Hat Tricks

Kitamura's volume (The Rainmaker Danced) is an amusing peek-a-boo tale for budding magic fans. The opening ink, watercolor, and gouache image shows two ear tips peeking out of an inverted magician's hat. "What do have here?" asks the omniscient narrator in the first of several questions that drive the book. The answer is a rabbit magician named Hattie, and with an "abracadabra, katakurico," she pulls out of her hat, in rapid succession, a cat, a squirrel, an octopus, a moose, and an elephant (who needs help extracting his elephant-size derriere). Much of the action takes place along a single plane with no detailing--opening and closing pictures establish a proscenium stage--but the animal cast carries the show with élan. Kitamura's snaggly black line and lovely washes of color conjure up a soft, shocked brown moose, and a nonplussed pink-orange octopus with vine-like appendages that seem to have a life of their own. Although the ending feels a little limp (a backdrop arrives, and the animals are suddenly duplicated, creating a "whole new world of friends"), the vivid characters make this much more than a one-trick story. Ages 2-6. (Mar.)

PreS-Gr 1--Hattie is a bunny who loves performing magic. Usually, it's the rabbit that is in the hat, but Hattie is not your typical magician. Assuming the stance, Hattie says the magic words--"Abracadabra, katakurico"--and asks, "What's in the hat?" Readers who notice that there are two little ears peeking out will no doubt sing out, "Rabbit." Wrong! It's a cat! Sure enough, a slightly befuddled cat pops out. Hattie continues with one surprise after another, making kids interact with the text. The animals become unpredictable (one is an octopus!), which will delight children. Hattie is a wonderful magician who ties all these crazy animals together in a very satisfying ending. VERDICT The interactivity of this book makes it a perfect read-aloud for young children. Its bright colors and the funny faces on the animals all work to make this a book that early childhood educators will want in their libraries.--Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA