One of my favorite read-alouds for older toddlers and preschoolers is The Magic Hat by Mem Fox. The magic hat floats into town changing each person whose head it lands on, into an animal. At the end of the story, the wizard responsible for the hat reverses the magic changing everyone back into people again. Aside from the entertaining story and whimsical illustrations, what makes this book a great read-aloud are the many opportunities for kids to interact with the story as you tell it.The repetitive refrain :
Oh the magic hat, the magic hat,
it moved like this and it moved like that,
it spun through the air...
it moved like this and it moved like that,
it spun through the air...
is easily remembered and repeated by kids once they've heard it a few times. Younger children will be mesmerized by the lilting cadence of the words and older children will have fun guessing what kind of animal each person is about to turn into since the fourth stanza of the refrain rhymes with the name of the animal.
After reading the story you can make your own magic hats out of paper and whatever you have lying around the house. If you happen to have a plastic straw you can easily make a magic wand. Then have fun re-enacting the story.
After reading the story you can make your own magic hats out of paper and whatever you have lying around the house. If you happen to have a plastic straw you can easily make a magic wand. Then have fun re-enacting the story.
~Meg
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