A Stitch Through Time

January 10, 2022
A speculative framework allows for an introduction to three Black fashion mavens—seamstress and author Elizabeth Keckley (1818–1907), designer Ann Cole Lowe (1898–1981), and milliner Mildred Blount (1907–1974)—as a Black child, Ava, moves through time with her aunt Jo, a “collector, adventurer, and world traveler.” Opening a wooden chest, Aunt Jo pulls out a quilt crafted from Keckley’s gowns, a dress made by Lowe, and a hat created by Blount, heading with her niece to scenes from their lives as Burke’s didactic prose provides biographical information: “Like Elizabeth Keckley, Ann Cole Lowe designed gowns for famous and wealthy women.” Crumpton offers boldly colored, digitally airbrushed illustrations, featuring figures of varying skin tones in this educational primer centering fashion. Ages 4–7.

December 1, 2021
Ava is finally allowed to open Aunt Jo's mysterious trunk, and what's inside is more magical than anything Ava could've imagined. Ava, a young Black girl, likens her Aunt Jo's house to a "fancy museum with curiosities, oddities, and doodads in every corner." So when Aunt Jo finally gives Ava the key to the trunk she's been eager to explore, she rushes to unlock it. Inside she finds what she thinks is an old blanket--more like a patchwork quilt. Ava learns that the blanket is made of fabric from gowns created by African American dressmaker and fashion designer Elizabeth Keckley. She and Aunt Jo are magically transported to the past, where they observe Keckley's work and see the people she made dresses for, like first lady Mary Todd Lincoln. Together, they learn about two other African American modistes of a bygone era: fashion designer Ann Cole Lowe and milliner Mildred Blount. The bold, colorful illustrations are eye-catching and a highlight of the book. The information about the historical figures is presented in a way that feels disconnected from the rest of the story. The narrator's identity is ambiguous, which is also confusing; the illustrations suggest that Aunt Jo is the narrator, yet the text lacks quotation marks. The book manages to provide interesting facts, but the absence of bibliographic references and backmatter is disappointing. Interesting subject, but the story is less than satisfying. (Picture book. 5-8)

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