Whose Hat Is This?: A Look at Hats Workers Wear - Hard, Tall, and Shiny

by Sharon Katz Cooper, Amy Bailey Muehlenhardt (Illustrator)

Can you tell what someone does just by the clothes they wear?

This playful nonfiction book turns learning about jobs into a guessing game kids will want to play again and again. Each page invites readers to look closely at a uniform, think about the clues, and guess the career before turning the page to reveal the answer.

From astronauts and firefighters to chefs, doctors, construction workers, football players, and even beekeepers, kids get a fun peek into a wide range of real-world jobs. Bright photos and simple explanations keep young readers engaged while encouraging curiosity and conversation.

Perfect for sharing at home or in the classroom, this interactive book builds vocabulary and background knowledge in a way that feels like play. A helpful glossary at the back introduces new words and supports early nonfiction reading.

An inviting choice for curious kids, this book makes learning about careers fun, approachable, and full of discovery.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Storytime, Childrens, Juvenile

Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Karen Rosas]

As a preschool teacher I have used this book to introduce uniforms form different community helpers and explain the importance for this public figures. However the book struggles in some of the illustrations and some "hat" are hard to imagine. The close up is so close you can only see two or three colors and not the shape of the hat/helmet. The students appeared surprised at the beekeepers. To implement the book I added prompts with real child side hat/helmets. The book pages are hard to read for a "picture walk" because they do not lead with the guess but more detail is added. There is no smooth transition from left to right.

[Hannah]

Fun, informative, inclusive! Definitely recommend this one for units on careers or community helpers!

[Taylor Ferguson]

This book was about identifying different occupations. On one page, it would show just a hat, and on the next page, it showed who that hat belonged to. It also listed what each occupation consisted of.

I enjoyed seeing the different occupations listed in the book. I think this book would be great in a young classroom. It would introduce students to different professions that they might be interested in. A teacher could also ask the students what they wanted to be when they grow up, and have a unit on that.

[Kayla]

I liked this books set-up. It asked a question first, giving the teacher a chance to ask the audience of students to guess and interact with the book, then it reveals the information. It also opens up discussions about children's interests and what they want to do when they grow up.

[Alisha]

This book is part guessing game/part informational title. Would be great as a storytime. For toddlers or PreK you could focus on the guessing game and give some of the informational text. For kindergarten-2nd you could read more of the book and play the game at the end as well.

[Kayla]

I started teaching (although teaching is really a strong word for it) a two-year-old class at a private preschool this year and one thing I have struggled with is finding books that hit the sweet spot for reading to a group of two- and three-year-olds. Reading to a group of kids this young is very different from reading to a single child (like my daughter). This book is one of the first I've found this year that really kept them (mostly) engaged, and it was perfect for our community helpers unit.

[Anthony]

A guessing book of different types of hats and who wears them and why. This book has interesting facts about each hat described, and a brief history of hats, a glossary, and additional books to read to learn more about hats.

[Jennifer]

This is a simple, straightforward look at several different hats, who wears them, and why. A great intro to the concept of hats for the younger crowd, with bright, colorful illustrations, this is a good nonfiction book for story time!

[Miss Pippi the Librarian]

A simple clue nonfiction book with a question and answer. Workers include firefighter, beekeeper, chef, police officer, football player, astromaut, construction worker, and child (in a warm winter hat).

2024 storytime theme: Hard Hats

Reviewed from a library copy.

[Jennifer Heine]

Great book for discussion with little ones through 2nd or 3rd grade.

[Stephen Snyder]

This book really engaged my students while they delighted in guessing which hats they were looking at.

Bravo Sharon Katz Cooper!

[Bradley]

Read as part of my classroom lessons. I'm trying to get my book count up too!

[TJE]

Good book for older kids (elementary). T wasn't very interested but we tried guessing and rephrasing.

[Lauren]

A quick read that explores the different types of hats people wear and why. This would work well for a story time about jobs or clothes.

[Emily Carlyn]

This is a great non-fiction read aloud using hats as the background to talk about workers. Illustrations are bright and colorful, text is short and to the point.

[Ashley]

I thought this would be an easy interactive picture book for storytimes with younger kids who are just learning to engage with books, but the pictures are a bit abstract and unclear.

[jenee tuggle]

d) Text-to Teaching Connection: What is a response activity that you can do in a classroom with children in response to the book? (e.g. drama, music, art, or writing)

I really enjoyed reading this book to my after school Pre -k class. The lesson for that week was community helpers ,so i read this book during circle time to introduce the topic.I wanted to see if the students already knew which hat belongs to the correct community helper. I played a matching game with the students after i read the book. The students had to match the right community helpers hat to the community helper that wears it. The students really enjoyed the book and especially the game.I also brought in real community helpers hats so the students can see what they look like in real life.

[Renee]

Summary: Simple non-fiction book that encourages the reader to look at part of a hat guess who it belongs to. astronaut, beekeeper, chef, construction worker, firefighter, football player, police officer

First full page: "Whose hat is this, so bright and shiny?"
Next full page: "This is a firefighter's helmet. She runs into burning buildings to put out fires. Her helmet keeps her head safe from falling objects and extreme heat." (Fun fact is also included)

In series: Whose Is It?

Nice simple non-fiction book that encourages participation to use with PreK story time. Would make a great story time about hats when used with Caps for Sale!

Story Time Themes: Hats, community workers

[Ina]

I love 'guessing game" books for story time - they encourage audience involvement and engagement, which encourages fun and enjoyment. This one shows a portion of a hat/helmet and a one sentence question/hint and then, when the reader turns the page, there is the answer and information about the specific hat/helmet. Some of the hats are quite esoteric - like a beekeeper's hat. My young audience correctly guessed more than half, and really enjoyed the process. The illustrations are bright and bold, and alternate well between men and women wearers.

[Drew Graham]

Many kinds of people wear hats. Can you guess who's underneath each one?

I like the idea of this book, but the execution feels like Illustrator 101 (not to mention Gender "Equality" 101). The Boy (2.75) likes it and it does have some fun elements to it, including a good bit of informative though sometimes repetitive text, but overall I thought it was okay. This was another potty training standby.

[Hannah Cobb]

An interactive survey of workers in the community. Kids can guess which hat belongs to which job, and learn a little about their neighborhood while they do it!

[Hannah]

Read this book to a group of Kindergartners who- although they liked it- pretty much guessed every hat on the first try. I like that this book asks questions and encourages inquiry.

[Lisa Echols]

Fun to play the game with kids - who uses these various hats?

[Vicki]

This is a great book to use for a hat storytime or community workers theme. For the younger set you can just read the first line on each page.

Large and colorful illustrations.

[Jonathan Smith]

Kids using their minds to guess who uses this hat in the community. Great book for teaching young children about the people in the community