Module 4: 13 Little Blue Envelopes

Module 4: 13 Little Blue Envelopes

Book Summary: 

Virginia "Ginny" Blackstone would consider herself a typical high school student, maybe a little more klutzy and shy side of things. However, that fact seems to fly out the window when she receives a letter from her recently deceased aunt instructing her alone to head for Europe with only the items she can fit in a backpack, no money, no electronics and only a set of 13 little blue envelopes to guide her on her journey. At first, the directions seem bizarre and random, instructing Ginny to complete certain tasks and visit certain locations. However, as she travels, Ginny not only unravels the mystery of her aunt's sudden disappearance, cancer diagnosis, and death; Ginny also discovers the joy and passion of her aunt's life and accomplishments. Along the way, Ginny is surprised to discover that she is not only learning about Aunt Peg, she is learning a lot about herself in the process.

APA Reference of Book:

Johnson, M. (2005). 13 little blue envelopes. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Impressions:

I have to come right out and say that I realize this book had flaws and they were noticeable. There was minimal character development and a lot of the things that happened are a pretty far stretch even for realistic fiction. However, regardless of that, I think this book still had a lot to offer and I enjoyed it. As a result of the little blue envelopes, Ginny accomplished a lot of things and learned a lot: about her aunt, herself and what she wants out of life. The things that the envelopes prompted her to do were often out of her comfort zone and without any guides or crutches, she was forced to rely on herself to do them. This is a valuable lesson to any reader, even though the situation itself is rather farfetched. As the aunt who designed the challenge knew Ginny well, there is nothing required of her that is out of her realm of accomplishment. .

I enjoyed the character of Aunt Peg. Although it was sad that I ended the book knowing more about her than her niece Ginny who was the main character of the story. However Aunt Peg is the driving force behind the plot: she designed the 13 little blue envelopes and her story is unfolding each time Ginny opens an envelope. We see her touch in every locale that Ginny visits and we watch as Ginny understands the erratic behavior of her aunt's life that she could never make sense of before. Aunt Peg seems like the quintessential free spirit but she has many of her own secrets that come to light after her death. I found it touching that even as she was dying, she was driven to prepare everything for those she would leave behind, not only to comfort them in their grief, but to continue helping them grow, just as Peg would have if she were still alive.

Professional Review:

Ginny's eccentric aunt Peg has died and left her seventeen-year-old niece with a strange legacy: a modest budget and thirteen blue envelopes containing various instructions that send Ginny on a life-changing, highly unorthodox peregrination around Europe. Ginny's journey brings the serendipitous encounters her aunt had hoped (a budding romance with a young playwright, some staunch comrades of the road), some rougher but realistic experiences (an aggressive male pursuer in Rome, a thief of her belongings in Corfu), and finally a greater understanding not just of herself but also her complicated aunt. The story is perforce rather traveloguish, but in a pleasing way: knowledgeable readers will relish the confirmation of their expertise as they encounter familiar aspects of London and Paris, Copenhagen and Rome, while others will simply luxuriate in vicarious voyaging. Ginny is a [End Page 99] sympathetic everygirl, convinced "everyone else's life was more interesting than hers" and aware of the broadening of her horizons while remaining capable of being tired, irritable, and overwhelmed by weeks of strange places and dirty clothes; the supporting cast, both rotating and recurring, provides patches of believable yet enticing color. Johnson's style is comradely and ruefully humorous, inviting both strictly armchair travelers and wannabe world voyagers to accompany Ginny on her life-changing journey.

Stevenson, D. (2005). [Review of the book 13 little blue envelopes, by M. Johnson]. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 59 (2), 99-100. doi: 10.1353/bcc.2005.0172

Library Uses:

Add to a reading list of teen fiction with the subject of traveling, during or after high school.

Host a contest for teen patrons of the library to create their own 13 little blue envelopes challenge for their hometown or possibly a dream vacation.

Module 4: Junonia

Module 4: Junonia

Book Summary:

Alice Rice leaves her home in snowy Wisconsin and visits the Florida seashore every year on a weekly vacation that always falls around her birthday. As an avid shell collector, she looks forward to beachcombing and looks forward to the day when she finds her very own Junonia shell. Alice is certain that this year will be the most perfect and most lucky because she is turning ten years old. However upon arrival at the seashore, all her plans seem ruined. The usual children have not come, her favorite neighbor is snowed in and can't make it, and her usually doting aunt brings her new boyfriend and his bratty six year old daughter. Her parents still try to make the vacation special for her, but Alice is beginning to mature and learns a lot about the ways of the world in this one week. As Alice copes with the changes in her vacation plans, she learns a lot about growing up and that ten years old may be an even bigger milestone that she had ever believed.

APA Reference of Book:

Henkes, K. (2011). Junonia. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

Impressions:

This novel focused on the subjects of maturity and growing up. Alice believes that turning ten years old is a big deal because of the significance of it, double digits. However as the story unfolds, Alice sees her maturity and how she has grown up in comparison to Mallory, the whiny six year old who intrudes on Alice's vacation. Despite the hurt feelings and anger Alice harbors toward Mallory for most of the book, at the end, it is with understanding that Alice views Mallory's family situation. Alice willingly sends part of her birthday gift to the younger girl to comfort her, something she almost certainly wouldn't have done earlier in the novel.

Another interesting part of the novel is Alice's interest in shells. She dreams of the day she will find her very own Junonia shell. She has found hundreds of other shells and now has a keen eye, only selecting the best materials to take home. She has seen Junonia shells at the store but she wants to find her very own. Near the end, she believes she has found one but it turns out that it was planted by a neighbor who had hurt Alice's feelings. However, he couldn't deal with the guilt of knowing it was not truly her find and confesses that to her. Alice's understanding of the situation is not that of a child, it is that of an adolescent. She doesn't throw a tantrum or get angry; she goes quietly into her room and puzzles out the issue in her head. This example is just one of many showing Alice's growth over the course of the novel.

Professional Review:

Every February, Alice and her family leave their wintry Wisconsin home for the

sunny shores of Florida on a week-long vacation that usually falls right around Alice’s

birthday. This year is going to be extra special as Alice turns ten, and she’s looking

forward to celebrating with her fellow snowbird neighbors, whom she considers to

be her extended family. From the minute she arrives, however, things are different:

Mr. and Mrs. Wishmeier’s grandchildren won’t be visiting due to school, another

friend is snowed in back in New York, and Aunt Kate—Alice’s favorite relative—is

bringing her boyfriend and his spoiled six-year-old daughter, Mallory. Perfectly

capturing a girl on the verge of adolescence, Henkes offers up a quiet and, at times,

almost mournful tale about the loss of simple childhood magic and the inevitable

arrival of adulthood. Well loved and sheltered, Alice is just beginning to peek out

at a world beyond her parents’ arms, and what she finds is both exhilarating and

unnerving. The independence, for example, to search the beach for shells by herself

is wonderful, but the specter of loneliness and abandonment, as represented by

Mallory and her wayward mother, weighs heavily upon a thoughtful Alice. The

story ends on a hopeful note as Alice steps into her role as the older, wiser child

through her friendship with Mallory, but an underlying thread of grief, simple and

unaffected, remains palpable even at the conclusion. Readers who find themselves

reluctant to leave behind the comforts of familiarity, even as they yearn for freedom

and excitement, will readily relate to Alice’s dilemma. Black-and-white line drawings

gently textured with hatching open each chapter. KQG

Quealy-Gainer, K. (2011). [Review of the book Junonia, by K. Henkes]. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 64(10), 472. Retrieved from: http://bccb.lis.illinois.edu/

Library Uses:

Make the book part of a suggested reading list for children transitioning to adolescence.

Showcase the book along with a shell collection as part of a display about collecting/collections.

Module 3: Missing May

Module 3: Missing May

Book Summary:

When Summer's mother passed away, she was passed from family member to family member who didn't want to keep her. Finally May and OB visited her and took her home the very same day. For six years, they lived in bliss in their small trailer in West Virginia until the day May passed away. Daily life for Ob and Summer becomes a struggle as they attempt to figure out how to go on after their tragic loss. Surprisingly, it is the annoying boy from Summer's seventh grade class that provides them with a possible solution to their problem and wiggles his way into their daily lives. A road trip provides them with answers, but not the ones they were expecting. Arriving home, Summer sees an owl and is reminded of a similar experience with May. This is the trigger that releases the grief she has been holding back. As Ob and Summer accept their grief, they begin to rebuild their lives remembering May fondly rather than continuing to grieve her loss.

APA Reference of Book:

Rylant, Cynthia. (2002). Missing May. New York, NY: Orchard Books.

Impressions:

In the most simple of explanations, Missing May is a story about grief. Summer has known grief before so it doesn't surprise her when it comes around again. She is able to at least go through the motions of life when May but not so for Uncle Ob. He begins to almost fade away. He usually woke up early everyday and he oversleeps one morning, which really signals to both himself and Summer that he has given up. Summer is resigned to the fact that she is going to lose Ob too. "I had been dreading Ob's death for so long that in my mind I practically had the coffin picked out and which tie he'd wear."

Rylant does an excellent job expressing the raw emotions and feelings of grief. It is told in a way that anyone can relate to, child or adult. Grief is not static, it is a process that Rylant uses Summer to explain in the most simple of terms, relating to other feelings and experiences for those who haven't encountered it. Not only does Rylant chronicle the process, but she shows how coping mechanisms can vary from person to person and that the grief process is never over. Missing May is a great way to approach the topics of love, grief and coping with loss but not only that, it is story anyone of any age can enjoy and let tug on their heartstrings.

Professional Review:

A gifted writer returns to one of her favorite themes--love- -in this case, as it can inform and transform grief. After her mother's death, Summer was handed from one unwilling relative to another, ``treated like a homework assignment somebody was always having to do.'' At six, she was taken in by an elderly uncle and aunt. Ob had a game leg (WW II) and enjoyed creating unusual whirligigs; May liked gardening behind their West Virginia trailer. They loved each other with a deep and abiding love, wholeheartedly including Summer. Now, six years later, May has died. In a poetic, ruminative narrative, Summer recounts Ob's mounting depression, his growing conviction that May is still present, and their expedition to find ``Miriam B. Conklin: Small Medium at Large.'' Meanwhile, they've been befriended by Cletus, an odd, bright boy in Summer's class; she doesn't especially value his company, but is intrigued by his vocabulary (``surreal''; ``Renaissance Man'') and his offhand characterization of her as a writer. The quest seems to fail- -Reverend Conklin has died--but on the way home Ob finally puts aside his grief to take the two young people to the state capitol as promised: ``Right out of the blue, he wanted to live again.'' Rylant reveals a great deal about her four characters, deftly dropping telling details from the past into her quiet story--including a glimpse of Summer, as seen by a girl in her class, ``like some sad welfare case,'' a description the reader who has read her thoughts will know to be gloriously untrue. A beautifully written, life-affirming book. (Fiction. 11+)

Missing May (2010). [Review of the book Missing May, by C. Rylant]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from: http://www.kirkusreviews.com

Library Uses:

Include the book on a suggested reading list of difficult topics (ie death, grief) for children.

Use the book in a middle school reading club. Ask members to bring in their own artistic interpretations of Ob's whirligig themes (fire, Spring, light, etc.)

Module 3: Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman

Module 3: Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman

Book Summary:

Talkin' About Bessie tells the story of Elizabeth Coleman, who became the first African-American female pilot. The story is told through a series of imagined anecdotes from a variety of people who would have known Bessie, ranging from members of her family to field hands to flight and school instructors. The stories and memories related by those that knew her give the reader a sense that they are getting to know what this woman was truly like and the actual impact her actions had on history.

APA Reference of Book:

Grimes, N. (2002). Talkin' about Bessie: The story of aviator Elizabeth Coleman. New York, NY: Orchard Books.

Impressions:

Talkin' About Bessie was far more compelling and interesting than I expected it to be. Usually I find biographical stories boring and tedious, just relaying the facts of life and great accomplishments in a nonfiction format. However, this story made you feel like you were at a funeral or celebration of life (in a good way, not a depressing way), all sharing stories and great memories about someone you had all known in some capacity. Each person shared a memory of something she had said or done, or some little quirk about her personality that had led her to make great strides for African-Americans in the aviation industry in a time where segregation and Jim Crow laws still heavily affected daily life.

I enjoyed the illustrations in the book as well. There was one accompanying each person's anecdote and they usually focused on one aspect of what the person was saying about Bessie. Some were particularly poignant such as the jelly jars full of pennies she saved to pay for her education and Bessie in the background hanging up laundry, really helping the reader understand how different life would have been for Bessie Coleman and what a struggle it was for her to gain the basic things many of us take for granted today.

Professional Review:

KIRKUS REVIEW

“Brave Bessie Coleman,” the first black woman in the world to earn a pilot’s license, has been the subject of several recent picture book biographies: (Fly, Bessie, Fly, by Lynn Joseph, 1998; Fly High!, by Louise Borden and Mary Kay Kroeger, 2001; Nobody Owns the Sky, by Reeve Lindbergh, 1996). Grimes takes an unusual, fictionalized approach to portraying this determined, undaunted woman who made aviation history. She recreates the voices of 20 people who supposedly knew Bessie, expressing their point of view in a free-verse format. Each double spread has the person’s monologue with his or her name or role running down the edge of the page with a cameo drawing like a photo at the top; opposite is a full-page illustration in Lewis’s typical style that strikingly adds dimension and context to the times and the woman. From her father, who left the large family in Texas, to sisters to flight instructor to news reporter to young fan, the monologue device succeeds somewhat in piecing together a portrait of this woman who braved hardships of both poverty and prejudice. Her dream was to open an aviation school for African-Americans, but a plane crash in 1926 ended her life at age 34. The handsome design, large format, and beautiful artwork make this very attractive, but the lack of source notes or clarification of what’s fictionalized—especially quotes—and the strange opening scene set at Bessie’s wake as she speaks to her mother from her photo on the mantel, will leave many readers confused. (Picture book. 8-10)

Talkin' about Bessie (2010). [Review of the book Talkin' about Bessie: The story of aviator Elizabeth Coleman, by N. Grimes]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from: http://www.kirkusreviews.com

Library Uses:

Make the book part of an event/program for children to learn about people who were pioneers for just about anything: occupations, women's rights, etc.

Use the book in a display in the children's area during February (Black History Month).

Module 2: The Orphan

Module 2: The Orphan

Book Summary:

The Orphan is a retelling of the classic fairy tale Cinderella, in which the authors drew inspiration from similar tales in Greek. A young girl who was well loved by her parents is essentially orphaned when her mother passes away and her father remarries. Her stepmother and stepsisters mistreated her and one night, she makes a plea on her mother's grave for help. She is bestowed with gifts by Mother Nature, not only beautiful things to wear but attributes such as brilliance and beauty as well. In Cinderella-style, the Prince gains a glimpse of her but is unable to catch her when she flees due to a time limit on her gifts. At the next event, the Prince strives to catch her using honey and wax laid on the church's threshold but instead traps only a shoe, which leads to the traditional "find the maiden who fits the shoe". The Prince is reunited with the orphan and they are incredibly happy together and end up getting married.

APA Reference of Book:

Manna, A. L., & Mitakidou, S. (2011). The orphan. New York, NY: Schwartz & Wade Books.

Impressions:

The Orphan was a very enjoyable and slightly varied Greek version of the Cinderella tale. The first thing that grabbed my attention on every page were the colors of the illustrations. The illustrator Giselle Potter did an excellent job picking colors that really reflected not only the emotions evoked by the drawings and words on the pages but also just giving the story an overall Greek/ Mediterranean feel. On the page where the orphan cries on her mother's grave, everything is so dark, the despair feels almost palpable which is in stark contrast to the next page which is alight with the brilliant colors of the sun and Mother Nature as the orphan receives her gifts. The cobblestone streets and furniture of the background as well as the grape leaves bordering the pages give the feel of old Europe. While the story was excellent, the illustrations were phenomenal!

In this version, the gifts are bestowed by Mother Nature rather than a fairy godmother and the Prince sees the orphan at a church service rather than a royal ball, the overall tale of Cinderella is the same. The moral that goodness prevails over selfishness is still clearly prevalent and the orphan receives her happy ending and just reward for persevering in the face of her hardships. It was also nice to see the title "Cinderella" character being a little more proactive than your typical princess-to-be character and taking charge of her own destiny. She asks for help and receives it and heeds the instructions given in return for the help. A much better lesson than waiting for your prince to come. Overall, an excellent read that I would definitely recommend for early elementary school age.

Professional Review:

"A child becomes an orphan when she loses her mother," goes the Greek saying, and that's precisely what happens to the unnamed heroine in this Greek version of the Cinderella tale. The tale has the familiar elements of stepmother and stepsisters and a handsome prince, but it's Mother Nature who confers the fancy outfits and it's a church service at which the orphan sports them and wins the heart of the prince. When she returns to the church the next week, the wily prince spreads honey and wax on the church's threshold and traps the fleeing orphan's shoe, resulting in the classic fit-the-slipper-to-the-maiden drama. The piquant differences from the Perrault and Grimm Cinderella versions (the orphan also distracts the villagers with gold coins while she escapes and rides a white horse created from a cloud) and the friendly, conversational voice will seem fresh and engaging to young audiences who have been over-saturated with Disney-fied tales. Potter's signature folk artish watercolor illustrations are a perfect fit for the folkloric Greek setting and characters, and her black-haired heroine is an appropriately Mediterranean version. Potter is particularly effective at evoking emotion with her images: the spread depicting the orphan receiving her gifts simply radiates joy. This would be a useful for a lesson in comparative literature, as a readaloud, and for storytellers looking for new versions of old tales. It's unfortunate that there's no note, so it's not clear whether this is a traditional Greek version or an original tale that happens to be set in Greece. [End Page 157]

Hulick, J. (2011). [Review of the book The orphan, by A. Manna & S. Mitakidou]. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 65(3), 157. Retrieved from: http://bccb.lis.illinois.edu/

Library Uses:

This book would make for a fun comparison exercise with early elementary age readers. After reading both books, they could point out the similarities and differences between this telling of the story and the more traditional versions they have heard/seen before or another version of the Cinderella tale.

Include this book in a display of fairy tales and all their various versions. It would be fun to show all the different incarnations of Cinderella for example so people can see how many different ways the same story has been imagined.

Module 2: Flotsam

Module 2: Flotsam

Book Summary:

A story told entirely in pictures, Flotsam needs no words to convey its story about a little boy exploring  and collecting interesting items on the beach who finds a most miraculous camera. The photos he develops from the film inside tell their own story about those who happened upon the camera before him. At the end, he too joins the story of the camera by adding himself to the history of photos contained within.

APA Reference of Book:

Wiesner, D. (2006). Flotsam. New York, NY: Clarion Books.

Impressions:

I was incredibly impressed by David Wiesner's Flotsam. The entire book made me feel like I was looking at someone's personal scrapbook of a day at the beach told through only photos with no captions. Even the title page gets the reader in the mood by showing what treasures have resulted from previous beachcombing trips. Clearly the main character is an experienced beachcomber as shown by his previous finds as well as all the tools he comes prepared with. Judging by his reaction and the reaction of the others, his find of the box camera is unusual. What is even more unusual are the photographs that result of mechanical fish and kingdoms on the backs of sea turtles and children from around the world and through time. The main character's facial expressions and action convey what the reader needs to understand the story, his confusion when he firsts look at the picture of a picture and scratches his head then his shock at what he sees through the magnifying glass/microscope.

At the end of the day as everyone is packing up to leave, the boy realizes what he must do. As he takes his own picture with the picture of a picture, a wave crashes in, scattering the developed photographs and drawing them back towards the ocean, signaling the need for the camera to return to the ocean as well. Seeing the story unfold through these snapshots of the day really makes the story of this camera more poignant. I very much enjoyed seeing the sea creatures working as a team to carry the camera on its journey to the next lucky child who would discover its magic. Seeing how the whole cycle is completed makes for a very interesting story. The fact that this book won the Caldecott Medal should surprise no one.

Professional Review:

Wiesner, David

Flotsam

The story centres on a clearly curious young boy, who visits the beach with his collecting and analysing kit, eager to see what flotsam the sea has for him today. A feather, or a key or a razor clam shell perhaps, as hinted at in the beautiful opening endpaper? Maybe. A rather indignant-looking sand crab and a laid-back brown crab to analyse more closely with his magnifying glass? Certainly. But also a most unexpected and enigmatic piece of flotsam--an old box camera, encrusted with barnacles and amazing fantastical images held secret inside it--the treasures of a surreal sea world, with its steampunk fish, armchair-incumbent reading octopus and fishy lightbulbs... and the connections it makes, linking children from across the world.

This wonderful wordless picturebook is a feast for the imagination and a rich creative springboard with many possibilities for enjoyment in a secondary as well as a primary setting. The notion of taking a film to a shop and waiting for the photos to be developed could also lead to some interesting discussions about photography and changes in technology. As if echoing the actions of the camera itself, as well as the ebb and flow of the tide, the pages adopt a filmic quality, zooming out from specifics to the wider view and back in again or vice versa. Each beautiful painting is rich in detail, providing us with visual clues to help us create our own words to the story before us, surely visual storytelling of the highest standard. I love it and can't wait to share it in school!

Review Editor's note: Also by David Wiesner from Andersen and another wordless book is Tuesday, 5.99 [pound sterling], 978 1 84939 447 5.

Smith, L. (2013). [Review of the book Flotsam, by D. Wiesner]. School Librarian, 61(1), 58. Retrieved from: http://www.sla.org.uk/

Library Uses:

Offer a workshop that combines storytelling, scrapbooking and photography all rolled into one. Use Flotsam and other similar picture books to show how stories can be told and recorded without words.

Create a story in the children's area without words. Use photos and objects to tell a story (on a wall where children can see it) that children can understand without words (or having the ability to read yet).

Module 1: Blue Willow

Module 1: Blue Willow

Book Summary:

Janey Larkin longs to live in a place where she and her family can stay "as long as they want to" and not just until the crops and work runs out. She also secretly hopes that the place they live will match the pattern on her beloved blue willow china plate that was from her great-grandmother.  She hopes that in their newest location this will be the case. She befriends the little girl and her family that lives across the street and is excited to have the chance to go to school again. However when the mean local foreman comes around to collect rent, it seems indicative of trouble to come and Janey's stepmother falls ill and the crops and work begins to run out. When the family runs out of money to pay rent, Janey offers up her precious blue willow plate. Janey is heartbroken and finds out they will have to leave anyway. When Janey goes to see the landowner to say farewell to the plate, she finds out that her family was being cheated by the foreman and she finally gets her wish, the ability to stay somewhere as long as her family wants.

APA reference of book:

Gates, D. (1940). Blue willow. New York, NY: Puffin Books.

Impressions:

Blue Willow is a stunningly vivid work of historical fiction. As Janey went about her day, I could visualize the people she was interacting with and the things that she was seeing. When she describes the experience of going to the fair, the reader feels like they are beside her, seeing and hearing the same things. For the audience of older elementary age children, this type of storytelling is perfect! They can really feel like they are involved. As an adult reading this book, I really appreciated the excellent setting Gates created. I really felt as though I could see the California Central Valley as it was many decades ago. Descriptions of going to town, how special it was to eat out and the experience of Janey buying a coat all did an excellent job of helping me visualize the era.

The symbol of the blue willow plate is incredibly well-developed. Not only is it something Janey uses as a physical touchstone, its placement signifies the Larkins' stability. Throughout the novel, it is noted that the plate will not be brought out and displayed until the Larkins have a stable home to display it in. The images on the plate signify Janey's hopes and dreams, the kind of home she hopes to have one day, near a willow tree and a little bridge. Giving up the plate to pay their rent shows Janey's fortitude and willingness to do what is necessary to survive, as her parents have always done as well. In the end, the blue willow plate finds its way back to Janey as she finally has a stable home to display it in, for as long as she wants.

Professional Review:

The blue willow plate that had belonged to her grandmother was about the only beautiful and stable thing in Janey Larkin's life -- to it she clung as her father and stepmother moved from place to place following the crops like the other pickers. She is overjoyed when at last they can live up to the blue willow plate by settling down -- in a real house with a real school to go to. Not original or outstanding, but a pleasant story, with its setting of the San Joaquin valley very well handled, and the people made very real. By the author of Sarah's Idea.

Blue willow (n.d.). [Review of the book Blue willow, by D. Gates]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from: http://www.kirkusreviews.com

Library Uses:

Make the book part of a display/reading list for children about what it was like to grow up in a developing area (urban, farmland, forested, ocean-side, etc.)

Module 1: The Hundred Dresses

Module 1: The Hundred Dresses

Book summary:

A young Polish girl named Wanda comes to school every day in the same faded, old dress yet she tells her classmates that she has one hundred dresses at home, all lined up in her closet and they ask questions about the dresses that none of them believes she has. It becomes a daily ritual until the day Wanda stops coming to school. A note from Wanda's father informs the school that he has moved himself, Wanda and Wanda's brother to the big city where they will not be ridiculed for their heritage or their names. At the same time, it is revealed that Wanda has won the class drawing contest with her one hundred beautiful drawings of dresses. As Maddie, the best friend of Wanda's main tormentor, comes to terms with how Wanda must have felt even though she never cried or said anything about it, the book ends with Maddie feeling deeply remorseful because while she didn't participate in the teasing, she did nothing to stop it either.

APA Reference of Book:

Estes, E. (1944). The hundred dresses. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc.

Impressions:

Before I opened this book and began to read, the summary left me thinking that at the end, it would be Wanda I was feeling sad about, but actually by the end of the novel, it was Maddie and Peggy that left me feeling the worst. Wanda was so stoic in the face of all the tormenting and teasing and never resorted to the same level herself; she just played along with Peggy. The reader follows the story and Maddie's internal struggle between the fear of being teased as well or doing what is right nonetheless. By the time she realizes what should be done, it is too late and there is no chance to make amends for the consequences of her lack of action and on top of that, Maddie's guilt burns deeper when she realizes how closely Wanda was watching all of them, all along. The saddest part for me was that the gravity of the situation seems to have sailed right over Peggy's head. All she understood was the rebuke from the teacher and not the true consequences her actions had on Wanda and Wanda's family.

I would highly recommend this book. There are a number of important morals touched upon: compassion, bravery, and understanding and they are presented in a way that children of all ages can easily understand them. In a day and age where bullying in all its various forms is more prevalent than ever, The Hundred Dresses should be a required read for every child so that, they can see what one possible result of a seemingly harmless game of teasing can be.

Professional Review:

ESTES, Eleanor.  The Hundred Dresses.

illus. by Louis Slobodkin. Harcourt. 2004.

Gr 3-5-- Wanda Petronski is the target of Peggy's game of teasing and name-calling because her name is "funny," she comes to school with mud on her shoes, and she wears the same dress every day. Maddie says nothing to stop the teasing and realizes too late that she is also to blame. "She had stood by silently, and that was just as bad as what Peggy had done." A reissued classic with sensitive, evocative illustrations.

Ralston, J. (2005). [Review of the book The hundred dresses, by E. Estes]. School Library Journal, 51(5), 50. Retrieved from: www.slj.com

Library Uses:

Include the book in a display aimed towards parents and teachers who are looking for books to introduce difficult social topics to children (bullying, fitting in, etc.)