I feel as though the element of silliness in this book overpowers the message being sent out. There can be a few lessons the audience of this book can receive. One lesson being, a child's willingness to out use anything that may be special to them. The child in this book receives presents from his mother in which he uses them to the full extent. The ending of this book is confusing however because the red hat is lost. The mother buys him a new hat because she knows that this hat meant a lot to him. I would read this book to a group of first graders because they would understand something that means a lot to them. ( )

A book about a boy whose mother buys him a hat, along with a myriad of other needed things like shoes, boots, scarves, etc.
Source: Amazon
Ages-3-5

I particularly like Karla Kuskin's Roar and More - it's a great storytime book. This story in rhyme, A Boy Had a Mother Who Bought Him a Hat, is a completely nonsensical and cumulative rhyme, telling the pointless but giggly story of a boy who insists on wearing and using every single gift of his mother's at all times. It's illustrated by the delightful Kevin Hawkes, whose rabbits in this book I adore. Plus, I can put this in the picturebooks where it will not, like most of my other poetry books, eventually become depressed and envious of Silverstein and commit death by noncirculation.

A boy had a mother who bought him a hat by Karla Kuskin, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
ISBN: 978-0060753306; Published March 2010 by HarperCollins; Review copy provided by publisher

1st edition= 1976 ( )