Perfectly pitched, gorgeously illustrated and told simply but with sophistication, this is a must-have picture book. Ravi is cross with his little sister Ruby and breaks her toy car, ‘So no-one went to bed feeling happy.’ He wakes up in the morning to find he’s wearing a Grumpy Hat. Red and uncomfortable looking, it is ‘as itchy as a spider’s dance class’. Dad is wonderfully patient and has lots of practical suggestions, but nothing works and soon the Grumpy Hat is turning into a Sad Hat. When hope seems to be vanishing altogether and Ravi is completely buried by the hat, just his little feet visible at the brim, he has an idea. He says sorry to Ruby and they start to play together again. The Red Hat disappears and suddenly Ravi is wearing a ‘very fine pair of Happy Socks’. It’s a superb exploration of feelings, articulated in a way that even the very young will understand; a book to evoke the strongest feelings of recognition in child and adult reader, and full of humour too.
Eva Eland’s Klaus Flugge Prize winner When Sadness Comes to Call and the follow up Where Happiness Begins also examine feelings little children will recognise but struggle to put into words, and Tom Percival’s Big Bright Feelings series of picture books will similarly prompt lots of conversations and understanding.
Everyone knows that little sisters can be an-noy-ing! So when Ravi gets annoyed with Ruby and breaks her toy car in a rage, everyone goes to bed upset. Ravi wakes up the next morning with a bright red grumpy hat stuck fast on his head! And he can't get rid of it, no matter how hard he tries...
Ravi learns how to swap his grumpy hat for happy socks in this uplifting story about siblings, family life and controlling bad moods.
Nicola Kent is an award-winning author and illustrator of children's books. She won the Independent Booksellers’ Best New Illustrator Award (2019) and has been shortlisted in both the World Illustration Awards and the Teach Primary Book Awards. She lives in London with her partner, two children, a cat and a dog, and a very untidy desk
