Review by Booklist Review
She is little, but she is fierce: when the wind has the gall to blow the Queen's hat from her head (while on her way to visit someone very special, no less), she and her sweatered corgi hesitate not a moment before running after it. But as the Queen dashes after her hat, what seems like the entire Royal Guard dashes after her. The wind is so strong that it takes the hat all over London's landmarks before finally alighting on the stroller of her very special someone. The illustrations gradually pan out, so what seems at first like a few diligent men soon becomes a crew of them crammed onto the Underground, and finally a swarm that spans the entirety of Tower Bridge. It all culminates when, in Mary Poppins fashion, they use their umbrellas to ever-so-properly float down from Big Ben to Kensington Palace. The primarily red-and-blue illustrations hammer home this homage to London, and even young readers unfamiliar with the landmarks (or this particular queen) will enjoy watching the guards, drawn in painstaking detail, chase their monarch around the city.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Antony (Please, Mr. Panda) returns with a diversion as tasty as tea and scones. The Queen of England sets off from the palace on her way "to visit someone very special" (the new royal infant, readers are meant to understand). She strides along in her trademark sensible shoes and coat, a prim corgi by her side, when the wind blows "the Queen's favorite hat right off her head." The Coldstream Guards, in their red jackets and huge fur hats, rush to her rescue, chasing pell-mell after the hat, but the wind carries it still higher. In a series of gloriously deadpan spreads, ever-growing numbers of guards (and the Queen) clamber across one of the Trafalgar lions, pack like clowns into the London Underground, tramp across the London Bridge, swarm up Big Ben, and rise right up into the air before everyone lands as safely as Mary Poppins, under their own umbrellas. The book's charm comes from the Keystone Kops-like effect of seeing so many dignified, uniformed figures descend into distinctly undignified chaos. It's a trim, stylish story tailor-made for Anglophiles. Ages 3-5. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-A frantic frolic through London in an attempt to recover the queen's blue-and-red hat introduces readers to some of the famous sights in the English capital. When a gust of wind blows the hat off her head, the queen, her corgi, and her uniformed Buckingham Palace guards take off in hot pursuit. They climb over one of the lions at Trafalgar Square, run through the London Zoo, travel by Underground (while the queen drives) and scale the London Eye, Tower Bridge, and Big Ben, but to no avail. The wind is relentless and keeps the hat just out of reach until it finally comes to rest on the head of the youngest heir to the throne. The queen places it back on her head and calmly walks away with the baby in a perambulator. The blue, red, and black cartoon illustrations on white pages are the highlight here, with humorous details aplenty. VERDICT A slight story, stylish art, and a page of brief facts about the city create a breezy but ephemeral offering that might not warrant repeated readings.-Maryann H. Owen, Children's Literature Specialist, Mt. Pleasant, WI © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In this entertaining British import, the queen chases madly after her windblown hat, followed by her dog, scores of guards, and a server with a tea tray. While the text is understated, readers can spot amusing details in the spacious illustrations, which show tiny images of the queen and her retinue scaling meticulously drawn London landmarks. Brief descriptions of the sites are appended. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Pursued by a corgi sporting an argyle vest, a cartoonish queen figure runs through London chasing her hat, which is being whisked away by a strong breeze. The humorous chase takes readers on a whistle-stop tour of all the tourist sights, from Buckingham Palace through Trafalgar Square, London Zoo (animal chaos), down into the Underground, 'round the London Eye, over Tower Bridge, up and down Big Ben, and finally to Kensington Palace, where, miraculously, the hat lands gently on the head of the royal baby being pushed in a pram. Of course a queen can't run through London unattended; she is aided in her pursuit of the hat by increasing numbers of identical royal guards, dressed in traditional tall busby hats, who fill up every available space. These figures add a repetitive decorative element, and ranks of them appear like wallpaper on the endpapers and cover. Attractively designed with effective use of white space, the book is eye-catching and amusing and has a surreal element that kids will love. A helpful glossary provides additional facts about London landmarks. Happily close to the most recent royal birth, this whimsical, British-themed picture book provides a kidcentric introduction to the geography of London and a great opportunity for spontaneous counting and observation activities. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
