Hannah and the Seven Dresses - Hardcover

Jocelyn, Marthe

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525461132 ISBN 13: 9780525461135

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile, 1999

Synopsis

Hannah, a little girl whose mother loves to sew, has a beautiful dress to wear each day of the week, but can't decide what to wear on her birthday, in a picture book illustrated entirely in fabrics. 10,000 first printing.

About this title

Reviews

PreSchool-K-To overcome her difficulty in choosing which of her seven beautiful dresses to wear on a given day, Hannah decides to put on the same dress every Monday, another every Tuesday, etc. When her birthday comes, however, none of them seem quite special enough so she dons them all. Finding it impossible to enjoy her own party in so many layers of clothing, she puts on pants...and never wears a dress again. This book is a mixed effort at best. It might work, in a limited way, as a concept book identifying colors and days of the week. The fabric collages are attractive, and the little toy elephant that is dressed like Hannah is appealing. However, the slight story becomes strained when it veers from the constraints of a straightforward concept book. Hannah's behavior verges on OCD when she must make a decision about what to wear: "...her face got hot. She shivered all over. Her knees went jiggly and her toes curled under." She also has a disconcerting habit of pressing her fists against her eyes until she sees fireworks. Although clothing might be an emotional issue for some children, it seems superficial here. Even though the book has a pleasant decorative verve, it is an unflattering portrait of excess in the '90s. Maybe Hannah would benefit from a reality check and a copy of Eleanor Estes's classic The Hundred Dresses (Harcourt, 1944).
Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Jocelyn's (The Invisible Day) slim story serves primarily as a vehicle to display her simple yet cheerful cloth collage art in a medley of palettes and patterns. Hannah, with her closet full of dresses handmade by her mother, breaks out in a sweat when she has to decide which to wear: "Her face got hot. She shivered all over. Her knees went jiggly and her toes curled under." She decides to assign a specific day of the week to each dress, then models them, one at a time; Jocelyn coordinates wall and floor coverings with each outfit. But readers never see where she goes or what she does in her dresses. At the climax, Hannah's shivers and jiggly knees return when she must choose a dress for her birthday party. When putting all the dresses on at once doesn't work, she finally decides to don pants instead. "And from that minute until now, Hannah has never worn a dress again." With these words, Jocelyn's rather flat tale ends on a puzzling note: The book won't hold much appeal for youngsters who have no interest in wearing dresses, and its conclusion will disappoint those who do. This volume might be all dressed up with nowhere to go. Ages 3-7. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Wonderful three-dimensional textures and a delectable use of pattern and line make this a visual treat as well as a charming domestic drama. Hannah's mother loves to sew, so Hannah has seven beautiful dresses she cherishes. Deciding which one to wear every day is an ongoing trial, until she hits upon the idea of assigning one dress to each day of the week: Tuesdays for the green-checked dress with the deep pockets for treasures or insects; Fridays for the gray dress with 13 different buttons down the front; Sundays for the purple crinoline that was just ``a teeny bit scratchy.'' On her birthday, Hannah decides first to wear all her dresses, which leads to discomfort, then to abandon all her dresses in favor of black pants, ``And from that minute until now, Hannah has never worn a dress again.'' The fabric backgrounds on every page set off the fabulous prints of the dresses, while Hannah's stuffed elephant always wears an outfit to match her own. An amazing amount of kinetic action is worked into the collages, as Hannah dances, jumps, runs, and, of course, gets dressed, with her red sneakers the one aspect of her fashion statement that never changes. (Picture book. 3-7) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0525461132
• ISBN 13: 9780525461135
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32