Uncle Lester’s Hat By Howie Schneider

This book incorporates a playful role of traveling. I think that the use of colored pencil for the illustrations helps keep the tone of the book very carefree and lighthearted. There are two main characters in the book, the uncle and his nephew. The uncle starts off in the beginning of the book by never leaving his chair, until one day when he receives an old hat. This hat becomes the inspiration for the uncle to begin his travels and to get up off his chair. The hat “blows” all around the world, introducing the reader to different countries. I think that this book is wonderfully written, it has the tone of the little boys voice well displayed within the dialogue between him and his aunt. It also sets a good example for children to explore and to not sit and watch television. It demonstrates that there is more to life, then just watching the television and exploring things around you. I think that this book would be great for children who have an interest in traveling. I think that the reading level would be appropriate for grades up until third. If I were to incorporate this book in my classroom, I would have a passport activity were each child would “travel” to different places in the room. The different parts of the room would represent a different country for the students to learn about.