I can not fathom how this book gets such acclaim! If I could rate lower, I would. The lesson of this book is that if someone takes something from you, you take it back, kill them and lie about it? Not for anyone, especially kids! Give this book a miss.

I have a confession to make: I am 30-years-old and I love picture books. When I’m looking for a picture book, I want something unique, something that has great pictures (obviously), and something that’ll make me think at the end. Jon Klassen’s book, I Want My Hat Back, fits the bill. First off, I adored the illustrations in the book. The simplicity of them was wonderful and I really liked that Klassen didn’t feel the need to clutter up each page with a lot of background, which he very well could have done. The colourings were fantastic, especially part-way through the book, when our main character, the bear, makes his realization. Second, I really enjoyed the story. It was simple and pretty much told completely in words, with the pictures relaying very little information. I liked that Klassen didn’t try to rhyme everything, but stayed with simple sentences and adding ‘thank you very much’ to some of them — teaching young children to be polite. The only thing that got to me was that, in a way, this book teaches kids how to lie. I mean, by the end of the book, the reader will realize what’s going on and they might just think, “Oh, so if I want to keep a secret, less is more.” Of course, you can’t expect that of all children, but I’m sure some would catch on. The other thing is that it almost says, if someone takes something of yours, it’s okay to hurt them. Am I the only one who read this? Despite my little (or big, depending on how you look at it) fault, I really enjoyed this book. I’m glad that it was the New York Times’s Best Illustrated Children’s Book of 2011 because it really was great.

We love the simple pictures. Our 18 month old son likes making the sounds for all of the animals that the bear encounters. The story is so funny. If you are tired of reading "The hungry caterpillar" over and over you should pick this book up.

Some might say this is a standard repetitious children's book. I find it to be much more enjoyable than that. I love Jon Klassen's art! His art is more muted than the average kid's book that has vibrant colours. The art appeals to adults (if you like the simple cover art you will enjoy the inside even more) as well as to kids. The story is simple and fun. I will be purchasing more for gifts in the future.