Don't Touch My Hat

by James Rumford

Out west, a lonesome prairie or two from anywhere, was a town called Sunshine. Sunshine was smaller'n most, bigger'n some, but cleaner and more civ'lized than 'em all. Sheriff John saw to that—him and his 10-gallon hat. . . . Sheriff John is a lawman in the wild, wild West. It's not just his badge and his gun that send robbers and rustlers galloping out of town, it's also his 10- gallon hat. Or so he thinks. . . .This new picture book by critically acclaimed author-illustrator James Rumford is a delightful addition to the bookshelves of young cowboys and cowgirls everywhere!

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Westerns, Humor, Fiction, Juvenile

40 pages, Hardcover

First published February 27, 2007

About the author

I have been writing, illustrating, and designing children's books since 1996. I am on the verge of self-publishing through books that are printed on demand and via the internet. For more on my children's books, see my website: http://www.jamesrumford.com. I also have a blog about writing and illustrating children's books at http://www.calabashcat.blogspot.com. Besides commercially published books, I run a private letter press company and do limited-edition, handmade books. See more at http://www.manoapress.com. I am interested in foreign languages and in poetry. See my blog "Horace et al." at http://www.jasrumford.blogspot.com. I live in Honolulu with my wife.

Reviews

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually rather cute.

[J9 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book my 6 yr old as well as my twin 3 yr olds loved. A solid reading level 1 book, this cute story keeps all ages engaged with the bright colorful pictures and cute story. A great addition to any children's library.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been a while since I’ve brought a book into the house that I’ve loved as much as this one. Reading it aloud was so fun. You are essentially pretending to be a cowboy with all the vocabulary and accent you might expect. The story is pretty simple and it has a great humorous element in the plot and in the illustrations. I think we will probably buy this.

[Rani · Rating 4 out of 5]

#Sheriff prides his #hat so much. Nobody is allowed to touch it. Yet, he forgets his hat once... #Western #YoungReaders #PictureBook #BookReview #ChildrensBooks #amreading

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

[3.5]

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darn cute!

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my favorite hat books

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute little picture book about a Wild West sheriff and his love for headwear. Great book to read out loud at a storytime.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love it! Short, easy story. But I think children of all ages will love it--the pictures made me laugh and the idea, just great. I also love all of the newspaper clippings on the book that show you a bit more of John and Lil's life. A good, light-hearted one to read to the kids just to get them to laugh.

Read somewhere in 2009-2010 for storytime.

7/2/14 Used in my America theme. The kids liked it, as did the adults. I just wish I had a group that laughed out loud more.

6/8/15 Used in Fitness Hop 'N' Harmonies (school-age kids). They seemed to like it. Not as many laughs at the end, but they were pretty silent listeners.

6/8/15 Used in regular Hop 'N' Harmonies. Kids enjoyed the reading of it, even if they didn't quite get the story. oh well.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My five-year-old son picked this book up from the library last week. It looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. Then I read it and remembered. I used this book for story time at the library when it was first released.

I'm pretty sure we were working our way through the alphabet at the library that year. I must have had the letter H, so I went with hippos and hats. I do remember the preschoolers shrieking with laughter when they realized what was going on with the hats. Probably because my son had EXACTLY the same reaction.

The illustrations for this book are purty dern perfect, too. ;)

[Vivian]

We finished up our "Stars Out West" story time with this story about this sheriff who has one busy night -- wearing the wrong hat! The children enjoyed chanting "Don't touch my hat" with the performers each time the phrase was repeated in the story.

Each child then got to make a "Ten Gallon Hat" to wear home.
--a 2 inch wide strip of craft paper long enough to go around the head
--an 8 inch square of brown craft paper (for the hat)
--an pattern run off on white paper
--scissors
--tape
--foam self-adhesive western-theme decals to decorate the hat

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This week's read aloud book turned out a lot more fun than anticipated. For my older kids, I reminisced about watching Sheriff John growing up and sang them his birthday song. For the younger kids, I read the book with an accent and various voices. The kids loved figuring out the funny switch and we wrapped up with a great discussion about attaching too much importance to an object.

My older students and I are considering turning the book into a sketch of some sorts. A great book. A fun read aloud.j

[Powells.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sheriff John knows the importance of owning a good ten-gallon hat. He wears it everywhere, and it helps him protect the townsfolk. But something happens one dangerous night that makes him question the power of his special hat.... Rumford writes and illustrates an amusing tale of the Wild West that'll make y'all chuckle.
Recommended by Angela H., Powells.com

http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio...

[Inhabiting Books]

Fun picture book about a sheriff in the old, wild west whose ten-gallon hat is his prized possession. He thinks his hat helps him do his job better. He finds out the hard, but hilarious way that he's wrong.

To make the story more fun, it is written in the Old West style of speech. Although the humour seemed directed more at the adult reader sometimes, both my girls and I thought this was one funny book.

[Kristen Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I personally didnt not care for the boot i thought that the story could be told in a better form. I also thought that with the southerns slang the book had in it that it would be hard for kids to understand. The pictures i thought were not very good and they were not well thought out and could be alot more detailed. Out of the 5 pictures book i chose this one was my least favorite.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun picture book about a sheriff who thinks that his abilities come from his cowboy hat and he won't let anyone touch it. In the end he comes to find out out in a funny way that "It's your heart, not your hat.".

[Susan Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Great illustrations, and the plot "twist" made me chuckle! This would be a fun read-aloud. It even has a good message about what makes a person special: your heart, not your hat! Don't miss the inside front and back covers for "clippings" about Sheriff John!

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cowboy sheriff thinks he can't do anything without his special hat. One night all heck breaks loose and he grabs his wife's fancy hat instead of his regular cowboy hat. This gaffe unknown to him, he still manages to keep peace in the small town.

Illustrations are okay.

[Saralyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is hilarious and has a good point.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, just the right amount of words on a page.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does the hat really make the man? We loved the twist at the end of this one!

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could be really funny if you had two different hats to present it in story time
A sheriff in the Old West fights crime with the help of his lucky ten-gallon hat.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny! Fun read aloud for the cowboys and cowgirls out there. Loved Sheriff John's hair style under that hat! Reminded me of my own sweetheart.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just so you know, there is kissing at the end of this book! One of my storytime attendees was quite grossed out by that fact!

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story for teaching dialect and apostrophes (leave out letters). Sheriff John sure looks "purdy" at the end!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story and fun pictures, though I think there might be a few too many words for storytime.

[Dolores · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun western story with a meaningful message.