Chesley McLaren

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that little children love to dress up. (I'd even say BIG children and adults like dressing up.) Jaber takes advantage of that fact to create a fun and fashionable ABC book. In "When Royals Wore Ruffles", we examine fashions from corsets and petticoats to nineties' grunge.

RESPONSE: I really found this book to be adorable. Illustrator Chelsey Mclaren has experience in the fashion industry, and that makes her illustrations very stylish and pretty show more accurate. I thought the choice of fashions was varied and fascinating, especially the king's knickers. :) An awesome book for children who love to play dress up.

THEMES/CONCEPTS: fashion, history show less

This style of this story is very unusual for an informational book. It was set up as the alphabet, and every letter told about a different fashion trend. An example is, “F is for flappers.” Then the page would go on to explain about the history behind flappers. I enjoyed this story very much, as I believe anyone who is interested in fashion would be. The author took on a very informal tone, which is also different for an informational book. One page titled “Q is for Questionable show more Styles,” told about Punk/Gothic looks. The author used humor, as she did throughout the rest of the book to tell about the silly styles through history. One literary element that I also enjoyed was the alliteration for each page’s title such as, “B is for Bustles and the Bustle Beyond Belief.” The alliteration makes the reading that much more fun to read, and would make a small child laugh. Paired with the humorous text, were illustrations that were just as funny. They were colorful and used great detail to explain each style in depth. All of these features created a book that was informative as well as humorous. show less

I really enjoyed this book and I think kids, particularly girls though probably some boys too, would really get a kick out of this book. The author included fascinating facts, along with cute illustrations. The facts were so interesting, I almost forgot that this was an alphabet book.

Take some of modern life's most annoying issues, and some of America's best writers and have them write a page or two on surviving each one. Sue Miller on Family Life; David Brown on being a gentleman; Sally Quinn on dealing with the holidays; and Jonathan Alter on swearing among others. Not a book to change the world, but one that if taken to heart could make the world easier to deal with. Overall, an enjoyable read.