fans will be fully engaged. Beguiling. (Picture book. 4-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Klassen's I Want My Hat Back and This Is Not My Hat stand alone, but they also form a setup for this tale, in which two turtles stumble upon a big white hat in the desert ("We found a hat. We found it together") and try it on in turn ("It looks good on both of us"). Klassen's artwork, spare and sly, tells a different story. The hat does not look good. It looks silly, as if the turtle's head were stuck in a plastic bucket. "We must leave the hat here and forget that we found it," says the first turtle, with fairness in mind. The other turtle's gaze shifts left. It wants that hat. Readers of the earlier stories will recognize that look; it bodes ill. Klassen divides the book into three distinct acts; in the second, as the turtles watch the sunset, the second turtle's eyes again stray toward the hat. Uh-oh. In the third section, the first turtle settles down to sleep, and the shifty-eyed turtle begins inching toward the hat, talking all the while to the first turtle ("Are you all the way asleep?"). Readers who think they know what's coming will be wrong: the conclusion doesn't involve sharing, peacemaking, or violence. Instead, Klassen considers the instant at which a decision to act can break either way, depending on who's tempted and whether anyone else is watching. In contrast to the first two books, which relied on a certain conspiratorial menace, this one ends with a moment of grace and a sky full of stars. All three stories are about justice. It's just that justice doesn't always mean the same thing. Ages 4-8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Oct.)