The only rule for attending this party is . . . you MUST bring a hat. But what if you don鈥檛 own a hat? Will bringing a monkey wearing a hat be enough? Find out in this tale that builds to a gloriously surreal and hilarious ending.
When a boy is invited to a party, he needs a hat to gain admission. Unfortunately, the only one he can find is sitting squarely on the head of a monkey... who refuses to give it up. So the boy decides to bring the monkey to the party with him (after all, the invitation didn't say the hat couldn't be on a monkey's head), setting in motion a wacky series of ever-more ridiculous rules. Apparently, badgers named Geoff aren't allowed in unless they prove they can play the piano...
Eagle-eyed readers will be able to spot the reason this crazy cascade of silliness happens in the first place (but even those who don't will enjoy the moment of revelation). The illustrations are charming, with just the right mix of whimsy and emotion. The bunnies in their underwear are especially cute. (And why are they in their underwear? There's a very good reason for that.)
This is a clever story about a boy who just wants to follow the rules and attend his friend's party... even if it takes a monkey, a badger, an elephant, and a penguin to make that happen. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes silly stories that make a weird sort of sense.
This is a very, very funny children鈥檚 book about a little boy trying to get into a party, where the invitation states, that he MUST bring a hat. He manages to (sort of) get a hat 鈥� but then there is another stipulation before he can get in. And another, and another 鈥� Will he ever get in? Soon he has a whole menagerie of anthropomorphic animals in tow 鈥� each fulfilling one of the requirements. My favourite is when the little boy asks Geoff, the badger if he can play the piano:
鈥淒on鈥檛 insult me. I鈥檓 a badger! Of course I can.鈥�
A brilliantly concocted farce, with wonderful illustrations, that will have children and the reader in fits of giggles. Very highly recommended PS: I bought this as a Christmas present for my great niece 鈥� with accompanying paper hats 鈥� just in case!
First sentence: I received an invitation to a party.
Premise/plot: A young boy is invited to a friend's party, but, the invitation is emphatic: anyone attending the party MUST bring a hat. The young boy is eager to go, but doesn't own a hat already. He can't quite track down a hat, but he does manage to find a hat-wearing monkey that is willing to attend the party with him. But will that be good enough?
My thoughts: You Must Bring a Hat is a silly book without a doubt. With each turn of the page, the situation just becomes more and more ridiculous or outlandish. The illustrations complement the text quite well. The bunnies minus their tutus may just be my favorite. It is on the wordy side. I'm not one, however, to think picture books are only for the 3 to 4 year old crowd. For the right set of readers, this one could prove quite delightful. (It was originally published in the UK, by the way).
Text: 3 out of 5 Illustrations: 3 out of 5 Total: 6 out of 10
When the MC is invited to a party, there is only one rule: he MUST bring a hat. Of course, as is always the case with dress codes, putting it into practice is always more challenging than it sounds in theory. (How many of us involuntarily wince at the phrase "business casual?")
Alas, our MC owns no hats--and the local haberdashery is plumb out. What happens next is a series of creative stopgaps that seem to create more problems than they solve--especially when faced with a seemingly ever-evolving set of stringent requirements from a strict mole bouncer at the door. (Spoiler: Or IS IT the door??)
What I love about this story is that it's silly but ALSO it has range! It's funny. It's cumulative. It's about rule-following but also how ridiculous some rules can be. The art is gorgeous, hilarious, and layered--each time you read it, you notice more "clues." In short, it's eminently re-readable. I imagine it would be especially popular for the higher end of the picture book age range, where getting to go to a party feels like EVERYTHING.
In short, I think this book is one party your kiddo will be very keen to attend.
I thought this book was quite funny, and think children would be highly engaged by the silly events that happen in it. A boy gets invited to a party, but the invitation specifically states that he must have a hat in order to attend. When he cannot find one anywhere, he is resigned to bringing a hat-wearing monkey along with him. Unfortunately, when he gets to the doorman, there are many more requirements that must be followed. The monkey must have a monocle, so they borrow one from a badger named Geoff. He wishes to accompany the two to the party, but badgers named Geoff are not allowed unless they can play the piano. And on it goes. A fun surprise awaits at the end.
If you want to attend Nigel's party, you must bring a hat!
But finding one is more complicated than it sounds because all the hats in town have been sold out. So what does our little protagonist do about this? He improvises!
But the more he improvises, the more absurd the situation becomes! It is not until this crazy situation finally gets an unexpected ending, that his unusual dilemma is finally solved.
This story is lighthearted, ridiculously funny and truly over-the-top, but I loved it! Together with Kate Hindleys鈥� gorgeous illustrations, this clever hat-trick story is a reader鈥檚 delight.
A boy receives an invitation to go to a party where he must bring a hat. His journey begins, but then becomes really weird as he can't find a single hat for sale in the city. Suddenly, he spots a monkey with a hat...
The boy pulled the monkey by the arm to "use" him for the party, without the monkey's consent. The boy also yelled at the person responsible for the invitation without apologizing afterwards. Some dancers have to remove their tutus and stay in underwear, in order for the elephant to wear a tutu. Things kept escalating...
In the end, the story left me speechless because of how bad it was.
Humor in picturebooks is complicated. Kids may laugh, or adults laugh, and sometimes both. This I bet is one of the latter books, the farcical story of a boy with an invitation to a party where the main requirement is that he bring a hat. He does so, bringing a hat-wearing monkey, but the small print says the monkey must also be wearing a monocle, so they have to find one being worn by a badger. . .. and the stipulations keep getting added on until he gives up in frustration. . . only to find that the invitation is for the address next door. . . :) but the party is fun, finally!
If your kids love silly books such as听If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, then they'll definitely enjoy this one. 听Full of conditions, loopholes, and zany characters, this book will have your kids or students rolling in laughter! 听
The illustrations are delightful and lighthearted, filled with swaths of patterns and characters and animals of all different sorts. 听
This is definitely a book I'm going to be buying for my nephew. 听
A young boy receives and invitation to a party. But there is a stipulation for attendance: one must bring a hat, but you may bring as many friends as you like. The young boy does not have a hat and the hat store is sold out. He spies a monkey with a hat but the monkey will not lend it to him. So he takes the monkey to the party. But when he gets to the party he finds there are additional stipulations that quickly become ridiculous.
Children will enjoy the antics of this poor child just trying to attend a party. Recommended for storytime.
Ridiculously funny. Loved the over-the-top party entry rules which become more and more absurd. Did not see the ending coming at all, and it was pure delight. I had to go back to notice the visual cues that should have prompted my suspicion. In hindsight, I don鈥檛 know how I didn鈥檛 notice, but that makes it even funnier!
Kate Hindley鈥檚 illustrations are gorgeously detailed! I love the colourful world she鈥檚 created, filled with characters bursting with personality and charm.
This is a great book for print awareness and having students notice things in the picture. It is an accumulative tale about a boy who is invited to a party but on the invitation it states he MUST come with a hat and he can bring whomever he would like. He finds a monkey with a hat and as he is standing at the house of the party he is repeatedly told something else he needs to enter. In the end he finds out he was at the wrong door. :) Kids will love it!
Don鈥檛 forget to grab a hat before reading this hilarious book! You Must Bring a Hat invites a little boy and the reader to attend a hat party but you have to have a hat to come in! The problem is there aren鈥檛 any hats left in town so what鈥檚 a boy to do? He improvises by first finding a monkey with a hat. As the story unfolds a variety of characters are revealed. The best part is the silly and surprising ending. The bright and cheerful illustrations bring the story to life!
I loved books like this when I was teaching young children because you could have such fun with them! It's about a little boy invited to his friend Nigel's party, but in fulfilling the requirements of the invitation the story becomes more and more outrageous! When I read it I think of writing invitations, collecting and wearing hats, writing silly rules and having a party! Great illustrations, especially the eyes!
A very silly book, in the best of ways! Minus half a star, though, for a penguin that I couldn't tell was a penguin until the text informed me that it was, in fact, a penguin. Hmmph!
Other than that, though, a perfectly wonderful story!
A little boy received an invitation to a party where it was essential he brought a hat. He didn鈥檛 own a hat so he had to look high and low for one. Oh! The invitation encouraged he brought lots of guests.
You Must Bring A Hat was a fun and adventurous read. The illustrations were colorful and fun.
In this funny story, a boy receives an invitation to a party. There are two rules - bring a hat, don't be late. Since he doesn't own a hat and can't find any to buy, he finds a monkey wearing a hat. The monkey insists on going to the party, too, but then the boy is faced with more and more rules! It gets more and more complicated for the boy. Great illustrations. Funny ending to this story.
You're invited to a party and you must bring a hat, but apparently that's not the only rule. No matter how hard the main character tries to get around the rules, something always stops him, resulting in quite the humorous pileup of creatures. Will they ever make it to the birthday party?
A delightful laugh-out-loud book with creativity and originality. The hats are pretty great too.
This is a great book. It would be lovely for a storytime, not very wordy or dry, the reader could be very animated with this book. The pictures are so much fun and it is all so unreal. The craft could be entertaining as well, so many different things to think of.
Bright and entertaining illustrations will carry young readers through a journey of angst as a young boy tries to dress appropriately for a friend's birthday party. Fans of "If you give a mouse..." series will enjoy.
A little boy is invited to a party and he MUST wear a hat! It doesn't matter what kind of hat, it just that he HAS to wear one. When he gets to the party, there are a bunch of other rules that lead to all kinds of silly events. Neat story with great illustrations.
Full of very funny and interesting characters and requirements for parties, but I found the humor falling short by the lack of a great ending. We don't even find out why the hat is so important to the party for instance...
The ridiculousness of the story builds with each turn of the page. In the end, it's a matter of a mistaken address. The story did not capture my attention. The illustrations are adorable. I love the endpapers that feature little birds wearing top hats.
This silly picture book was fun to read with my preschooler. She quickly accepted the rules that the poor protagonist had to abide by to attend "the biggest, bestest, hattiest party of all time," and we enjoyed all of the animals that came along.
I thought this book was laugh-out-loud funny. It's a quirky Brittish sort of humor. My favorite part is the bunnies in who run around in their panties after giving their tutus to the elephant. It's just too much!
It was a cute story about a boy who needs to bring a hat so he can attend a party however in the end of jumping though all the bells and whistles realizes that he had the wrong address. But still had a fun time even though he was a little late.
This book is 100% my (childish side's) sense of humor. I can't wait to read it for a hat-themed storytime. It's a silly book about a kid who gets invited to a party, but the rules for attending become more and more complex and outlandish.