Hooray for Hat!
Hooray for Hat! was my first book. I’d spent over ten years in the commercial arts, making ads for fancy shoes to diabetes meters to SIM cards. It was steady work, but I was itching to make something that felt like mine (something that wasn’t about pushing a product).
I remember struggling with how I even wanted to draw a tree or a feather. I knew exactly how to make it fit brand colors and keep stakeholders happy, but not how I wanted it to look for myself.
My son Charlie was three and completely obsessed with picture books. We’d come home from the library with fifteen at a time. The repeat readings can drive a dad bananas, but seeing a toddler laugh at the same surprise five times in a row makes it worth it.
One day, Charlie ran through the house yelling “Hooray for Hat!” after watching Blue’s Clues. The real line was “Hooray for Hats,” but his version stuck with me. What if there really was one long, shared super hat (the Voltron of hats)?
I was a tired dad in a foul mood after the 2008 recession when I came across a random article about how focusing on things outside yourself (a sunset, a painting, helping someone) can lift you up, even for a moment. That idea stuck.
That’s how a story about a bunch of grumpy animals cheering each other up came to life.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Words and Pictures by Brian Won
ISBN-13: 9780544159037
“This lighthearted story revels in the small acts that make life better — cheers all around.”
— Kirkus Review“A tip of the hat to this buoyant debut.”
— Booklist“A lighthearted celebration of friendship and sharing…”
— School Library Journal
