A Flower Pot Is Not a Hat

A Flower Pot Is Not a Hat
Martha Moffett ~ Illustrated By Susan Perl
1974

A flower pot is not a hat.
A lamp shape is not a hat.
A frying pan is not a hat.
If I put it on my head it is.

As a mother to an only child, and coming from a very large brood of 5, I sometimes undergo a sense of regret whenever I come to the realization that the BOOG may never feel that sense of ridiculousness that seems to be contagious amongst a pack of likeminded little munchkins. Though my siblings and I never ran out of ways to make my grandmother punish us in separate areas of the house, this book reminded me of how simply we turned a sheet draped table into a castle or a cut up tube sock into a fashionable ensemble for our Barbie dolls.(True Story)

The pictures throughout this book are so full of engaging peculiarities punctuated with large morsels of bold typeface, each scene surrounded with plenty of sub-drama . The children in this book try new inventive ways to explore their surroundings while exploiting familiar objects like an umbrella, or a chair and even, at one point, a frying pan!

"If I can sit on it, pound it, ride on it, sleep in it, play with it, and put it on my head, then I can find out what it is by myself."

Just when I think the BOOG is off in la la land while I am reading, she surprises me with a new observation. “Look, an umbrella mama!, “ she declares, while looking inquisitively at the little children not knowing what to make of the little child riding atop an umbrella. “Is it raining?” she asks. I have to explain the child is being silly and then she lets out a huge giggle because if there is one thing any child loves, it’s being silly!

If there is one thing this book should make you realize it’s that, even if you're just young at heart like me, it’s ok to be ridiculous and juvenile. Especially in front of your kids, because life is too short not laugh; even if it’s at yourself.