BLOG TOUR: GUEST POST by Angela Shelton, Author of TILDA PINKERTON'S MAGICAL HATS BY THE RED TRACTOR MAILBOX

I'd like to thank my guest blogger today, Angela Shelton, author of Tilda Pinkerton's Magical Hats. I reviewed Tilda Pinkerton's Magical Hats: By the Red Tractor Mailbox (Book One) in yesterday's post, and announced a giveaway contest that runs until July 31 (get your entries in!). Today, Ms. Shelton talks a little bit more about how you can use dress up play--particularly with fun hats--to not only encourage creativity and self-expression, but also to teach the alphabet. 

Teach the Alphabet and New Vocabulary Through Dress Up! 

 Tilda Pinkerton’s Magical Hats is written to expand the minds of little ones (K-3rd grade readers) and get them thinking about bigger words and ideas! 
Kids are WAY smarter than you think and a great way to get their little brains working is with dress up time! That goes for boys and girls, since they can dress up as anything from a princess to a cowboy.  
The easiest way to play dress up is with hats! Shoes are fun too but can be a tad dangerous with the little ones trying to walk a grownup’s footwear. Hats are another story and tell who you are immediately as far as the imagination of dress up goes. 
I happen to collect hats so I have a huge selection for little ones to choose from. (I keep the very delicate ones packed away from sticky hands though.) 
When a little boy puts on a cowboy hat for example and you say, “Yeeehaw, you’re a cowboy! That starts with C. C for cowboy!” It totally and completely gets that little one excited. You will shortly hear them yell out, “C is for cowboy!”  
If you don’t have a huge collection of hats, you can hit your local thrift store or make your own hats out of construction paper, glue and tape and add in some glitter. Here’s a list of hats that show up in the Tilda books. 

A is for Aviator Hat.  
You can fly high in the sky with this hat!  

B is for Baseball Cap.  
This hat helps you play really well. 

C is for Cowboy Hat. 
Yeehaw!  You can ride really fast in this hat. 


D is for Disco Hat. 
You can dance dance dance with this hat. 

E is for Easter Bonnet.  
This hat has flowers and butterflies. 


F is for Fireman’s Hat. 
Save the day and put out dangerous fires wearing this hat! 

G is for Goofy Hat that makes you laugh.  
Tilda’s hat has a fish tank in it for giggles. 

H is for Helmet to keep you safe. 
Where your helmet when you are riding very fast. 

I is for Intelligent Cap. 
This is a great thinking cap. It is fun to be smart.   

J is for Jester Cap.  
It has bells on the end to ring when you do something silly. 

K is for the King Crown.    
You can wear this and sit on a throne.  

L is for Lace Hat. 
You look very pretty in this hat.  

M is for Matador Hat.  
This one is shaped like a bull’s head with the horns for bull fighting.   

N is for Nurse Cap. 
Bandages don’t hurt when you have this hat on.  

O is for Opera Hat.  
Sing a song when you have this on! 

P is for a Peaked Cap. 
Military officers and police officers wear these.     

Q is for the Queen’s Crown. 
You can wear this and sit on a throne.

R is for Robin Hood Hat. 
This one has a long feather in the back. 

S is for Stocking Cap.  
This long hat has a pompom at the end. 

T is for Top Hat.  
You can wear this hat to go on a walk or to lead a circus. 


U is for Underwater Swimming Cap.  
You can swim with this hat on. 

V is for Visor. 
This is to shade your eyes. 

W is for Wizard’s Hat. 
This very long hat sparkles with magic stardust. 

X is for the Xylophone Musical Hat. 
This hat makes music when you walk. You can be a whole band! 

Y is for Your Favorite Hat!  
Which hats do you like best?  

Z is for Zebra Striped Nighttime Hat.  

Sometimes you need to wear this one to fall asleep.