Module 2: The Hundred Dresses

Book Cover Image

Summary

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes is about a young school girl who is teased by other school girls about her clothing. Wanda wears the same blue dress to school everyday. During a playground conversation between classmates Wanda states that she has 100 dress at home. The girls do not believe her because she wears the same dress everyday. The teasing continues until suddenly Wanda no longer shows up at school. She communicates through letters. Two of the girls begin to feel bad for the way they treated Wanda and go to find her at her old house. She was not found but her dresses showed up at school through the an art presentation. They were drawings of dresses. The girls in the class loved them.  The story ends with a message of forgiveness in a letter. 

APA Reference

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

My Impressions

I enjoyed this book. I feel like the message is timeless. It is relatable to students in 2012. In my class, I have students who wear the same clothing often, sometimes every day. Students begin talking and gossiping about one another at a young age. The message of forgiveness weighs heavy on my heart as I have tried to relay the message in my classroom. Maddie's heart is not worn on her sleeve, but her actions to make things right ring true. Even though her friends may not agree, she took a risk. In the end, it turned out Peggy (the taunter) wanted to also make things right. It can be shown as an out for the bully. It shows someone who may hide behind their insecurities by bullying that there is forgiveness without ridicule. I love that the illustrations in The Hundred Dresses leave a bit of a mystery as to how old the book is. I would have never guessed that it was written and illustrated in 1944. 

Professional Review

The Hundred Dresses

by Eleanor Estes
96 pages, Historical Fiction
Reviewed by Aslan's Lamb

An intelligent, original story with characters that kids will find it easy to relate to.

Plot

Wanda Petronski is the outcast of her fifth grade class. She is poor and and foreign and doesn't belong. One day, she tells the other girls that she has a hundred dresses in her closet. The others find this very funny and question her every day about the dresses. Secretly, a girl named Maddie sympathizes with Wanda but she's afraid to speak up; she might become a target as well. One day, Wanda moves away. But the results of an art competition reveal a whole new side of her. Now Maddie and her best friend want to somehow let Wanda know they're sorry, but it might be too late.

Morality

This story explores why girls participate in bullying. The main characters change and grow for the better.

Spiritual Content

None.

Conclusion

A story that explores bullying from an unusual point of view, not that of the person being bullied, but that of the bystander. Maddie's internal conflict and the way the girls change towards the end make this story a delight.

Violence
None.
Drug and Alcohol Content
None.Sexual Content
None.Crude or Profane Language or Content
The word "Polack" is used. In the context, it is understood that it is an offensive name.Conclusion

Library Uses

 With bully prevention on a rise in schools, this would be a great book to read to students during a anti-bullying week/day celebration.