The Scarecrow's Hat

In this classroom favorite, a resourceful chicken enlists her farm friends to get a coveted hat from Scarecrow. A delightful circular tale and fall read-aloud!

Chicken really admires Scarecrow's straw hat. Scarecrow would gladly trade his hat for a walking stick to rest his tired arms. Chicken doesn't have a walking stick to trade—but she knows someone who does.

Author-illustrator Ken Brown pairs vivid, realistic watercolors with an inventive plot, engaging sequencing, and repetition to tell a charming circular story packed with relatable themes of friendship, bartering, and problem-solving. This award-winning title is an ideal story time choice for autumn and harvest themes."A brilliant watercolorist, Brown sets this familiarly patterned tale in sunny, poppy-strewn rural locales, and populates it with animals that are at once wonderfully lifelike and comically expressive. . . . Great for storytelling, with big beautiful pictures for a topper." —Kirkus Reviews

"A gentle picture book with an old-fashioned feel. . . . Brown's story proceeds at a leisurely pace, allowing young readers time to join in Chicken's creative problem-solving. . . . The true standout here. . . is Brown's artwork-his airy sun-dappled watercolors evoke a pleasant summer day." —Publishers Weekly

"Problem solving takes center stage in this story of how a resourceful chicken, every bit as determined as the Little Red Hen, barters for a scarecrow's hat. . . . Realistic watercolors greatly enhance this plucky, humorous tale." —Booklist

"Children will enjoy the repetition and refrain. Vibrant watercolors simultaneously depict the natural beauty of a blooming meadow in spring and the fine execution of expressions on the animals' faces and in their body language. . . . satisfying, funny." —School Library JournalKen Brown studied illustration at Birmingham Art College in England and wrote and illustrated numerous children's books. He lived with his wife, Ruth Brown, also a well-known children's illustrator, in England until his death.