The red hat
(Book)

Billy Hightower lives in a building so tall that the wind is his only companion. One day, a new structure arises nearby, and across the rooftops, Billy notices a girl in a red hat and begins a quest to meet her. He shouts, sends a note folded into a paper airplane, flies a kite, even tries to parachute over, but all of his efforts are thwarted by the jealous wind. Beautifully designed two-page spreads feature pages textured with glossy raised waves to depict the movement of the wind, and muted tones of black, white, blue, and gray are highlighted by a splash of red in each illustration. Varying visual perspectives emphasize the motion described in the text, shifting Billy and the reader from high to low points and inviting us to follow the wind's swirling progress across the pages. Billy's determination wins over the wind's stubbornness, and although the girl remains somewhat mysterious, the final image shows Billy and the girl together on a roof. Rather sweetly, the text proclaims this as the beginning rather than the end.--Whitehurst, Lucinda Copyright 2016 Booklist

It's not the characters that are the main draw in Teague's (Franklin's Big Dreams) story-it's the wind, which Portis (Wait) represents with sinuous lines (highlighted with transparent spot gloss) overlaid over big expanses of sky. Billy Hightower lives at the very top of "the world's tallest building," and all he has for company is the wind. (Portis shows him on the roof in a red scarf gazing up at the sky, wavy lines swirling across it.) When a high-rise is built close by and a girl in a red hat appears on its roof, Billy tries all kinds of strategies to meet her-a paper airplane, a kite-but the wind foils every attempt. At last the wind carries Billy to her place, though it's not an easy trip (Billy's town seems ready to challenge Chicago for the title of Windy City). The idea of a friend who's close yet far away provides intrigue, as does the puzzle of how to bridge that distance. The glance the two children exchange on the final page, though, suggests not adventure, but romance. Ages 3-5. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

PreS-Gr 1-A budding friendship takes center stage when a boy is intrigued by a girl he sees from across his rooftop. Billy Hightower tries various techniques to communicate with her, but the wind thwarts his efforts at every turn. He attempts to transport himself by blanket, but the wind carries him away. When all efforts fail, the girl's red hat leads him to her apartment complex, where he realizes a formal introduction may serve him best in connecting to his new friend. The wind itself is a major character within both text and illustrations; with spot-gloss texture, the wind is shown swirling along vast open areas as it carries objects used to emphasize personal relationships throughout this dramatic journey. Thick black outlines accentuate each character. The text changes its placement against the page to reflect a shift in movement; words swoop along like a loop in the sky to follow the shifting perspective. Accents of red are found in various signature elements, such as a kite, hat, scarf, and door, which adds a powerful energy. VERDICT This dynamic, gorgeously rendered glimpse into the fledgling bond between two people demonstrates the power of persistence.-Meg Smith, Cumberland County Public Library, Fayetteville, NC © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

With a nod to Albert Lamorisses film The Red Balloon, and with much of its tenderness, this fable-like story tells of Billy Hightower, whose isolated life atop the worlds tallest building changes when another skyscraper is built alongside it and Billy catches a glimpse of the girl in the red hat. Billy longs to communicate with the girl, but his various attempts fail, repeatedly foiled by the wind. First the wind snatches away Billys words, then it derails his paper-airplane missive. Finally it pulls Billy himself (wrapped in a parachute-like red blanket) off his building and into the sky, and deposits the boy on a noisy, gritty, confusing city street. Undaunted, he finds his way to the girls tower and is united with her. The ever-present antagonist here is the wind, pictured as a glossy, lightly embossed, swirling pattern on each page, a turquoise line against the restrained palette of black, white, taupe, sky-blue, and crimson. Teagues rhythmical and unadorned text is fleshed out by Portiss graphically arresting compositions. The color red, for example, has its own character and plot: the temporary roadblock of a red light, the welcoming red carpet, the subtly recurring shape of a red heart. When this love story ends with the words The Beginning, we believe it. sarah ellis (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Young Billy Hightower lives "atop the world's tallest building." Intent on meeting the girl he spots on a nearby high-rise's roof, he tries several stratagems before achieving his goal. He shouts an introduction, but the wind carries his words off. Ditto for his notes, dispatched via paper airplane and kiteeach lofted beyond the girl's reach. Most daringly, Billy launches himself into the wind, clutching the corners of a billowing red blanket. No luckthe wind not only sweeps him away, but the girl's red hat as well. Deposited on the ground, Billy eyes towering buildings: Portis' dizzying perspective conveys their height. Determinedly trudging against the lashing wind, Billy spies the girl's red hat snagged on shrubbery outside a building called "Crimson Tower." Rushing up, knocking "at the first door on the top floor" Billy finally introduces himself to the girl (who's nameless and nonspeaking throughout). A final spread depicts the pair up on the roof, arms extending shyly along the parapet, below the text's last words: "The Beginning." Portis' crisp compositions pair crayonlike black lines against white, sky blue, red, and gray. The swirling wind appears as raised, shiny lines, sweeping and curling across the cover and many interior spreads. Once Billy's up on the roof with his new friend, though, the wind abates. A simply told, graphically arresting tale. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Billy Hightower lives in a building so tall that the wind is his only companion. One day, a new structure arises nearby, and across the rooftops, Billy notices a girl in a red hat and begins a quest to meet her. He shouts, sends a note folded into a paper airplane, flies a kite, even tries to parachute over, but all of his efforts are thwarted by the jealous wind. Beautifully designed two-page spreads feature pages textured with glossy raised waves to depict the movement of the wind, and muted tones of black, white, blue, and gray are highlighted by a splash of red in each illustration. Varying visual perspectives emphasize the motion described in the text, shifting Billy and the reader from high to low points and inviting us to follow the wind's swirling progress across the pages. Billy's determination wins over the wind's stubbornness, and although the girl remains somewhat mysterious, the final image shows Billy and the girl together on a roof. Rather sweetly, the text proclaims this as "the beginning" rather than the end. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

It's not the characters that are the main draw in Teague's (Franklin's Big Dreams) story—it's the wind, which Portis (Wait) represents with sinuous lines (highlighted with transparent spot gloss) overlaid over big expanses of sky. Billy Hightower lives at the very top of "the world's tallest building," and all he has for company is the wind. (Portis shows him on the roof in a red scarf gazing up at the sky, wavy lines swirling across it.) When a high-rise is built close by and a girl in a red hat appears on its roof, Billy tries all kinds of strategies to meet her—a paper airplane, a kite—but the wind foils every attempt. At last the wind carries Billy to her place, though it's not an easy trip (Billy's town seems ready to challenge Chicago for the title of Windy City). The idea of a friend who's close yet far away provides intrigue, as does the puzzle of how to bridge that distance. The glance the two children exchange on the final page, though, suggests not adventure, but romance. Ages 3–5. (Dec.)

PreS-Gr 1—A budding friendship takes center stage when a boy is intrigued by a girl he sees from across his rooftop. Billy Hightower tries various techniques to communicate with her, but the wind thwarts his efforts at every turn. He attempts to transport himself by blanket, but the wind carries him away. When all efforts fail, the girl's red hat leads him to her apartment complex, where he realizes a formal introduction may serve him best in connecting to his new friend. The wind itself is a major character within both text and illustrations; with spot-gloss texture, the wind is shown swirling along vast open areas as it carries objects used to emphasize personal relationships throughout this dramatic journey. Thick black outlines accentuate each character. The text changes its placement against the page to reflect a shift in movement; words swoop along like a loop in the sky to follow the shifting perspective. Accents of red are found in various signature elements, such as a kite, hat, scarf, and door, which adds a powerful energy. VERDICT This dynamic, gorgeously rendered glimpse into the fledgling bond between two people demonstrates the power of persistence.—Meg Smith, Cumberland County Public Library, Fayetteville, NC