The Boy, the Dollar and the Wonderful Hat

Ted McGee is an associate professor of English at St. Jerome’s
College, University of Waterloo.

This is the story of a bright young entrepreneur. When Benno’s father
drops him off at the fair, he reminds him that “one dollar will not go
far, so spend it wisely.” Exploring the grounds before spending a
cent, Benno observes not only exciting sights and sounds of the fair but
also the efforts of people to find relief from a scorching summer day.
He buys a hat that proves repeatedly useful, for he lends it to
salespeople and ticket takers in exchange for a meal, midway rides, and
pony rides. At the end of the day, he even lets his father wear his
wonderful hat in exchange for a piggyback ride home. A strong pattern of
repetition drives home the moral of this story of enlightened
self-interest.

San Murata’s illustrations record the main exchanges between Benno
and other characters. Simple in design and bold in color, the pictures
help to explain why Benno was wide-eyed with excitement as he toured the
fairgrounds, clearly a gathering place for people of many racial and
ethnic backgrounds. There is also, it seems, something fantastical about
the fair: in the illustrations, neither perspective nor realism is
faithfully portrayed (e.g., two tents, side by side, with flags blowing
in opposite directions). For all this, the pictures do not add much to
the work; the chromatic flatness and the lack of detail give the (too)
vast fairground a wasteland quality. In Helmer’s story, Benno is
likable, observant, smart, and finally, quite happy, but the visual
representations do neither him nor his world full justice. The story
remains a useful one, however, for teaching children inventive problem
solving.