Eleanor Estes’s The Hundred Dresses
Description
When children have a pecking order, laughter can change a life.
Wanda Petronski. The other girls in class hardly even acknowledge her. But she’s always there; standing quietly off to the side, books in hand, head down, same dress on as yesterday, watching and listening from a distance, unnoticed.
But one day, as they talk about new dresses, she joins them, excitement in her eyes, just as it is in theirs. She walks into their tight clustered circle, and quietly informs them that she has 100 dresses at home. Immediately the feeling of excitement shifts, the pecking order roles are recemented, and two girls will never be the same.
Disclosure
I personally bought this book. There was no agreement with the author, publisher, or any third party that I would publish a review. The following review is unsolicited, unbiased, and all opinions are my own.
Review – Spoiler Free
We read this with our kids’ book club, I’m not sure I would have come across it otherwise. It’s a short story that directly points at what bullying can look like, and what it can do.
There was a sweet forward by Estes’s daughter talking about the motivation for this story coming from a similar situation in Estes’s own childhood – which is a beautiful, painful way of reminding us to look at ourselves while reading. The Hundred Dresses is so real and so simply put, so human and so easy to see happening. It is told in hindsight, allowing readers to see the obvious physical repercussions of bullying, as well as the hidden and not-so-hidden emotional ones.
There were just a few things that I had to explain to the kids while reading: some older-style words that they were grasping at the idea of, but not quite understanding.
This is a book that you talk about as you read it with kids. It’s not a particularly fun story, and in some parts it’s downright uncomfortable, but has a lot of heart and is packed with emotion. It looks at such an important message in an easy to follow and understand way: bullying hurts.
Overall, The Hundred Dresses is a good book that I would recommend, not as a casual read, but as an intentional read with kids about 4-15 years old. I don’t plan on reading it again, but will definitely be keeping it. If our kids have a relatable issue, we’ll be taking it off the shelf to help us work thought it.
Quote
She was never going to stand by and say nothing again. If she ever heard anybody picking on someone because they were funny looking or because they had strange names, she’d speak up.
The Hundred Dresses, Eleanor Estes
Ratings
- Quality of Writing – 4
- Plot – 4
- World Building – 3
- Characters – 3
- Ease of Reading – 4
- Pictures/ Illustrations – 3
- Appropriate for Intended Age – 5
- Overall Enjoyment – 3
- Final Rating – 3.5 (Actual: 3.6) – Liked It/Really Liked It
Want to learn more about the numbers I use for rating, and the qualities I’m thinking about when writing a book review? Check out my post How I Rate and Review.