Don't Touch My Hat
by James Rumford
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Book Summary Information
Author: James RumfordEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-02-27
ISBN: 0375837825
Number of pages: 40
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Book Reviews of Don't Touch My Hat
Book Review: 4 1/2* His Hat on His Sleeve
Summary: 5 Stars
Writer/illustrator James Rumford wears his hat on his sleeve in this colorful Valentine to the fictional West of silent movies, pulp fiction, and fin de siecle advertising posters. Sheriff John is our hat-wearing protagonist; he protects a small prairie town from a potpourri of bad guys including cheating gamblers, cattle rustlers, and bank robbers.
While John has a winning smile and courage a-plenty, he places the credit for his physical and moral strength squarely on his head; more precisely, on the 10-gallon hat that he wears every time he's called to duty. As author Rumford explains it: "Without that sweat-stiff, trail-dusted, bullet-riddled hat, Sheriff John could do nothing--or so he thought."
In a series of tableaux, John zealously guards his head-piece, even warning his wife,"NOW DARLIN,' "DON'T TOUCH MY HAT!" Rumford sometimes overdoes the "Western" accent, as in this description of the town: "[It was] smaller'm nost, bigger'n some, but cleaner and more civ'lized than `em all." However, kids will probably like the dialect, especially if you ham it up whilst a-readin' it to `em.
One particularly troublesome night, trouble breaks out all over town. Without knowing it, John accidentally puts on his wife's chapeau instead of his own, but manages the crises as if he were wearing his own hat. John's discovery is a riff on the familiar theme that it's what's inside that counts, here formulated as "It's your heart, not your hat:" The endpapers (formatted as old newspaper clippings) describe his post-law enforcement adventures. For example, he's a consultant for the Ponymount Pictures' Westerns, The pseudo-newspaper stories are cute, but they're too detailed. The iconic figure that Rumford built is dragged down by platitudes and the commercialization of his "It's Your Heart" credo. There's a yearly "It's Your Heart" charity drive, a "Heart Day:" Rumsford begins to trivialize Sheriff John's insight.
Fortunately, most of the book captures the spirit and look of the pulps, old Westerns, and French poster artist Leonetta Cappiello, the man whose poster ads for Compari, Moet, and other products presented bold figures against dark backgrounds, and thus seem (in a precursor to pop/op art) to jump out at the viewer. The feeling and style of the book are more creative than the story itself--a little endpaper restraint would have reduced the overly sugared endpaper "sidebars," but, overall, Rumford succeeds in conveying the West and how it was re-told.
Summary of Don't Touch My Hat
Out west, a lonesome prairie or two from anywhere, was a town called Sunshine. Sunshine was smaller'n most, bigger'n some, but cleaner and more civ'lized than 'em all. Sheriff John saw to that?him and his 10-gallon hat. . . .Sheriff John is a lawman in the wild, wild West. It's not just his badge and his gun that send robbers and rustlers galloping out of town, it's also his 10- gallon hat. Or so he thinks. . . .This new picture book by critically acclaimed author-illustrator James Rumford is a delightful addition to the bookshelves of young cowboys and cowgirls everywhere!Issues Books
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