Handmade Hiro and Robin doll
HIRO'S HATS
Wild Swans Publishing Cooperative, December, 2019
High in the mountains of Japan, Hiro, a little snow monkey, finds a beautiful
hat. "Snow monkeys don't need hats!" his brother tells him.
But Hiro's hat does more than keep him warm -- it is also a friend. Only a robin understands. And when Hiro's hat disappears, she surprises him,
in time, with two more hats, each as playful and full of life as his first.
News and reviews:
In fall of 2020, HIRO'S HATS was chosen as the elementary school title by Keplers' Books, in a program to spark the joy of reading in children in underserved schools. https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2020/12/11/keplers-joins-authors-to-spark-joy-of-reading-in-local-students
"Kleven's joyous art is instantly recognizable to her readers. Her colorful palette and use of movement and fantastical detail make her stories page turning reads...A lovely addition to elementary library shelves." -- School Library Journal
"Delicately beautiful collage art in colors that evoke harsh snowy winters and lush, blooming springs. A page of back matter is dedicated to fun facts about snow monkeys. The lyrical prose makes for an engaging storytime or bedtime option." -- Association of Children's Librarians "Outstanding Pick"
"In this gently whimsical yarn, an imaginative little snow monkey named Hiro sees 'a hat one day, flying like a bright bird through the sky.' ... The story twines toward happy endings for all. Mixed-media collage illustrations show sweet-faced, woolly-bodied monkeys at play in richly textural landscapes. Through Hiro, Kleven sympathetically illustrates young children’s ability to find emotional connections to inanimate objects, and the creative ways they can respond to stress." --Publishers Weekly
Learn more about HIRO'S HATS on author and children's literature aficionado Jama Kim Rattigan's beautiful blog, Alphabet Soup. Here's the link.
An original piece from this book will be on exhibit at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art from December 14, 2019- May10th, 2020 as part of the show "Now and Then: Contemporary Illustrators and their Childhood Art," organized by Grace Lin and Jarret Krosoczka.
https://www.carlemuseum.org/content/upcoming-exhibitions
For ordering information, please visit https://www.wildswanspublishing.coop
Some other delightful independent stores which carry HIRO'S HATS:
Playstore Toys https://stores.playstoretoys.com/
Children's Book World, Los Angeles
https://www.childrensbookworld.com/search/site/hiro%27s%20hats
Sausalito Books by the Bay, Sausalito, CA www.sausalitobooksbythebay.com
Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA www.bookpassage.com
Morningtide Shop, Albany, CA
https://morningtideshop.com/collections/all/products/hiros-hats-book
Bellaluna Toys: Please click to order.
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Pictures from the Carle Museum, including a few of the snow monkey collages children made, and HIRO'S HATS at the Museum Gift Shop. You can order the book from the store, and through the publisher's web site. If you would like an autographed copy of HIRO'S HATS, please contact me.
