The Mystery Hat by Rune Brandt Bennicke and Jakob Hjort Jensen
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Crow, Pig, and Beaver are taking a nice stroll in the woods when they come across a red hat sitting in a puddle. Whose hat is it? What mysterious circumstances could have brought it to this very puddle? Crow thinks that Bear lost the hat when he fell into a giant hole. Perhaps Bear is holding his breath underground, waiting to be saved! Beaver thinks he’s got a better idea. Maybe Turtle, who was wearing the hat, was snatched up and made into yummy turtle soup by a crazed snowman! Can Pig come up with a logical explanation so that the friends can be rid of all these hogwash ideas?

Imaginations run wild in this hilarious picture book from Rune Brandt Bennicke and Jakob Hjort Jensen. The Mystery Hat is sure to get a chuckle from all during the cold winter months.

Who wouldn’t want to solve a mystery in a peaceful winter forest?

It was amusing to see how Pig’s calm and rational personality reacted to the creative and sometimes dramatic things his friends said. He was nothing like them in many ways, and yet their friendships were strong and kind ones. This was one of the things that first drew me into the storyline given how warmly the narrator described every character no matter who they were or how they behaved. I was curious to see how characters with such wildly different personalities would get along.

There was a scene involving a snowman who wanted to add one of these characters’ friends to a pot of soup he was making that I thought was a little too scary for the younger portion of this audience. Some kids might find it amusing, but I would have been frightened by that idea as a preschooler. This is one of those situations where grown-ups should know their audience well and be prepared to tailor that plot twist to something gentler if needed. As much as I liked the storyline in general, I would need to think carefully before reading this to younger kids who are sensitive to things like mistreating animals.

I enjoyed seeing how Pig used logic and reason to figure out what really happened to the missing hat. He was a smart animal who clearly took his time to consider all of the explanations before offering his own opinion about what happened. Critical thinking also isn’t something I’ve seen addressed in many picture books, but it’s an important skill for everyone to learn.

The Mystery Hat made me smile.