“The Magic Hat” by Mem Fox is a book about a magic hat that comes to town one day. The magic hat flies around the town landing on the head of people it passes along the way.
Each person the magic hat lands on is transformed into an animal. One man is turned into a toad, another person is turned into a kangaroo. After landing on several unsuspecting people the hat rests in front of a wizard.
The wizard with a flick of his wand changes all of the animals back into people and then skips off into the distance with hat in hand.
I teach a movie making class at a local elementary school and used this book this week with my K-2nd grade group. I read the book aloud to the class, and then the kids acted out the action in the story. The kids absolutely loved this story.
In the age of Harry Potter, magic is a very popular topic with children in general. They really liked seeing the people turn into animals and then turned back into people when the wizard arrives.
If you have a few kids I would highly recommend making a “magic hat” of your own and having the kids act the story out. For my class I used a toboggan. In the story the hat flies around before resting on each person. Each child would “fly” the hat and the put it on their head and become the animal. If you have a few children it could make for a fun rainy afternoon activity.
Whether you act it out or not “The Magic Hat” is a fun picture book that your younger children are bound to enjoy.
You can purchase “The Magic Hat” at your local bookstore, or online Amazon.com