Hat Tricks

Appropriately named Hattie is a magician with a magic hat. As her story begins, a black top hat is seen on a white background, with just the tips of a rabbit’s ears showing. “What do we have here?” asks the narrator. “It’s a rabbit in a hat!” comes the response, but while the illustration shows more of Hattie, she still looks like any stereotypical rabbit appearing from a magic hat. However, when Hattie makes her full appearance, wearing a bold yellow tuxedo coat, a red bow tie, and holding a magic wand, it’s clear the usual prop is in fact the master magician. As Hattie repeats her magic phrase, “Abracadabra, katakurico,” more and more animals—each larger than the one before—appear from her magic hat. First a cat appears, then a squirrel. Next, surprisingly, is an octopus. Ultimately, even an elephant is pulled from the hat. Just when it appears the hat is empty, it emits an entire jungle scene, complete with trees, bushes, sand, and most importantly, a new friend for each type of animal pulled from the hat. Kitmura’s illustrations in ink, watercolor and gouache are simple, as is the story itself, creating a magic show that will entertain very young readers—they’ll enjoy guessing what animal will appear next based on a small part of the animal showing over the brim of the hat (the squirrel’s tale, or the elephant’s trunk)—but is too basic to hold the attention of an older audience.