Hats Books

Running into Martha Frankel and grabbing some coffee is one of the fortuitous pleasures in my neck of the woods....the northern Catskills. Her conversation can range from knitting to family to cowboy boots to music and beyond. At turns, she is outrageous, warm, understanding and hysterical. Her gaze is direct and she always connects. It's a trip. If encountering Martha is a trip - this book is a road trip. All the joy, the surprise and the warmth are here and the reader is her sidekick.

She brings intimacy and adventure to her storytelling and I was with her the whole way - could not put this book down. Highly recommended.

Moving with the quick pace born from a background in journalism, Martha Frankel's book is hard to put down. Filled with amusing anecdotes about her hard-partying, gambling family, and her own amazing winning streak at the poker table, the story moves from New York to Atlantic City to Las Vegas and finally to the Hudson Valley where she hunkers down at the computer and loses herself in on-line gambling. Anyone who's spent any time on a barstool or at a poker table will appreciate Frankel's witty and irreverent style. This fast and funny memoir is a truly enjoyable read.

I will be reading this book again just to make sure I did not miss anything. Martha and her family were just like my large Italian family every Sunday getting together. Aunts, uncles, cousins
,lots of food and playing cards who could ask for anything more fun.
Martha has shown a great deal of courage in dealing with her addiction something that could happen to anyone.
I am looking forward to reading more of her books in the future.

Hats and Eyeglasses tells of Martha's journey into the world of poker, beginning with her innocent dabbling in local card games. She did well. With her budding confidence she ranged far and wide in search of more action and bigger games. She was addicted, sure, but it was a good ride and making money.

Then she discovered online gaming, where she was eaten alive. Her talent had allowed her to play well when there were people to be read, across a table. When she found herself playing against a computer in some back room in the Caribbean, she didn't have a chance.

There was no body language to read, no subtleties of expression. Just the odds. Cold, mechanical, and perfectly calculated by her electronic opponent.

Broke and humiliated, she set off on the road to recovery. This is her tale.

Highly recommended

Martha Frankel's book is warm, witty, and wise. This is a book worth taking a gamble on (sorry). It's like spending time with your favorite friend.
Loved it!

very cute book! we love sandra boynton in our house. i don't know about you but i can't help but "sing" these books. i absolutely cannot just read them aloud. that all started with the barnyard dance book. just think "country twang" and you should be able to sing it. they'll get a kick out of it. now my 6 year old sings it to my 1 year old. she's just amazed at "big sis"

I have to admit, I really didn't think my kiddo would go for this book. We checked it out from the library and when I started to read it I thought there would be absolutely no response. Boy was I wrong! Everytime I got to the turkey wearing the wrong thing and said "OOPS!" she burst into giggles. My little one doesn't laugh easily, so I ran out and bought the book for our own at-home library. Not my favorite Boyton book, but it makes my 15 month old laugh, so we read it everyday.

This book is cute. It is one of the first things my children laugh at. You know before your baby really learns to laugh at funny stuff, if this book is read to them with the right enthusiasm it can bring a true laughter at such a young age. Live laugh learn. Life is worth it.

My daughter has loved this book from day one, as the silly rooster putting its clothes on wrong sends her into fits of laughter. She memorized the book, and was reading it to us the other night, and when she got to the word "hat", she spelled it out! It's the first time she ever spelled a word! She also spelled out "oops" on every page! This book has held her interest, helped her practice her colors, encouraged her to read and helped her spell her first word -- a true winner!

I bought this on a whim for my 18 month old grandson, having never heard of Sandra Boynton. Ok, so I've lived abroad for like EVER, and this is our first grandchild ... long story. But I cannot praise this book highly enough -- as our previous reviewer mentioned, it is belly-laughs galore for our little man! (You should hear how he cracks up when we embellish the Oops! to "Oopsie Poopsie!!" Hilarious!) This is a hands down family favorite, and should be required "reading" for all us adults as well. Heaven knows, we can all use a good laugh! Enjoy!!!!!

My read this to me and I still remember it still almost 25 years later.

My father remembers reading this book when he was a child and now my daughter has become a fan. It's an adorable book with a simple story. I recommend it.

Seeing this book for sale brought me back to when I was a kid. I have the hardcover from back in the late 70's. After all this time it sticks out a one of my favorites. If you have the chance I would definitely pick up a copy.

This is a great book for kids, even young ones around 2.5 years old. It's an engaging story and my son loves the part where the man wakes up to find his hats gone, and looks up and sees all the monkeys wearing the hats! He asks me to read it everynight, and remembers the phrase "caps for sale."

I loved this book as a child and I love sharing it with my children.

Mike Cunningham pictures are outstanding! Wonderful book to give to someone as a gift.

K.B.

The photographs of these women and their remarkable hat is fascinating. I really like the interviews with the ladies, and the unique stories of their lives and times.

My only disappointment was that the picture are not in color. I would love to have been able to see those plumes and feathers in all their glory!

Orginally, I purchased this book as a gift and after browsing through it, I decided I had to have a copy of my very own. The photography in this book is excellent. The photographs are shot in black and white in order to focus on the church hats. The stories behind the hats are amazingly beautiful. I will never look at a black woman in a church hat the same ever again. I learned that each hat has a story that must be told.

I love to wear hats. I grew up in the South. My Mom wore hats to church every Sunday. She absolutely loved hats! Therefore, when I became of age I too became a hat person! It was like a family tradition. All the girls in the family dressed in hats on Sunday.
I love hats so much, I wear them every day of the week. During the week I usually wear cowboy hats or something sporty. However, on Sunday, it the dressy going to church hat. And if you are into hats, you will know what I mean about the, 'church hats'.
Being raised in the South, you were'nt completely dressed when going to church until you put on your hat and heels. To this day I do not go to church without a hat.
This book, Crowns, really takes me back. It's a wonderful book. It is on a table in my home and it makes for great conversation with visitors.
FANTASTIC BOOK!!!!!


Joyce Marshall-Hamblet

A woman's hat speaks long before she utters a word. So it says on the inside flap of this beautiful book of black and white photos of Black Women in Church Hats. From the first photo of Beth Hopkins and her mother to the last photo Sanclary Saunders with her hat, "without no veil," we are treated to respectful photos from the artful lens of Michael Cunningham.

Mr. Cunningham's artistic eye is what really makes this book. Well, his subjects do too and Craig Marberry's text adds to the book, but it's really Cunningham's artistry that makes this one of the best contemporary photography books I've seen in a long time.

The women pictured in this book all have hattitude and believe me, it's a good thing to have and it's catching, I know, because after spending a delightful couple hours reading the stories that accompany the photos, with Billie Holiday playing in the background, I knew I didn't have any good hats and I have a lot of hats, baseball hats, floppy hats and a safari hat or two, but nothing really cool. But I'm gonna get a cool hat or two. Every woman owes herself a cool hat.

Reviewed by Stephanie Sane

This is a wonderful story -- both my daughter and I love it. My daughter chooses it as the book she wants to check out on "library day" at her school time and time again! It is charming, beautifully written and illustrated, and includes important lessons for children (and adults).

My 81 year old mother is an avid fan of all Jan Karon's novels including the Mitford Cookbook & Patches of Godlight (all purchased from Amazon). I purchased "Miss Fannie's Hat" from Amazon to give her even though it is really a children's book. The message the book contains is ageless and worth a read, no matter how young or old you are! It is a beautifully illustrated book and one we intend giving to the first great-granddaughter to be born into the family. Regards Glenda from South Australia.

The theme of this book - that we are truly happiest when we give away that which we value most in order to help others, and that we get back what we give away ten times over - touches me each time I read this!

This is an adorable book that is a must for every little girl. It is my daughter's favorite. We have given it as a gift several times. The story is so personal and beautiful. We love to give voices to all the people which makes it even more real. The story is so lovely and the ending is a delight that makes us smile and cry with joy everytime we read it. A perfect story. Thank you!

My granddaughter loved the story and especially following it up with the reuseable stickers and storyboard. She still talks about Miss Fanny every time she puts on a hat for dress-ups.

The Story of the Little Mole is incredibly well-written. (The German original is even better.) The illustrations are charming and hilarious.

I am 21, and my friends and I get a hoot out of this book. In fact, this book makes a great gift for friends of any age who have a sense of humor and an appreciation for the odd things in life.

My kids and I love this book. We laughed so hard the first time we read it. Very cute and cleaver. Admit it...all kids like talking about poop and this is a tasteful little story about it.

I love this book. It was shared with my 2 1/2 yr old pre-school class by a parent. They loved it. I couldn't stop laughing the entire story. I recommend this to anyone who has a sense of humor and who wants their children/students to develop a sense of humor.

My 4 yr old daugter found this wierd book in the library 1 day and I could not stop the laughter. I now have my own copy and several family members who have read have ordered as well. Great book. but not for the faint of heart.

I've had this book in Korean for quite some time now. I would routinely translate it for my friends to their great amusement. The Korean version is much more frank in the subject matter, though. The title is literally "Who pooped on my head?" with numerous explicit jokes as to the material at hand. When I saw the English title of "The Story of the Little Mole who went in Search of Whodunit" along with all the other euphemisms within the book itself that allude to poop, but won't outright say it, I was not only disappointed in the book, but also in the antiseptic American way of life.

At any rate, not the fault of the author. I'm sure the editors made him do it. Still a great book that my daughter has loved for a long time.

This is a classic Seuss book for older children - it's dedicated to a girl 90 months old, which puts her at 7 and a half, my guess is that this book is intended to be read for children 7 years old or so.

Bartholomew Cubbins is struck by a terrible misfortune - every time he takes off his hat to the king, it is replaced by another. The king gets on his high horse about the subject, but everything turns out fine in the end when the king buys the final, majestic hat and puts it on his own head.

My nieces like this book quite a bit.

This is a great book for kids ages 4-5 all the way through 8-10. It has a catchy story line about a boy of that age, his problem, how he plans to solve it, and finally the real solution. An upbeat read for kids these days. And, it's by Dr. Seuss.

I'd been searching for this book to read to my 2 year-old son. I remember just loving it and was sure he would. He does. It's just delightful to hear his astonishment every time another hat appears on Bartholomew's head. It's a must read for children of all ages.

This book left a strong impression on me as a child. One of only a few books that I remembered vividly and was anxious to get for my own young boys (who of course, loved it).

The story is great because it keeps building and building. There is a little violence (threatening to cut off Bartholomew's head), but that only made it more exciting for me as a young boy to read it.

I bought this book because it brought back such good memories of my child's childhood and my own as well. I look forward to sharing it with my grandchildren someday. This is a great book to read!

A wonderful product! The instructions are simple, precise, and complete to make all the projects in the book. The quality of the included items is very good. I am yet to find a similar quality yarn where I live, southeast US. I was a newbie to crochet and could learn very easily from the book and also help my ten year old get the hang of it pretty soon. She's made the jewelery bag, flowers, bath bag so far and is gifting it to her friends for new year! Buy it, you won't regret it.

This book is super helpful. I made four of the projects so far with little trouble. Sometimes when you get how to books you're confused and have questions that the book can't answer, but this was not the case. I have never picked up a crochet hook in my life and I was able to create a finished project about an hour after reading the instructions. I'm so excited that this was the first book I picked up. I think it's super easy to follow and I'll be moving on to make more complicated projects in no time.

I would 100% recommend this book to anyone who has never crocheted before and would like to get started. It's a great foundation.

I bought this book at a book fair at a hospitial, because at apperance it looked like it would have lots of complicate directions,but I was wrong! I sat down and learned to how to crochet with in a week. I didn't use the yarn that came with the book because it unraveled with me.

Great book for a beginner! The projects are super easy!

If I can crochet using this book, then ANYONE can. The directions are clear and concise. I got it yesterday and am already well on my way. Well worth the money especially considering I was going to take a class for $40 and it didn't even include hook, yarn etc.

My Mom was using this with my girls, and she has crocheted for decades. She was very impressed and said she learned a few things herself. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. We use it for birthday gifts now for girls 8 and older. Everyone has loved it.

My 3-year-old loves this book and so do I. I've been reading it to her for over a year and it's always been a favorite. It has great illustrations and a clever, original story.

Jan Brett's story, "The Hat", is a real wonderous book! This book is a wonderful well-written story! With breath-taking pictures, and a beautiful story line, this book will have you smiling all the way through it!
In the story, a little hedgehog named Hedgie finds a stocking on the ground. Thinking it is a stylish winter cap, he wears it on his head, but it gets stuck on his sharp pointy quills! He goes around to show off his newfound hat, but gets laughed at by the animals each time. Poor miserable Hedgie goes off to be by himself. When the "hat's" owner retrieves it back from Hedgie, a wonderous and helarious thing happens! You'll have to read the book to find out!
The realistic pictures and side drawngs complete this wonderful picture book. For ages 6 and up, this book is another one of Brett's adored picture books that will have you reading it over and over again!

Love Jan Brett... This one actually has two stories going, one in the main pages and one in the insets along the side, then they come together in the end. Fabulous!

I love Jan Brett's work: A modern day Shirley Hughes, I think. 'The Hat' is as beautiful and charming stories as any of her stories - and with wintertime feel-good-factor.

Get The Mitten instead, if you don't own it yet. This one is a little on the tedious side. You can see exactly where it's going from the very beginning and it doesn't have the peek-a-boo/sneeze joke in it that my daughter loves so much in The Mitten. To be honest, this is one of those books we have in our bookcase for variety and one of those ones where I skip parts just to get to the end of it.

This is a beautiful story and the illustrations are top-notch. Ella is a sweet little elephant who engages young readers. I recommend the whole series, particularly this one and Ella Sets the Stage. My six year old son returns to these books over and over again.

This is a very cute story and I look forward to reading it to my daughter.

I really love the "Ella" series... The books are nice and sweet, and presents a marvelously imagined, self-contained world that will strongly appeal to little kids. It has a similar feel to the "Curious George" and "Babar" books, except without all the weird, disturbing undertones that make those classics a bit troublesome. A great choice for some fun books that you don't have to worry about. (ReadThatAgain)

I have a five and a seven year old and they love everything ELLA. The best part is, so do I. This story, as well as ELLA TAKES THE CAKE is a gem. The message really resonates with both my children and me...I get teary at the end. So many children's books are just silly or entertaining. This one is both but also very literary. I love the allusion to the golden rule and the lesson about staying true to yourself. The illustrations are gorgeous, too! I highly reccommend this book.

Originally, my daughter borrowed this book from the library. She likes elephants and thought Ella was cute. We fell in love with Ella and her story, so we purchased our own copy...well Santa Claus did. My girls are 4 & 6, they both love the story.