Rules are meant for bending

So I missed my weekly deadline, which should've been last Tuesday (it's now Sunday). But I'm really not caring, not one little jot, because by this Tuesday I know I will have caught up. I recall what I was like the last time I did this challenge, the focus was solely on ensuring that the blog posts were exactly on time and that one book was read every single week exactly. The pressure was absolutely incredible. Imagine struggling to read 400 pages of text whilst getting a 9-5 job done and coming home to two kids and a house to run. People might think it's just a case of organising time more effectively. But to those people I would say 'step in my shoes for five flamin minutes'.

That being said, I know I can be a bit of a procrastinator, I don't hide from that.

I will beat about the proverbial bush until the bush is completely knackered. Then beat about it some more until I finally take action. So I know there were times when I could've done better. The important thing this time around is not to carry the pressure, which I'm fair in saying is the thing that killed my challenge off last time (pressure and an insane book about philosophy that simply couldn't be read in a single week).

So, I've learned to be a bit more clever with my days this time, that and not to worry: it isn't the end of the world if I miss one deadline. I'll make the next one.
So this is the first of two posts, the next is due, as normal, on Tuesday. For these next two I've turned my attention to younger books.

This is Not My Hat is written and illustrated by Jon Klassen and is a very simplistic story of a little fish who steals a hat from a VERY BIG fish. This story is brilliant with it's sense of humour, which is subtle and transcends the age ranges. I've seen children as young as three stare with wide eyed wonder and yet my son, who is in his teens was commenting the other day on how funny he used to find a particular joke in it.

The book works by telling a story with words and a different story entirely with the illustrations. It leads to a climactic confrontation which has to be interpreted by use of the imagination. The children are left to guess at the fate of the little fish by the end. Guaranteed there is always that one child who, when I try and invite discussion as to his fate, always shouts out at the top of their voice 'he's dead!'
It happens every... ...single... ...time.

The language isn't totally diverse in range, but is expertly placed, one example being the repeated use of the word 'probably' which adds to the casual nature of the textual story, 'he probably won't wake up, he probably won't know where I've gone'. In contrast, the very concrete story told by the pictures has the reader thinking 'definitely', 'he's definitely awake, he definitely knows where you've gone'. There is also a very strong rhythm to the wording, this in spite of the fact that there's no rhyme or other discernible pattern: this contributes to an easy, flowing read through of the text. Something that shows up most in a passage where the little fish talks about where he's going to hide out.

My favourite scene is one where the little fish is convinced that the tiny crab he's passed won't rat him out, which is hotly followed by the crab blatantly pointing out where he's swam off to. With just a simple drawing of the crab (in particular his eyes) you find yourself laughing at how much the crab has given away.

It was once said of the Gromit character (from the popular Wallace and Gromit series) that the genius was in getting his eyes to do all the acting and show expression without doing much. The same can be said of the characters in this book, which is what makes them lovable and amusing.

There is also an interesting discussion starter in Klassen's use of the word 'stole'. The little fish didn't take the hat, to use that word would have been far less harmful and more p.c. But no, the word stole is used, which gets the children talking about whether or not it was right for the little fish to steal, after all, the hat fits him far better than the big fish, so why shouldn't he just steal it for himself?

I laughed out loud the first time I read it, and to this day, it still raises a smile out of all those I know who've come across it.

Book 13 of my 52 and my funny book.

Book Title: This is not my Hat 

Author: Jon Klassen 

Illustrator: Jon Klassen 

First published: 2012 

Number of Pages: 32 

Suitable for: children aged 3 and up 

Interesting words: probably, stole.