posted on 06 Feb 2025

Milo’s Hat Trick by Jon Agee

Originally published in 2001, the good people at Scallywag Press have done us all a big favour by reissuing a paperback edition of U.S. author/illustrator, Jon Agee’s charming Milo’s Hat Trick.

Milo – or Milo the Magnificent as he styled himself – was a pretty rubbish magician. Whatever he tried – card tricks, rope tricks, hat tricks – ended in miserable failure and enraged his audience. Perhaps more importantly, they enraged the theatre manager who gave the hapless Milo an ultimatum:

“I’ll give you one more chance. Tomorrow night, you had better pull a rabbit out of your hat – or else.”

So, Milo sets out to catch his rabbit. But it isn’t a rabbit that Milo attracts – it’s a bear! And quite a remarkable bear it is. Milo explains to the bear why he needs a special hat trick and it turns out that the bear can do something quite fantastic. Even better for Milo, the bear agrees to help him with his magic act.

I don’t really want to tell you what amazing trick the bear can do with Milo’s hat because I don’t want to take away the pleasure of reading it for yourselves but, as is always the case, the exciting new partnership of Milo and bear run into a few problems. When Milo loses his hat on the subway train, there’s chaos after it turns up - complete with bear - in a downtown restaurant. Great fun.

But eventually Milo and bear are reunited and their act is a great sensation – wowing audiences and critics across the country. But all good things must come to an end and when bear eventually decides enough is enough, he has one last important lesson to pass on to Milo….

The book has been printed in large format to give Jon Agee’s colourful, blocky pen and watercolour illustrations maximum space to impress – and they certainly do the job. A beautiful book to share with children individually or in groups, the story is inventive and full of laughs – with a storyline that won’t tax the patience of the very youngest.

This is set to be a favourite here at Letterpress. Available now from your independent bookshop – who will be happy to order you a copy if they don’t have it on their shelves.

 

Terry Potter

February 2025