Title: The King’s Hat

Written by: Shelia May Bird

Illustrated by: Mark Beech

Published by: Welbeck Publishing

To celebrate the coronation of King Charles III, I am posting a commemorative book review to mark the occasion.

In this fun rhyming picture book, The King’s Hat, by Shelia May Bird and Mark Beech our new King is finding his crown a little heavy to manage. His good friend Tom the gardener explains monarchs must wear all sorts of hats and he must be brave and allow himself to be the king he was born to be. The joyful rhyming text of The King’s Hats will delight little ones as they explore all the roles their king might have to take and the many hats he will have to wear during his reign.

I really enjoyed The King’s Hat because it made me laugh. The rhyming verses are a pleasure to read. I’m sure every child will love listening to this exquisite story published to coincide with the Coronation of King Charles III today, Saturday 6th May. It also coincides with The Big Help Out, designed to encourage a national day of volunteering, which will take place on Monday 8th May and is intended to create a ‘lasting legacy’ for this coronation weekend.

Mark Beech’s glorious and hilariously warm illustrations with a caricature-style are fun and his traditional pen and ink style bring the story to life. I particularly like the illustration of King Charles dancing around the garden in his kilt pretending to play a golden spade as a guitar.

I believe young children will be able to identify and understand the different roles King Charles has to undertake and will enjoy thinking of other hats he can wear on other occasions. In the classroom children will love making and designing their own hats for a particular purpose and could do all sorts of role play using a selection of different hats.

I would recommend this book for all primary school book corners to commemorate this momentous event in British history. 

You can buy copies of The King’s Hat by Shelia May Bird and Mark Beech from your local bookshop, or online at uk.bookshop.org, an organisation with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.