This was a genuinely original book in many ways.
It probably helped that I didn’t know anything about Kate Hoefler’s 2022 picture book when I picked it up. Well, that’s not quite true. I had seen a brief mention of Courage Hats in an article about picture books that used second person (which this does, briefly).
Jessixa Bagley’s cover didn’t really clarify things much, though it did draw me in: how many times do you see a bear and a kid wearing paper bag hats/masks/head thingies? (See cover below.)
That being said, I was quietly pleased. This is genuinely new in some areas, and good in more. The opening page is just white words on darkness, which gives way on page 2 to the bright light of a train tunnel open to the day.
This introduces some of the book’s themes: contrast, journeys, transformation, and, in the words, bravery.
The pages are well-designed throughout. Some show the train from above, some from within, some curving, some straight.
If I had to summarize the feel of this book, I’d say it is gentle. It engages many childhood (and human) fears quietly, providing both literal and metaphorical solutions.
And readers get to see bears and kids wearing paper bags on their heads, which can’t be bad.