Happy Birthday, Madame Chapeau

Andrea Beaty is the author of When Giants Come to Play, Iggy Peck, Architect, Rosie Revere, Engineer, Secrets of the Cicada Summer, Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies and Dorko the Magnificent. David Roberts has illustrated many children's books, including Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer. From a young age David had an interest in fashion and often made clothes for his sister's dolls and indeed his sister. So much so that he decided to study fashion design at college. Here he developed a particular interest in hats and made them for family and friends before taking a job with milliner Stephen jones in London. Eventually though he found his true calling of illustration but he always maintained an interest in fashion and it plays a big part of his illustrative style. He continues to make hats when time permits and so he was delighted to work on Madame Chapeau for Andrea Beaty. David was inspired by the creativity of Isabella Blow when creating the look for Madame Chapeau and the book features many of the extraordinary hats that she was photographed wearing. Hats designed by Philip Treacy, Stephen Jones and Elsa Schiaparelli all feature in the book along with some of David's own designs and some classics like the famous Derby worn by Charlie Chaplin and the crumpled top hat worn by mime artist Marcel Marceau.

In a three-story house with a shop down below, lived the world's finest hat maker, Madame Chapeau. Like the Lady herself, all her hats were refined. Brilliantly singular.

One of a kind. So begins Andrea Beaty's new rhyming picture book about a hat maker adored by her friends and neighbours. On her birthday, Madame Chapeau wears the perfect bonnet made by her late husband.

But on the way to her birthday dinner, a crow snatches her hat and flies away with it, leaving Mme. Chapeau sans bonnet. As she chases the crow, everyone around her begins to follow her, offering their own hats for her to wear.

None of them are quite right for Madame Chapeau, though, until one special little girl offers her a hat "knitted with love and [her] best birthday wish." What appears "rather odd" to Mme Chapeau at first is actually the perfect gift for her. A delightful story about love, community and friendship, with some fancy hats and a birthday thrown in for good measure.