From Amazon.com
"Miss Fannie has lots of hats. And each one is her favorite." At age 99, Miss Fannie has much history--and even more hats. She was wearing her green velour hat when she witnessed a terrible flood in 1916. Her wide-brimmed felt hat with the gleaming black feather reminds her of the hawk she caught to keep it from killing her hens and biddies. But her pink straw hat with silk roses truly is her favorite. For 35 years she's worn this hat to church every Easter Sunday, and "it always makes her feel brand-new, like Easter itself." She's not the only one who thinks it's special. When her handsome young preacher asks her to donate a hat to the church auction, Miss Fannie knows what she has to do. She takes a deep breath, thinks of her favorite verse from the Bible, "With God, all things are possible," and wraps up her pink straw hat. But she doesn't realize just how much
is possible until the Easter Sunday after the auction.
Jan Kuron, popular author of the bestselling series for adults, The Mitford Years, as well as the children's book, Jeremy: The Tale of an Honest Bunny, crafts a pleasing story of a charming woman (based on Kuron's own grandmother) who reaps the sweet rewards of her generosity. Toni Goffe's warm, cartoonish illustrations will make readers smile. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter
This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
In her first book for children, Karon (Out to Canaan) uses her own grandmother as model for the good-natured Miss Fannie, famous for the dazzling, wide-brimmed hats she wears to church each Sunday. Her most celebrated is a pink straw hat with silk roses, which she has worn to services on 35 consecutive Easters. When the preacher asks her to donate one of her bonnets for the church auction, Miss Fannie asks the Lord for guidance in deciding which one to give away. Not surprisingly, she selects her prized pink chapeau and her sacrifice is rewarded handsomely, as the item fetches a high enough sum to make needed repairs to the church and bankroll the planting of beds of dazzling pink roses on the grounds. In a rather sentimental conclusion, Karon notes that when people view the beds of flowers, "what they're really seeing is Miss Fannie's hat." Animated by Goffe's (Just in Case You Ever Wondered) pastel-toned, cartoon art, this cheerful story offers a worthy message while avoiding a didactic tone. Children will delight in finding (tucked into a pocket on the back endpaper) a coated sheet featuring outdoor and indoor scenes as a backdrop for Miss Fannie, for whom they can use reusable stickers to dress her in an array of outfits and millinery. All ages.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
