Miz Fannie Mae's Fine New Easter Hat

Written by Melissa Milich
Illustrated by Yong Chen
Little, Brown, 1997
ISBN 0-316-57159-8

A picture book for ages 5-9. Full color illustrations in watercolor. 32 pages.

Book Summary: Miz Fannie Mae's husband and daughter want to surprise her with a new Easter hat. When they find a beautiful hat draped with lace, flowers, fruit, and a tiny nest of speckled eggs, they know it has got to be the finest Easter hat in all of Meridian City. But little do they know just how truly special it is--the whole family is in for a big surprise when Miz Fannie Mae wears her new hat to church and the eggs suddenly hatch!

[Publishers Weekly] Debut illustrator Chen makes a shining first impression with cheery, realistic watercolors of old-time country scenes and Sunday clothes. His paintings give a sense of place and community to Milich's inviting tale of an African American family and a surprising Easter miracle. Large-scale pictures emphasize the emotions of the sweet-tempered young narrator, Tandy, who with her jovial Daddy rides all the way into town in their horse-drawn wagon to select a fancy new hat for Mama. The straw bonnet, brighter than everything around it, is resplendent with lace and netting and topped with fruit, flowers and four speckled eggs. This final decoration gives the story a fetching spin and a pleasantly unanticipated ending. Milich (Can't Scare Me!) provides Tandy with a sharp-sighted insouciance: her Daddy has "hands like bread baked too long" and the hat worn by a fellow churchgoer resembles "a flying saucer ready for takeoff."... Read More.

[Easter is the celebration of new life] At Easter, we celebrate the earth’s new year of growth, after the cold, dark days of winter. Eastre, the goddess of spring, gave the Easter festival its name and favorite animal, the rabbit. The rabbit, or hare, represents love, fertility, and growth. Many people around the world have a day to celebrate the arrival of spring. Read More.