New Noun 071024 → I Want My Hat Back by John Klassen

I’ve read 592 books this year.

That being said, there are only so many times you can read Goodnight Moon.

Okay, I did the math, and an average of 3 books per night, plus the 18 real adult books I’ve read, gets me to almost 600 books. I’m sure we’ll break 1000 before the year’s out.

All kid’s books are not created equal.

If you have kids, you know two things suddenly pour into your house from the day they are born. With the best intentions. From people you love.

Stuffed animals.

And books.

Before you know it, you’re building a zoo in the corner, and the bookshelves overflow.

When you’re going through 1,000 books a year, that might actually seem pretty reasonable.

But some of these books are absolute garbage.

There are four kinds of kid’s books.

Here’s a 2×2 matrix.

I want to share a recommendation for the bottom right quadrant.

You’re welcome.

Fish, hats, and turtles.

Katherine, my wife, has always loved children’s books, and while getting her illustration master’s at SCAD, she built a wonderful collection that has proven useful now that we have kids of our own.

Even among those books, all of which were best in class, John Klassen’s books stood out.

The illustrations are beautiful, the writing is hilarious (albeit kind of dark) and they still make me chuckle years later.

Unfortunately, we have a few more years before the kids get the humor, and by then, I’m sure they will be off reading chapter books.

In the meantime, I cannot more encourage you to read I Want My Hat Back, and the rest of The Hat Trilogy.

The little box set is the perfect gift for new parents. You’re welcome.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT BAD BOOKS.

Kids love these books. They are trash. They feel like they were written by a person who doesn’t speak English. The typesetting was done by a child trying to earn a buck on Fiverr. Don’t. Just don’t.

LOOK AT THIS TYPOGRAPHY. 🤮

If you want more good kid book recs, reply to this email.

be good

z

From Monday: The Bear was made specifically for me.