A Hat for Minerva Louise

Shall we agree that Minerva Louise is cute, silly, charming, and, most of all, intrepid?  Little children will understand all that about her before they even know half those words.  Don't miss the last page, in which we're reminded that we have sheep to thank for our warm clothing that enables us to play in the snow. ( )

I thought this book was very fun to read and that children would love it. Minerva Louise, a talking chicken, wants to play in the snow, but it is too cold. She adventures around the barn in search of clothing to keep her warm, specifically a hat. The first reason I liked this book is because it was silly. For example, Minerva Louise finds a garden hose and tries to wear it as a scarf and she finds a shoe and tries to wear it as a hat. She also goes outside and sees snow on a trash can and car and asks herself why everyone has a fluffy white hat but her, which children would think is very funny and cute. The second reason I liked this book is because Minerva Louise is an endearing and great character. She is adventurous and not afraid to do what she loves to do, even though her friends want to sleep in the barn and not explore with her. I think she is a good example for children and might make them think twice about watching T.V. as opposed to going outside to play after seeing how much fun Minerva Louise had exploring outside in the snow. The big idea of this book is that it is great to be independent and explore your own interests, even if it’s not what everyone else is doing. I think another theme could be making the most of what is presented to you, because Minerva Louise can’t find a true hat but is happy with mittens as a hat because it means she gets to play outside. ( )

The kids loved this one! The very simple illustrations are no less engaging for their simplicity. The preschool kids found it so satisfying to be smarter than Minerva Louise as she attempts to use some rather silly things to keep warm (a hose as a scarf? a bucket as a hat?) and they giggled almost the whole way through. They definitely didn't understand the illustration that went with "Everyone had on a fluffy white hat!" though; they had to be clued in to the snow/hat combination, but these were 3 year olds, so older preschool kids probably wouldn't have a problem.

Used for St. John's Preschool Let it Snow! Storytime 12/1/09. ( )

The book is humorous with it's goofy hen! She loves the snow and wants to stay out and play but she needs to find something to stay warm with. She tries out various things and finally settles for a pair of mittens to warm her bottom and her head. The artwork is very simple and has lots of bright colors that attracts children's attention! Great attention grabber for smaller children and why we should dress appropriately for the weather.

Minerva is a very silly chicken and sees things very simply. ( )