This is Not My HatLaura Utes

This is Not My Hat – Basic Information

Written by Jon Klassen

Illustrated by Jon

Klassen

Published by

Candlewick Press

2013 winner of The

Caldecott Medal

Style The style in this book was very difficult to

determine because it did not clearly fit into any

category.

This book fits into the naïve style the best because

the proportions of the large fish are off.

The fish is very large but makes very small

bubbles, has a small tail, and small side fins.

The whole story is told using the expressions of the

fish (just their eyes).

Media

According to The Classroom Bookshelf, Klassen used Chinese ink and digital media to create the look in This is Not My Hat. (http://classroombookshelf.blogspot.com/2013/02/2013-caldecott-medal-winner-this-is-not.html)

Some of the illustrations are more transparent, such as the plants, while the fish, rocks, and crab are more opaque.

Even on the pages that show the dense, forest of plants, some plants are solid and others are translucent.

Line

Klassen uses the lines on the page to suggest

movement when the large fish takes off after the

person that stole his hat.

He also uses vertical lines when he draws the

plants to show the tranquility of the water.

Shape

The characters represented natural objects, so the

shapes were kept natural and are mostly rounded.

The shapes appear two-dimensional, flat to the

page.

All of the shapes in the story are simple, childlike

representations of the objects.

Color This is Not My Hat is about theft and stealth, so it

makes sense that the book is illustrated in dark colors.

Klassen uses natural colors, mostly tan, brown, and grey.

The background is black on every page, except where the text is written.

The lighter colors of the fish, immediately grab the readers’ attention.

The plants in the forest are various colors so that they appear dense and give the impression of overlapping.

Klassen also uses fairly dull colors in the illustrations.

This fits with the action taking place under the water where there would be less light.

Texture All of the objects in the book appear two-

dimensional but Klassen is still able to give the

appearance of texture.

The large fish and the rock appear speckled, giving

them the illusion of texture.

The pattern on the small fish makes it look like it

has scales.

The plants appear smooth in all of the pictures and

makes it appear that they are really submerged in

water.

Composition

By using a black background for all the illustrations

and a white background for all the text, Klassen

created unity throughout the book.

Klassen also draws the reader’s eye to the fish by

making them bright.

The size of the bigger fish causes him to dominate

any scene and leaves no doubt as to who will end

up with the hat in the end.

Action

Klassen does an excellent job of depicting action in

his story.

Little bubbles appear behind the fish to show that

they are moving and which direction they are

headed.

He also shows the plants bending at the bottom of

the page when the big fish takes off after the little

fish.

Overall Impression Klassen does a very good job of depicting the story.

The words are almost pointless.

You can understand exactly what is happening just by looking at the pictures.

At the end of the story, the words become unnecessary and the pictures tell you what happens while still leaving room for the readers imagination.

Do they fight? Does the big fish eat the little one?

All that is known is that the big fish gets his hat back.

The end