Illustrations In Jon Klassen's Not My Hat

When readers first encounter This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen, they might think this story is very simple. A little fish tries to steal a bigger fish’s hat, but he unfortunately discovers he cannot succeed. However, as readers dig deeper into the illustrations, also by Jon Klassen, they are quickly mistaken. Klassen takes a simple story and brings it to life through his illustrations. The illustrations accompany the text to allow readers to engage in critical thinking far beyond the text. At first, the little fish steals the tiny hat from the big fish when he is sleeping. Since it fits him so nicely, he wants to keep it. In fact, he says, “And even if he does wake up, he probably won’t notice that it’s gone” (Klassen, 2012). Just to be safe, the little fish decides to tell the reader where he is going to hide. On his way, someone sees him but luckily, the crab told the fish he would not tell anyone which way he went. When he finally makes it to the tall plants, he thinks he is safe; however, the last few pages show the big fish swimming away with the hat on his head.

It is almost as if the text is portraying the little fish’s perspective and the illustrations are portraying the big fish’s perspective. The mixed media illustrations, created digitally and in Chinese ink, are not only visually appealing, but also a critical part of the success of this story. Each page has a black background and a white margin for the text. The lack of white space in the illustrations themselves creates a dramatic element of value. It sets the scene and brings readers to the edge of their seats because everything seems more intense in the