Nicole Tadgell

Tiara's mother Tracy Rose makes the most wonderful hats - but her millinery is forced out of business when a new, cheaper store opens up nearby, and she goes back to work teaching art. Tiara sees that Momma's hats brought happiness to everyone - maker and wearers alike - and figures out a way to bring Tracy Rose Millinery back by making hats in art class and having a hat parade.

Back matter includes an author's note and mini-biographies of three famous Black milliners. The endpapers are flat-out gorgeous illustrations of all kinds of unique hats.… (más)

This book is the story of Dede and her family, poor African American sharecroppers working for a Caucasian landlord. The family dreams of owning their own land, but it’s hard to save up the money. Dede works hard shining shoes, her family sells cotton, her mother sells dresses, and her father sells furniture. Dede does a kind deed for a stranger, and their fortunes change, allowing them to pay off their debts and finally buy their own farm in Kansas.

The story was very realistic, but it didn’t seem as cultural as I expected. The story is one I’ve heard many times, usually about poor white farmers who want to have their own land. This book paints a very pretty picture of a time when things were very hard, and an African American family would not have been treated as kindly as this one was, and though I know we want to look toward the ideal, it’s also important to have historical accuracy. I guess my main issue was that the book could have been about anyone. The author could have put any race or ethnicity into the book and it wouldn’t have changed the story at all.
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