For Sarah and Susan, a visit to their great-great-aunt Flossie is a literal and figurative feast. After tea and cookies, and before crabcakes, they are permitted to look through Aunt Flossie's prodigious collection of hats and try on their favorites. "Each hat has its story," says Aunt Flossie, as she relates tales of the old days--the big Baltimore fire, the parade at the end of WW I and, best of all, a story the girls can help tell because they are in it. This is an affecting portrait of a black American family and of the ways in which shared memories can be a thread, invisible yet strong, that ties generations together. Howard's ( Chita's Christmas Tree ) quiet, sure telling is well matched by Ransome's ( Do Like Kyla ) art--elegant, expressive oil paintings that convey warmth, joy, tenderness and love. Ages 3-6. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.