Review: The moral of the story?
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 3, 2013
"Fancy Hat" is about a wealthy man who commissioned the local tailor to make him a new, very fashionable and trendy hat. The townspeople were duly impressed when the man showed up in church wearing his fine new hat.With the simple text and color illustrations, it's an enjoyable story for kids up to about the first grade. The author says that the moral of the story is that sometimes it's worth investing a bit more money to enjoy a new hat every year. That argument came across as kind of flat to me. I've known of people who felt that way about getting a new car every year or two, but that's more of a personal preference than it is a moral. If anything, the story contained a simple example of how commerce works, with the wealthy man paying the tailor, who in turn paid others for the materials in the hat, and so on.The author stated that the story has been handed down from generation to generation, so I assume that "Fancy Hat" is based on an old folk tale. Perhaps in an earlier era and culture, the story did contain a meaningful moral for people, but I don't see that today.