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<\/p>\nBy KENDRA SITTON \u00a0Uptown News<\/p>\n
North Park\u2019s Katherine Hon has recently released a children\u2019s book called \u201cMrs. Fluffernut\u2019s Perfect Hat.\u201d The book is dedicated to grandmothers everywhere and features one grandmother\u2019s efforts to win a local hat contest with the help and ingenuity of her grandkids.<\/p>\n
Hon has written a longstanding history column for Uptown News and is currently working on a book about the history of North Park. This beginning chapter book is her first foray into children\u2019s literature though. Still, her history chops are evident in the pages as the book is illustrated in a collage style with photos from North Park, including the North Park Toyland Parade in 1955.<\/p>\n
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Despite the local photos, the book is not technically set in San Diego, but rather a fictional Persnickety Town. The newspaper clippings and photos seem like hidden Easter eggs grounding the story in reality, or rather in San Diego history.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of hidden history lessons in the book,\u201d explained Hon. For instance, there is an historic photo of McKinley Elementary School that\u2019s name in the book is Millard Fillmore Elementary School because the original name for University Ave. was \u2018Fillmore\u2019 for the 13th president when the area was mapped as University Heights in 1888.<\/p>\n
The charming book is meant to be read out loud as a family. Although young readers will delight in the hijinx of the Finest Hat contest, it would be helpful to have an adult with them to help define the challenging vocabulary present in the chapter book.<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Fluffernut\u2019s Perfect Hat\u201d is available for $10 from the author at khon@honconsultinginc.com<\/a> or at Verbatim Books, 3793 30th St.<\/p>\n