The Red Hat 

Billy Hightower spends his whole life alone in a skyscraper high above a big city. Then one day, a skyscraper is built next door and a girl moves in. Could she be a friend? But every time Billy tries to reach out to her, the wily Wind gets in his way Can Billy find a way to outsmart the Wind and make a new friend, or will he be swept away?

Reviews

“Just the right amount of detail and drama...”
—The New York Times 

“Exquisite suspense . . . a charming early valentine.”
—The Boston Globe 

“A simply told, graphically arresting tale.”
—Kirkus

“This dynamic, gorgeously rendered glimpse into the fledgling bond between two people demonstrates the power of persistence.”
—School Library Journal, starred review

“Teague’s rhythmical and unadorned text is fleshed out by Portis’s 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.”
—Horn Book

 “…artful illustrations…make readers feel the power of the wind, and the artist's marvelously varied perspectives on the city are suitably dizzying.”
—Shelf Awareness

“The last words, ‘The Beginning’ deliver mightily on the exquisite suspense of the previous pages, giving a happy ending to this charming early valentine.”
—The Boston Globe



Honors

CBC Ninth Annual Children’s Choice Book Awards Finalist
2016 New York Book Show