Gentle december day 9

My favorite kids book today is We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen

This is a board book, and in terms of a piece of book art, I think it's a masterwork. Klassen closed out a trilogy of books about hats with spare writing and odd humor, notably with the very popular I Want My Hat Back, (which is a very funny book when first read, but I personally find it kind of upsetting and cynical.) This conclusion to the hat series turns out to be a quieter and kinder take on the whole idea and ultimately it is a beautiful little story about partnership.

As an art object, it's absolutely stunning and a personal inspiration. I love board books in general and this one is probably the nicest one I've encountered. It's very sturdy and the pages lie open well, so you get the art unimpeded by margins. Klassen is maybe my favorite picture book artist and getting to see his work in this format is so satisfying. You could easily stand this book open to your favorite spread on a shelf and it would feel like a nice little display.

Sorry, I get maybe too excited about board books!