What Readers Are Saying

I opened Jana Vodesil-Baruffi’s The Adventure Hat hopeful that it might be good. I wasn’t prepared for just how deeply it would move me.

There is a rare kind of magic in these pages. Joy, tranquillity and a beautiful sense of recognition seem to radiate from the story, while the illustrations invite you to linger over every detail. More than once, I found myself laughing aloud in sheer delight — not simply at what I was seeing, but at the realisation that the illustrations were telling the story with every bit as much intelligence and emotional force as the words themselves.

What struck me most is the book’s understanding of wonder: that extraordinary childhood ability to transform the ordinary into something limitless. Its message never feels laboured or instructive. Instead, it emerges naturally, with warmth, imagination and a lightness of touch that is surprisingly difficult to achieve.

The finest children’s books perform a small miracle: they speak to a child without ever speaking down to them, while quietly reminding the adult beside them of something they may have forgotten. The Adventure Hat does exactly that.

This is not simply a beautiful book to read to a child. It is a book to keep, to return to, and, I suspect, to pass down. It filled my heart in a way I genuinely hadn’t expected.

An enchanting debut — tender, intelligent, visually captivating and full of wonder. The Adventure Hat deserves a place beside the books we remember from our own childhoods.

Dr Clara Dibona, mum of three children

“ It is a beautiful children’s story that is very well written and structured by the author.

I felt drawn in from the outset.

I can imagine children enjoying the ever-gathering nature and pace of the puppy’s adventure.

The author clearly has a great “feel” for the imaginative mindsets of children.”

Norman Aisbett, West Australian newspaper journalist and former Australian Journalist of The Year.

“The story’s excellent structure has a building sense of movement and excitement with a constant -- “What’s going to happen next?”

The pace of the story is very good, so it doesn’t get bogged down. The language is important here. The story flows freely and the chosen words evoke that sense of movement.

There are also elements of repetitiveness in the language, which is fine, because it helps to keep children involved.

I also like that as well as being an adventure story, it is also a story of exploration – with a secret at the end. Kids should love this.”

Mr Don Barba, renowned WA School Principal.

The Adventure Hat is a delightful children’s book filled with imagination and adventure. The story is engaging and encourages young readers to explore, dream and see where their imagination can take them. The gorgeous illustrations bring the story to life and make every page a joy to look at. A beautiful book to read and enjoy together.

Amber O’Keefe mother of 3 children 

The  Adventure Hat is a beautifully illustrated story book for young children and their parents. The story is narrated by the curious and devoted to his human patents dog Brooky the Brave, whose world is full of wonder and adventures.

The author and illustrator Jana Vodesil-Baruffi manages to capture the reader's attention immediately with the easy and well flowing narrative and the beaufiful illustrations. The messages to the young readers are simple and powerful - be brave, work in a team and dont be afraid to explore the world around. There is always an adventure waiting to happen just around the corner, you just need to be on the lookout for it.

This small book will keep children exploring the illustrations and the adventures of its cute and colourful characters for a long time as they will inevitably fall in love with Brooky, Lisa and the other four legged adventurers. The book is one of the best presents a child could ever receive.

Daniela Ratcheva