SurLaLune Storytime: We Wear Many Hats

On my head, I wear my hat.
It is such a silly hat
That my head will wiggle waggle to and fro
Where else can my silly hat go?
[Repeat using foot, elbow and knee.]

A cowboy wears a cowboy hat
[Hands encircle head.]
As he gallops on his horse,
[Galloping motion.]
A firefighter's hat keeps her safe
[Hands encircle head.]
As fires run their course.
[Spraying motion as with hose.]

A clown wears a pointy hat
[Hands form point on head.]
And a smile upon her face.
[Smile broadly.]
And astronauts wear helmets
[Encircle face with hands.]
When blasting into space.
[Palms together, shoot hands up to sky.]

My hat it has three corners
[Join thumbs and index fingers to form triangle and place on top of head.]
Three corners has my hat
[Raise three fingers.]
If it did not have three corners,
[Raise three fingers and shake head.]
It would not be my hat.
[Join thumbs and index fingers to form triangle and place on top of head.]

	The Hat by Tomi Ungerer Age Level: K-3 Running Time: 6 Minutes
Synopsis: The Hat is set in Italy, where a hat blows off a rich man's head and lands on the head of Benito Badoglio, a penniless veteran. Benito uses the hat to do good deeds, including saving a man who is about to be hit on the head by a falling flower pot. The end of the story finds Benito rewarded for his efforts and marrying the lady whom he rescued from the runaway horse.

More Books to Read On Your Own

A Hat for Minerva Louise
by Janet Morgan Stoeke
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Minerva Louise, a snow-loving chicken, mistakes a pair of mittens for two hats to keep both ends warm.

The Singing Hat
by Tohby Riddle
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Colin Jenkins leads an ordinary life, but when he wakes from a nap in the park, he finds a bird has built a nest on his head. Colin's surprising decision not to disturb the bird alters his own life, as well as the life of his young daughter.
Note: A little long, but good for older audiences.

The Mouse, the Cat, and Grandmother's Hat
by Nancy Willard
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: A mouse hiding under Grandmother's hat causes quite a commotion at her surprise birthday party.

Miss Hunnicutt's Hat
by Jeff Brumbeau
Age Level: Kindergarten and up
Synopsis: Miss Hunnicutt is determined to wear her new hat adorned with a live chicken for the Queen's visit despite the disapproval of the other townspeople.

Ella The Elegant Elephant
by Carmela D'amico
Age Level: Kindegarten and up
Synopsis: Ella's counting the days until the first day of school ... but not because she's eager to start! On the contrary, as the littlest elephant on Elephant Island, she's terribly nervous about the other kids she'll meet. Then she receives a beautiful red hat that belonged to her grandmother -- her new lucky charm. Big mean Belinda at school teases her for it, calling her "Ella the Elegant Elephant." But Ella's brave enough to hold on to her hat, and in the end, the hat (and her heart) save the day.

Milo's Hat Trick
by Jon Agee
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Milo the Magnificent isn't magnificent at all. His card trick is hopeless. His rope trick is a mess. So the theater manager gives him one last chance: Milo has to pull a rabbit out of his hat at the next performance - or else. With carrot, string, and stick, Milo heads for the woods in search of a rabbit. Instead he catches a bear, a very clever bear, whose sensational hat trick just might save Milo's magic act.

Three Hat Day
by Laura Geringer
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: A fun-filled story of the slightly eccentric Pottle clan, and particularly of R. R. Pottle the Third, who loved hats. He consoles a rather lonely heart by wearing three hats at once. On a visit to a hat store he finds the perfect wife, wearing, of course, the perfect hat.

The Hat
by Jan Brett
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: When Lisa hangs her woolen clothes in the sun to air them out for winter, the hedgehog, to the amusement of the other animals, ends up wearing a stocking on his head.

The Magic Hat
by Mem Fox
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: A wizard's hat blows into town, changing people into different animals when it lands on their heads.

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
by Dr. Seuss
Age Level: Kindergarten and up
Synopsis: Each time Bartholomew Cubbins attempts to obey the King's order to take off his hat, he finds there is another one on his head.

The Cat in the Hat
by Dr. Seuss
Age Level: Kindergarten and up
Synopsis: The classic Dr.Seuss story about a cat in a hat!

Miss Fannie's Hat
by Jan Karon
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: When ninety-nine-year-old Miss Fannie gives up her favorite pink straw hat with the roses, to help raise money for her church, she receives an unexpected reward.

Mrs. Honey's Hat
by Pam Adams
Age Level: Toddler and up
Synopsis: During the course of a week, Mrs Honey's hat gradually changes without her noticing as her nephew and a variety of animals take items from it and accidentally leave other objects in their place.

Hats!
by Kevin Luthardt
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: When a young boy enters a hat shop and sees there is a sale that day, he carefully chooses the perfect hat. Proudly wearing his new hat, he walks through town. When he reaches the park, a bully tells him, "Dumb hat!" The boy is crushed--is his hat really dumb? But other kids who come along think the hat is pretty cool, and in a surprise twist, the boy and his friends turn the tables on the bully.

Zara's Hats
by Paul Meisel
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: A plucky heroine saves the day! Selig, the hatmaker, loves to make hats. Zara, his daughter, loves to help him. When Selig runs out of his famous feathers and must travel to find more, Zara misses Selig terribly. One day she gets a brilliant idea, and soon a prospering hat shop welcomes Selig home. This amusing tale of an imaginative heroine, based on the author's grandmother, will inspire readers with its upbeat spirit and the close, loving relationship between daughter and father.

Zoe's Hats: A Book of Colors and Patterns
by Sharon Lane Holm
Age Level: Toddler and up
Synopsis: Uses a little girl's hats as a simple introduction to colors and patterns.

Aunt Lucy Went to Buy a Hat
by Alice Low
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Scatterbrained Aunt Lucy loses her hat and sets off to buy a new one. But it's easy to get sidetracked by all those marvelous shops!

Aunt Flossie's Hats (and Crab Cakes Later)
by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard
Age Level: Kindergarten and up
Synopsis: Sara and Susan share tea, cookies, crab cakes, and stories about hats when they visit their favorite relative, Aunt Flossie.

Circus Caps for Sale
by Esphyr Slobodkina
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: A peddler who sells caps by balancing them all on his head is invited to do an act in the circus.
Note: This is the sequel to Caps for Sale.

Casey's New Hat
by Tricia Gardella
Age Level: Kindergarten and up
Synopsis: Casey's hat is worn out, and despite searching all over the ranch and in town, she can't find one that seems right until she sees Grandpa's stained, dusty, crumpled old hat.

When Everybody Wore a Hat
by William Steig
Age Level: Kindergarten and up
Synopsis: This is the story of when William Steig was a boy, almost 100 years ago, when fire engines were pulled by horses, boys did not play with girls, kids went to libraries for books, there was no TV, you could see a movie for a nickel, and everybody wore a hat.
Note: Much more interesting to adults than child readers.

What a Hat!
by Holly Keller
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Henry makes fun of his cousin Newton for always wearing his hat, but the hat comes in handy for Henry's sister Wizzie.

Tiny's Hat
by Ann Grifalconi
Age Level: Kindergarten and up
Synopsis: A young girl who misses her father, a traveling blues musician, lifts her own spirits by wearing his hat and singing his songs. Inspired by the childhood of Billie Holiday.

Matty's Hats Won't Wear That!
by Elaine Greenstein
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: When the hats in Mattie's shop revolt against having to wear the many exotic ornaments she attaches to them, they discover that it is special to be different.

More Songs for at Home

Grandma's Glasses

Here are grandma's glasses
Here is grandma's hat
This is the way she folds her hands
And lays them in her lap.

Here are grandpa's glasses
Here is grandpa's hat
This is the way he folds his arms
Just like that!

An Extra Story for at Home

Timothy Mouse

[Artfelt has a Timothy Mouse felt puppet set.]

Once upon a time there was a little mouse named Timothy. Timothy always wore a hat because he didn’t have big beautiful mouse ears like the rest of his family.

Timothy also had another problem. Timothy didn’t listen. He didn’t listen to his mother. He didn’t listen to his father. And he didn’t listen to his teachers! He didn’t even listen to his friends!

One day Timothy was taking a walk and he met up with his friend, Betty Bunny. “Gee wiz, Betty,” he said, “Where did you get those big beautiful
ears?”

“I got them from listening!” she said proudly.

“Hum,” said Timothy, “Do you think that all I have to do is listen and my ears will grow?”

“Well, it’s worth a try,” said Betty.

So starting that day with his friend Betty, Timothy began to listen. He listened to his mother. He listened to his father. And he listened to his teachers!

It wasn’t but a week later when Timothy felt something very different up in his hat. He ran to the mirror and took off his hat, and yes, there they where, the most beautiful mouse ears you ever did see!

Do you have your Timothy Mouse Listening Ears on today?

Available on Amazon.com

Available on
Amazon.com