Charlie Piechart and the Case of the Missing Hat

Book Information
Rating: Excellent
Reading/Interest Level: Preschool, Primary
Author: Eric Comstock and Marilyn Sadler
Illustrator: Eric Comstock
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Year: 2016
ISBN: 9780062370563
Pages: 38

Charlie's friend, Margot, has lost her princess hat that she needs for the school play that night and asks Charlie if he can find it for her. As Charlie and Watson try to solve the mystery of where her hat went, they find many different items that are hat shaped, but none of them fit the description of Margot's princess hat. Then they start to piece together other clues. They follow a wet purple paint and sparkles trail out of the art room to various rooms in the school, eventually ending up in the science lab. There they see a rocket getting ready to launch with Margot's hat as the tip of the rocket! They recover the hat just in time for the play to start.

This book provides a very exciting and creative way of introducing shapes to children. The author covers several shapes in the book, such as cones, spheres, cylinders, and rectangular prisms. Children will enjoy learning about these shapes in the format of an engaging story! Additionally, children will be exposed to the idea that shapes are everywhere around us, which will help them start to observe what shapes they can find in their own environments. The author even adds extension activity ideas at the end of the book, including instructions on how to make a princess hat and a rocket.