Meet Miss Fancy

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Description

A charming and significant story set prior to the Civil Rights Movement about a boy who finds a way to challenge segregation laws. A charming and significant story set prior to the Civil Rights Movement about a boy who finds a way to challenge segregation laws. Frank has always been obsessed with elephants. He loves their hosepipe trunks, tree stump feet, and swish-swish tails. So when Miss Fancy, the elephant, retires from the circus and moves two blocks from his house to Avondale Park, he's over the moon! Frank really wants to pet her. But Avondale Park is just for white people, so Frank is not allowed to see Miss Fancy. Frank is heartbroken but he doesn't give up- instead he makes a plan! Frank writes to the City Council so his church can host a picnic in the park, and he can finally meet Miss Fancy. All of his neighbors sign the letter, but when some protest, the picnic is cancelled and Frank is heartbroken all over again. Then Miss Fancy escapes the zoo, and it's up to Frank to find her before she gets hurt.

Reviews

Praise for Meet Miss Fancy:
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
A Booklist Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth
A 2021-2022 Golden Sower Award Nominee
A 2021-2022 Missouri Show Me Readers Book Award Nominee
A Volunteer State Book Award Nominee 2020-2021
An ILA-CBC Teachers Choices Pick 2020
A Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Pick 2020
An Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award Nominee 20192020

Meet Miss Fancy should be savored for its joyous, vibrant renderings of Avondales African American community and families, so full of movement and light that they often resemble stills from an animated film. This is a gem of a story. Booklist, starred review

Create[s] a window into the Jim Crow South while also telling a compelling tale.Horn Book

[An] introduction to segregationthat may snatch at kids hearts and lead to more exploration.BCCB

Quality storytelling and beautiful art allow a likable protagonist to shine. Kirkus

Author Bio

Irene Latham is the author of more than a dozen current and forthcoming books, including two novels for children- Leaving Gee's Bend and Don't Feed the Boy. Winner of the 2016 ILA Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award, her poetry books for children include Dear Wandering Wildebeest, When the Sun Shines on Antarctica, Fresh Delicious and Can I Touch Your Hair (co-written with Charles Waters). Irene lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her family where she does her best to "live her poem" every single day by laughing, playing the cello, and walking in the woods. A renowned fine artist, John Holyfield lives in Fairfax Station, Virgina.