This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen Wins 2013 Caldecott Medal

Posted on February 1, 2013

This Is Not My Hat, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen (Candlewick Press) has won the 2013 Caldecott Medal. The story follows the adventures of a small fish which knows it should not steal a hat.

But the fit is so perfect. Still, the big fish wants his hat back. Caldecott Chair Sandra Imdieke said of the book, "With minute changes in eyes and the slightest displacement of seagrass, Klassen's masterful illustrations tell the story the narrator doesn't know.

The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. The award is named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott.

The 2013 Honor Books are Creepy Carrots!, illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers); Extra Yarn, illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins); Green, illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Neal Porter Books); One Cool Friend, illustrated by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo (Dial Books for Young Readers); and Sleep Like a Tiger, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children).

Photo: Candlewick Press