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The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
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The Hundred Dresses (1944)

by Eleanor Estes

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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Showing 1-5 of 61 (next | show all)
Great, character-building tale about prejudice and bullying--yet artfully done, with gorgeous watercolor illustrations by Louis Slobodkin. I would recommend it to ages 8-11. ( )
  SylviaSmile | Apr 11, 2013 |
The hundred dresses, written post-WWII (1944), is a wonderful story about school age children, bullying, and being bullied and how one copes with the situation. This story also addresses the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover." I highly recommend this book to all children as well as adults to share with their children. Although a book written over 70 years ago, this book is a timeless classic. ( )
  kerry.wood | Apr 5, 2013 |
A young girl named Wanda is a little different from the other girls in her class. She comes to school everyday in the same dress and has a funny sounding name. One day, after the girls were talking about the pretty new dress one of them is wearing, Wanda tells Peggy (a popular girl) that she has 100 dresses at home, all lined up in her closet. Of corse none of the girls believe her because they have only seen her wear the one. Peggy, as well as the other girls in class, finds this so hilarious, that she makes agame out of it... Asking Wanda everyday about her 100 dresses. But Peggy's best friend Maddie does not feel the same. She feels sorry for Wanda, but is too afraid to speak up for fear of being made fun of herself.
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Written as a chapter book it is perfect for readers beginning in 2nd grade. It talks about the serious effects of bullying and how doing nothing is just as bad of being the one who is being the bully. It also talks about the fact that we should never judge those we do not understand, but should get to know them even though they are different from us. ( )
  KellyLPickett | Apr 2, 2013 |
I'm sentimental about this book because it was one of the first I owned, given me by my aunt, and the story stuck vividly in my heart. And possibly taught me some social values, though mostly I aspired to be as good an artist as Wanda was, and thought the other children were certainly cruel. ( )
  jarvenpa | Mar 31, 2013 |
Depressingly insightful ( )
  kylak | Jan 16, 2013 |
Showing 1-5 of 61 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (2 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Eleanor Estesprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Alemagna, BeatriceIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Estes, HelenaIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Slobodkin, LouisIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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First words
Today, Monday, Wanda Petronski was not in her seat.
Quotations
She stood by silently, and that was just as bad as what Peggy had done.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0152052607, Paperback)

Wanda Petronski lives way up in shabby Boggins Heights, and she doesn't have any friends. Every day she wears a faded blue dress, which wouldn't be too much of a problem if she didn't tell her schoolmates that she had a hundred dresses at home--all silk, all colors, and velvet, too. This lie--albeit understandable in light of her dress-obsessed circle--precipitates peals of laughter from her peers, and she never hears the end of it. One day, after Wanda has been absent from school for a few days, the teacher receives a note from Wanda's father, a Polish immigrant: "Dear teacher: My Wanda will not come to your school any more. Jake also. Now we move away to big city. No more holler Polack. No more ask why funny name. Plenty of funny names in the big city. Yours truly, Jan Petronski."

Maddie, a girl who had stood by while Wanda was taunted about her dresses, feels sick inside: "True, she had not enjoyed listening to Peggy ask Wanda how many dresses she had in her closet, but she had said nothing.... She was a coward.... She had helped to make someone so unhappy that she had had to move away from town." Repentant, Maddie and her friend Peggy head up to Boggins Heights to see if the Petronskis are still there. When they discover the house is empty, Maddie despairs: "Nothing would ever seem good to her again, because just when she was about to enjoy something--like going for a hike with Peggy to look for bayberries or sliding down Barley Hill--she'd bump right smack into the thought that she had made Wanda Petronski move away." Ouch. This gentle Newbery Honor Book convincingly captures the deeply felt moral dilemmas of childhood, equally poignant for the teased or the tormentor. Louis Slobodkin, illustrator of the 1944 Caldecott Medalist Many Moons, brings his wispy, evocative, color-washed sketches to Eleanor Estes's time-proven classic about kindness, compassion, and standing up for what's right. (Ages 6 and older) --Karin Snelson

(retrieved from Amazon Sun, 06 Jan 2013 19:49:25 -0500)

(see all 2 descriptions)

In winning a medal she is no longer there to receive, a tight-lipped little Polish girl teaches her classmates a lesson. Includes a note from the author's daughter, Helena Estes.

» see all 2 descriptions

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