Sunday January 15th, 2012 National Hat Day

Unofficially, today is National Hat Day, the day dedicated to celebrating hats! Often National Hat Day is celebrated by wearing your favourite hat or by wearing many different hats throughout the day. But along with wearing all of your hats, why not head to the library to help with the festivities?

For the crafty knitters, the library has several books dedicated to making hats. Hat Heads: 1 Man + 2 Knitting Needles = 50 Fun Hat Designs by Trond Anfinnsen is a fun book. Anfinnsen taught himself how to knit then started making hats for everyone he knew; this book contains fifty of those hats, which are all made from the same basic pattern. For a more experienced knitter, why not give The Knit Hat Book: 25 Hats From Basic Shapes by Nickey Epstein a try? Epstein uses twenty five basic shapes, which she encourages you to modify and adapt to your own taste.

We also have books on the history of hats. Women's Headdress and Hairstyles in England from AD 600 to the Present Day by Georgine de Courtais gives a history of both hats and hairdressing for women. For a broader history, we have Hats: Status, Style, and Glamour by Colin McDowell. McDowell’s book looks at hats in terms of social status and rank. This is an excellent book with many pictures and great facts.

If you’re looking for a lighter read, why not check out The Red Hat Club and The Red Hat Club Rides Again, both by Haywood Smith. The club is made up of five middle aged women who wear purple and a red hat at their monthly meetings. When one of them discovers her husband is cheating on her, the five decide to get back at him. In the second book, the Red Hat Club reunites to save an old friend of theirs from addiction by kidnapping her and helping her through rehab. Both books are light and easy reads, the perfect celebration of middle-age and hats! But if the fictional adventures of the Red Hat Club don’t appeal to you, the library also has several books by the Red Hat Society including a cookbook. The Red Hat Society celebrates the real life stories of middle aged women.

If you’d prefer a mystery, we’ve got Killed at the Whim of a Hat by Colin Cotterill. An old Volkswagen with two skeletons is unearthed, one of which is wearing a hat. Soon after a monk is found murdered as well, seemingly unrelated except he was also found wearing a hat. Now it’s up to crime reporter Jimm Juree to solve the case!


And of course, how can you celebrate National Hat Day without reading some Dr. Seuss? The Cat in the Hat is a classic story about the antics of a mischievous cat that comes to visit during a rainy day. For more of his antics, there’s also The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. If you’re looking for a story solely about hats, give The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins a try, also by Dr. Seuss. Bartholomew Cubbins tries to take off his hat as the king passes, only to find another hat on his head! The king enlists the aid of his court to remove the offensive hats from Bartholomew’s head once and for all!

From knitting, nonfiction, and fiction books on hats, the library has you covered!

Shauna Kosoris