(Bennet 2013) Although Jon Klassen has not been a writer for very long, he has truly captured the imagination of many children throughout the world with his illustrations and animations. He has worked on various films such Coraline and Kung Fu Panda. Some of his popular books he has written include I Want My Hat  and This Is Not My Hat. Many of his motifs come from his love of the forest and the animals that live in it.

            Jon Klassen was boring the 29th of November 1981 in Winnipeg Manitoba. He spent much of his childhood playing in the nature that surrounded his family’s home. Jon Klassen always loved stories, however he never he didn't start to draw until he was in the 2nd grade. From his childhood experiences, he gained a sense of wonder for the world that surrounded him and sought to express his perspective on the world.

            Jon’s I Want My Hat Back tells the story of a bear who has lost his hat. The bear goes from one forest creature after another to ask if they have seen his hat. One page illustrates the interaction between the bear and a defensive rabbit wearing his hat. The rabbit tells the bear that he has not seen his hat. The bear realizes later that he has seen his hat and runs back to the rabbit. The last page illustrates the bear with his hat. However, the rabbit is nowhere to be found. Jon has told children that the bear ate the rabbit. This realization that the rabbit is actually dead has shocked some readers. However, many of the students believe that the rabbit never died. This is due in part because John accidentally painted in illustration of the rabbit and bear standing next to each other in one of the illustrations.

            This is Not my Hat, by Jon Klassen is a clever tale of how a small fish tries to steal a hat from a much larger fish. In the cover page the author introduces the reader to the style of art that he will be using in this book. Jon Klassen predominately uses mixed media of charcoal and water colors to create his translucent illustrations. The book ends are covered in water-colored forests of kelp. The author uses simple sentences to portray the simple minded nature of the small fish. In contrast to the carefree text of the book, the author also illustrates the view of the other the much larger fish. In the first scene of the book the larger fish is asleep. However when he awakes he looks for his hat. With each page turn, the reader can get a sense of the big fish zooming to get its hat back from the smaller fish. I want my hat back the much larger fish realizes that something is awry. The moving bubbles coming from the fish as well as the movement of the sea grass give the reader a sense of movement. Although the picture is one frame of the story, the reader is able to predict with the illustrations of the author what will occur next. Although the tone of the voice is carefree, the illustrations of this book appear to be dark and slightly insidious. the illustrations of this book make it very clear that the larger fish knows who stole his hat and which direction the fish is going The art work of this book is absolutely breathtaking the artwork is a mixture of ink and watercolor. The moral of the story is that one should never steal from someone. This is not my hat is the sequel to I want my hat back. Both books portray a common theme of a larger animal trying to find its hat.

            One of my favorite quotes from Jon is "Drawing is something you teach your brain to do, not your hand." This quote reveals so much of who Jon is as a person and an artist. John is extremely thoughtful and considers the way that his work influences the next generation. He wants the next generation to believe that they are capable of doing great things. I think what he means by this quote is that talent is not necessary to create art. If you put your mind to it, anyone can learn to draw and that is a beautiful thing. Bennett 2013 John sees something in nature that many of us in society soundtrack nice. To him, nature is something that fed him growing up. Johns artwork invited all to use our imagination to guess what is about to happen in the story line. this style of writing is so refreshing, because it allows the reader to become an active participant in the storyline. Jon Klassen has a wonderful way of encouraging others to write as well. In his appearance at the 2013 Nation Book Festival, Jon encouraged teachers to validate children’s work as being just as important as serious books