#183 of 1001 · January 30, 2021

If you live your life completely alone, you may convince yourself that you don’t need companionship. But what if you realize that you’re lying to yourself? After all, humans are social creatures. In Mr. Brown's Fantastic Hat, Ayano Imai explores this very situation, though her protagonist is some sort of anthropomorphic mammal. A bear? A fox? A capybara? Difficult to say. The text simply refers to him as Mr. Brown, a perennial loner of whom others appear to be frightened. One day, to his dismay, a woodpecker makes its home in his hat. As more birds arrive, the hat magically grows taller to accommodate them, and Mr. Brown soon becomes fond of the birds and their beautiful song. However, when the weather grows colder, they fly south in search of a warmer climate. Now lonelier than ever, Mr. Brown settles in to hibernate for the winter. He awakens to find that his bird friends have returned and a marvelous transformation has taken hold of his hat, mirroring the transformation within his heart. Imai’s empathic writing voice and muted color palette sensitively render a personal journey from loneliness to community. #hat #bird #birds #loneliness #friend #friends #friendship #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookillustrations #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks