THE QUEEN'S HAT

Pursued by a corgi sporting an argyle vest, a cartoonish queen figure runs through London chasing her hat, which is being whisked away by a strong breeze.

The humorous chase takes readers on a whistle-stop tour of all the tourist sights, from Buckingham Palace through Trafalgar Square, London Zoo (animal chaos), down into the Underground, ’round the London Eye, over Tower Bridge, up and down Big Ben, and finally to Kensington Palace, where, miraculously, the hat lands gently on the head of the royal baby being pushed in a pram. Of course a queen can’t run through London unattended; she is aided in her pursuit of the hat by increasing numbers of identical royal guards, dressed in traditional tall busby hats, who fill up every available space. These figures add a repetitive decorative element, and ranks of them appear like wallpaper on the endpapers and cover. Attractively designed with effective use of white space, the book is eye-catching and amusing and has a surreal element that kids will love. A helpful glossary provides additional facts about London landmarks.

Happily close to the most recent royal birth, this whimsical, British-themed picture book provides a kidcentric introduction to the geography of London and a great opportunity for spontaneous counting and observation activities.