Milo's Hat Trick
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Milo the Magnificent's magic act isn't so magnificent after all, until he meets a bear who teaches him the secret to the perfect hat trick in this classic and critically acclaimed picture book, perfect for fans of Oliver Jeffers and Jon Klassen
Milo the Magnificent is the world’s least magnificent magician. He can't even pull a rabbit out of his hat! When Mr. Popovich gives him one more chance, Milo knows he has no choice: he has to go out and catch a rabbit for his act. Instead, he catches a bear. And the bear promises to help! Into the hat he dives. Milo rides the train home, sure his act will go off perfectly tonight. But when he arrives in his dressing room, he discovers that he left his hat—and the bear!—on the train. Meanwhile, across town, a man in a restaurant has a very familiar hat . . . Can Milo get his hat back in time for his act?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With marvelously economical narration and line drawings, Agee (The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau) conjures a formidable tale of a struggling magician. Milo could be Little Orphan Annie's uncle or a caricature of John Lennon. His brick-red mop of hair and thick mustache bracket pupil-less eyes and a voluminous nose, and a too-tight gray suit adds to his hangdog appearance. Onstage, he's no Houdini. He doesn't even have a rabbit for his act, and in trying to catch one (by dangling a carrot from a stick), he attracts a brown bear. This incident provides the absurd turning point of the story, for the immense animal executes a flawless dive into Milo's top hat ("You just pretend your bones are made of rubber. It's a secret I learned from a rabbit," the bear explains). Sitcom developments follow: the bear nonchalantly agrees to perform, Milo loses his furry friend on the train and the top hat walks the New York City streets on two clawed feet. Agee sets off the delectably far-fetched story line with pared-down charcoal-and-watercolor illustrations, and the strong planes and diagonals of his cityscapes recall Ben Katchor's comics. Understated writing complements the surreal images; when the hat finally reaches the theater, "Milo whistled and out popped the bear. 'Boy,' said the bear, 'am I glad to see you!'" In this accomplished book, Agee's plot twists are as surprising as, well, pulling a bear out of a hat. Ages 3-up.
