I Want My Hat Back
"The funniest book ever written" - Guardian. The iconic bestseller from multi-award-winning Jon Klassen.
OVER 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD
A New York Times Bestseller and Best Illustrated Book
Voted one of the BBC’s 100 Greatest Picture Books of All Time
From the winner of The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2026
“The funniest book ever written” Guardian
“One of the simplest yet most original and entertaining picture books around” The Telegraph
“Astonishing. A charmingly wicked little book.” The New York Times
“Equally as funny for adults as kids.” Romesh Ranganathan, The I Paper, The Best Bedtime Books of All Time
Bear's hat has gone.
And he wants it back.
Collect all three HAT books:
I Want My Hat Back
This is Not My Hat
We Found a Hat
Resources
Creators
Jon Klassen is the creator of the #1 New York Times bestselling I Want My Hat Back, which received a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor, and its companions, This Is Not My Hat, which won a Caldecott Medal and a Kate Greenaway Medal, and We Found a Hat, named a Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year. He is also the creator of the Your Places and Your Things board book series, as well as the picture books The Rock from the Sky and The Skull. He is the illustrator of How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney?, Extra Yarn, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, and the Shapes Trilogy, all by Mac Barnett. For his contributions to children’s literature, Jon Klassen is a member of the Order of Canada and was named the 2026 recipient of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Originally from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Jon Klassen now lives in Los Angeles.
Reviews
“[…] the funniest book ever written and here is why: it is always funny, every single time you read it. And if you know any children at all, you will be reading it a lot. It is funny in whatever language you read it (22 and counting) and to almost every child in the world.”
The Guardian
Repetition for the under 5’s and giggles for the over 25’s (Best book for laughs)
The Lady
This must be one of the simplest yet original entertaining picture books around at the moment.
The Telegraph
This is an author-illustrator who takes you from page to page with a dry humour which matches his story perfectly.
The Telegraph
Elegant books
Wall Street Journal
This simple story of a bear looking for his hat is my go to for an instant pick-up and giggle. Illustrated simply but with obvious care and forethought, the images convey an extra, subtle layer of humour which for now is lost on my young children. However they still appreciate the story and question why I am laughing like a loon at a bear looking for and finding a hat.
The Cheltonian
“Read I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen. It’s the most subtle endorsement of murder you’ll ever find.”
GQ
“Fed up with reading sugar-coated bedtime stories? Try Jon Klassen’s black-humoured book about a bear trying to track down his missing hat, which your delighted tot will spot long before our hapless detective. There’s loss, lies, vigilante justice and a sticky-pawed bunny. The deliciously deadpan dialogue and stylish muted colour palette will delight all ages, too.”
Gurgle
“[…] hilarious and with such amazing illustrations to boot.”
Gurgle
Recommended by Frank Cottrell-Boyce as a must read in lockdown on the Lauren Laverne Radio 6 Show.
Lauren Laverne Radio 6 Show
It’s a beautifully constructed, immaculately told joke. The kind I wish I had told.
Books for Keeps
Voted one of the 100 Greatest Picture Books of All Time
BBC
Told with deadpan humour, this is a story full of big feelings that small children will recognise. Plus, for those with the inclination, there are opportunities to do lots of wacky voices.
The i Paper, The best bedtime books of all time
This is the one of the best examples I can recall of a young children’s book being equally as funny for adults as kids. Part of how clever the book is lies in the clues in the illustrations that help you understand what has actually happened in the story.
Romesh Ranganathan, The i Paper
