Tiara’s Hat Parade: Activities + Read Aloud

TIARA’S HAT PARADE: PICTURE BOOK ACTIVITIES

Best Users: School Librarians, Educators, Home Learners
Best Audience: Children Grades 00-04

There are so many opportunities to celebrate this book! Share it during Black History Month or Women’s History Month (with a focus on Black milliners), on Easter (with a focus on hats), on Mother’s Day (to celebrate Tiara and her momma), and/or during Black Business Month in August (to celebrate Momma’s hat making business). It is also the Picture Book of the Month for March 2021 Read Across America!

READ ALOUD FROM THE ANNENBERG CENTER

ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES

In the picture book Tiara’s Hat Parade, Tiara’s momma must close her beloved hat shop and take a job as the art teacher at Tiara’s school. To help her momma recover her joy, Tiara instigates a hat-making art class and then a exposition that shows momma the community impact of her artistry. Make hats and explore African American milliners with these activities.

Tiara’s Hat Parade: Educator’s Guide
Educator Kesha Grant offers Language Arts, Art, and Social Studies lessons including the study of Black milliners like Mae Reeves, Mildred Blount, Vanilla Beane, and Grace Bustill Douglass.
DOWNLOAD Tiara's Hat Parade: Educator's Guide (PDF)

Tiara’s Hat Parade: Hat Craft & Discussion Questions
Here We Read, a project connecting people with diverse and inclusive books, created these hat making crafts and Discussion Questions.
DOWNLOAD Tiara's Hat Parade: Hat Craft & Discussion Questions (PDF)

Tiara’s Hat Parade: Paper Dolls
From illustrator Nicole Tadgell, comes the opportunity to explore the colors and patterns of Momma’s hats.
DOWNLOAD Tiara's Hat Parade: Paper Dolls (PDF)
DOWNLOAD Tiara's Hat Parade: Coloring Pages (PDF)

Illustration Demo with Nicole Tadgell
Watch a video presentation (Facebook Live: 27 minutes) by brilliant illustrator Nicole Tadgell on the making of Tiara’s Hat Parade.

Images © Nicole Tadgell

Explore other Curious City engagement tools featuring Kelly Starling Lyons’ books.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Tiara’s Hat Parade
By Kelly Starling Lyons
Illustrated by Nicole Tadgell
Published by Albert Whitman & Company
ISBN-13: 9780807579459
Age Range: 4-8 Years

Tiara has a gift for storytelling; her momma has a gift for making hats. When a new store opens that sells cheaper hats, Momma has to set her dreams aside, but Tiara has an idea for helping Momma’s dreams come true again.

Picture Book of the Month for March 2021 Read Across America
Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) 2020 ‘Best of the Best’ Booklist
Penn GSE’s Best Books for Young Readers of 2020
Timeout for Black Lives Feature (Forthcoming)

“With this touching story of tradition and can-do spirit, Lyons interweaves an important element of the African American experience into a well-told story…A cheerful story about a spirited girl who saves the day. What could be better than that?”
—Kirkus Reviews
.
“Endearing…The language is inviting and warm, and the characters reminiscent of people you might know from your neighborhood or family. Tadgell’s joyous, expressive watercolors bestow a fun and light-hearted quality to the story and bring Tiara’s world realistically to life.”
—Booklist
.
“A delightful, multigenerational celebration of hats, family and community, with bold, bright illustrations parading across each page.”
—James E. Ransome, award-winning illustrator whose books include Aunt Flossie’s Hats (and Crab Cakes Later)
.
“Kelly Starling Lyons masterfully weaves the language of joy, pride and family love.”
—Jaki Shelton Green, Poet Laureate of North Carolina

THE GIVEAWAY WINNERS

Curious City gave away 22 individual hardcover copies of Tiara’s Hat Parade to teachers, librarians, and literacy folks in January 2021. Our thanks to Albert Whitman & Company for the generous donation!