The Hat (book)
Children's book published by Toni Ungerer in 1970
The Hat is a children's book written and illustrated by French artist and author Tomi Ungerer. Published in 1970 by Parents' Magazine Press, the book tells the story of a poor veteran, Benito Badoglio, who becomes rich after he unwittingly gains possession of a magic flying top hat. The book is richly illustrated and the text contains numerous vivid and mellifluous descriptions and dialog. For example, upon meeting the top hat, the protagonist cries, "Thunder of Sebastopole!"; in another scene, he shouts, "A thousand Potemkins!" Other characters in the book are "cutthroats", "brigands", a "fainting contessa", and a "dashing cadet". The author's interest in such colorful prose was explained by Selma G. Lanes in the Atlantic Monthly: "Ungerer feels strongly that children enjoy unfamiliar words and euphonious, mystifying phrases." The setting for The Hat is nineteenth century Italy, and was described by Sydney D. Long in the Horn Book Magazine as "a never-never land ..., the comic-opera pictures of The Hat are full of mandolin-playing musicians, splashing fountains, and apple-cheeked peasant lasses."
The book ends much as it begins, with the migration of the top hat from one prosperous owner to one of more dire circumstances. This cyclic plot device suggests the magic top hat has led previous owners to similar changes of fate, and may continue to do so into the future. The book was published by French publisher L'école des loisirs in 1971 under a title of slightly different meaning: Le Chapeau Volant (The Flying Hat). The book was made into a film by Weston Woods in 1982. It was adapted, designed, and directed by Gene Deitch, with narration by Peter Hawkins.
Synopsis
The story begins with a magic satin shiny, black top hat belted with a magenta silk ribbon and sash, flying through the air.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “The Hat (book)” as children's book published by Toni Ungerer in 1970. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as children's book published by Toni Ungerer in 1970. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q26220565. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1970, 1971 and 1982.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “The Hat (book)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow The Hat (book) primary sources, The Hat (book) archive and book research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Hat (book)”?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “The Hat (book)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.