Aunt Flossie's Hats (and Crab Cakes Later)

January 30, 1995
PW called this picture book ``an affecting portrait of a black American family,'' also praising Ransome's ``elegant, expressive'' oil paintings. Ages 3-6.

March 4, 1991
For Sarah and Susan, a visit to their great-great-aunt Flossie is a literal and figurative feast. After tea and cookies, and before crabcakes, they are permitted to look through Aunt Flossie's prodigious collection of hats and try on their favorites. ``Each hat has its story,'' says Aunt Flossie, as she relates tales of the old days--the big Baltimore fire, the parade at the end of WW I and, best of all, a story the girls can help tell because they are in it. This is an affecting portrait of a black American family and of the ways in which shared memories can be a thread, invisible yet strong, that ties generations together. Howard's ( Chita's Christmas Tree ) quiet, sure telling is well matched by Ransome's ( Do Like Kyla ) art--elegant, expressive oil paintings that convey warmth, joy, tenderness and love. Ages 3-6.

May 1, 1991
K-Gr 2- On Sunday afternoon, two little girls visit their Great-great-aunt Flossie, whose house is full of books, pictures, and "boxes and boxes and boxes of HATS," each of which has a story to go along with it. A woolly winter hat still smelling faintly of smoke was worn by Aunt Flossie when, as a child, she witnessed the great Baltimore fire. The dark blue one with a red feather was perched on her head when, as a young woman, she watched a parade welcoming home black veterans of World War I. These reminiscences paint an interesting portrait of regional African-American history, but the highlight of the book is the girls' favorite story, which features themselves and the day the wind blew Aunt Flossie's best Sunday hat into the river. Based on Howard's memories of her own feisty, 98-year-old aunt, this is a lyrical, entertaining story that rings with authenticity. Ransome's distinguished oil paintings are gorgeous, but frustratingly dark at times. A compelling book that will draw readers back again and again. -Anna DeWind, Milwaukee Public Library

January 1, 1991
On their weekly Sunday afternoon visit, two girls have a tea party with their Aunt Flossie and try on her many hats, each of which comes with a story. Most of the stories involve the history of African-American Baltimore. Ransome's rich, glowing oil paintings present occasional problems of continuity but capture Aunt Flossie's warm relationship with her great-great-nieces.

(Copyright 1991 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)