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THE HAT THAT WORE CLARA B.

Name: THE HAT THAT WORE CLARA B.
Author: Melanie Turner-Denstaedt
ISBN: 978-0-374-32794-1

by Melanie Turner-Denstaedt and illustrated by Frank Morrison ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 8, 2009

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Mother’s Sunday is the day older women wear their finest white suits and fanciest hats to church. Clara B.’s favorite is Grandma’s hat, about which Grandma says when complimented, “Honey, I’m not wearing this hat. This hat is wearing me!” Clara B. desperately wants to wear the hat, but the answer is always no. On this Mother’s Sunday, she has had enough and is determined that the hat will wear her, too! Turner-Denstaedt’s text describes Clara B.’s methodical progress, detailed scenes and descriptions drawing readers into the story. Morrison’s illustrations superbly complement the words, sequential panels drawing out Clara B.’s boredom as she waits for her opportunity, full-bleed spreads skillfully varying perspective and composition to tell the story, fine-tuned pacing leading up to the inevitable moment when Clara B. crushes Grandma’s hat. Readers will see and feel Clara’s horror in this gasp-inducing moment. Sadly, the author passed away in 2007, leaving this vibrant work for readers in the here and now. (Picture book. 4-9)

Pub Date: April 8, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-374-32794-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2009

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S RELIGIOUS FICTION

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HANSEL AND GRETEL

by Stephen King ; illustrated by Maurice Sendak ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 2, 2025

Menacing and most likely to appeal to established fans of its co-creators.

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Existing artwork from an artistic giant inspires a fairy-tale reimagination by a master of the horror genre.

In King’s interpretation of a classic Brothers Grimm story, which accompanies set and costume designs that the late Sendak created for a 1997 production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera, siblings Hansel and Gretel survive abandonment in the woods and an evil witch’s plot to gobble them up before finding their “happily ever after” alongside their father. Prose with the reassuring cadence of an old-timey tale, paired with Sendak’s instantly recognizable artwork, will lull readers before capitalizing on these creators’ knack for injecting darkness into seemingly safe spaces. Gaping faces loom in crevices of rocks and trees, and a gloomy palette of muted greens and ocher amplify the story’s foreboding tone, while King never sugarcoats the peach-skinned children’s peril. Branches with “clutching fingers” hide “the awful enchanted house” of a “child-stealing witch,” all portrayed in an eclectic mix of spot and full-bleed images. Featuring insults that might strike some as harsh (“idiot,” “fool”), the lengthy, dense text may try young readers’ patience, and the often overwhelmingly ominous mood feels more pitched to adults—particularly those familiar with King and Sendak—but an introduction acknowledges grandparents as a likely audience, and nostalgia may prompt leniency over an occasional disconnect between words and art.

Menacing and most likely to appeal to established fans of its co-creators. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025

ISBN: 9780062644695

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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OTIS

From the Otis series

by Loren Long & illustrated by Loren Long ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2009

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Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)