Bagel's Lucky Hat by Hector Mumbly Ages 4-8 40 pages Chronicle September 2007 Hardcover     It’s time for bed, and Bagel the dog and Becky the cat are following their bedtime routine of brushing their teeth when Bagel suddenly realizes that he has lost his lucky hat. In an effort to help, Becky encourages Bagel to think back over his day and recall where he was, whom he spoke to, and what he did. Bagel begins to relive his day with Becky, but the encounters he describes don’t sound anything like a normal day to Becky. Bagel recalls a non-existent stream at the edge of the park where he and Becky play. In that stream, Bagel tries to convince Becky, he leaned over to speak to the fish and his lucky hat fell into the stream. As it floated quickly away, Bagel jumped for and landed in his upturned hat. Floating downstream led him to a vast meadow where he met a flock of birds that flew him into the sky - with his lucky hat. Landing near a cave entrance, he followed the sound of a low rumble and discovered an underground laboratory. All of these encounters are unbelievable to Becky the cat until an unexpected visitor arrives. The simple drawings in this book will appeal to young readers. The colors are muted browns, grays and turquoise, but they work well in this story. The simple characters of Bagel and Becky will become favorites with this age group. This is an excellent title to read just for fun, especially aloud.     web reviews   Joyce Rice/2007 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)