Ella Sarah Gets Dressed

Charming story of a young person who insists on wearing an assemblage of wildly clashing clothes. I liked the subtlety of her increasingly impatient repetitions of "No. I want to wear my ....", and her stubbornness, and the way we all realize at the end that she was absolutely right to insist on her outfit.

A cute little story! A strong-willed little girl knows exactly what she wants to wear and sticks to it despite the pressure from family members to wear something less fancy. I was charmed by the closing pages that reveal that sticking to her choice of clothing is not just a whim of childish stubbornness on Ella Sarah's part.

This story really made me think back to when I was a young girl. I would always want to dress myself without any help from my mom or older sisters. I didn’t care if the clothes matched or even went with what the weather was, I was determined to wear what I wanted. To others, what Ella Sarah wanted to wear was silly and too dressy but it’s what made her feel like herself. Her pink polka-dot pants, dress with orange and green flowers, purple and blue striped socks, yellow shoes and big red hat is what made her feel just right. Ella Sarah has her own way of doing things and she is proud of it. The pictures in the book are so colorful and simple enough to tell the story; not too much going on to distract the reader. The pictures are show more nice and big and will definitely catch the attention from a child in kindergarten through second grade. show less

Charming story of a young person who insists on wearing an assemblage of wildly clashing clothes. I liked the subtlety of her increasingly impatient repetitions of "No. I want to wear my ....", and her stubbornness, and the way we all realize at the end that she was absolutely right to insist on her outfit.

Summary:
This is a story about a little girl named Ella Sarah. Ella Sarah wakes up one morning and picks out her own clothing to wear for the day. Her mother, father, and sister all tell her that what she picked out is too dressy, fancy, and silly. They all try to pick out outfits for her to wear,but Ella Sarah insists on wearing what she picked out. She gets dressed in the clothing of her choice and feels she looks great. Her friends come over wearing their own outfits as well and agree that Ella Sarah looks great.

Personal Reaction:
I really thought that this was a cute story. This story actually made me think of my youngest daughter because she likes picking out her own clothing just like Ella Sarah. Some may think that the clothing my show more daughter wears may look silly or doesn't match, but she likes what she picks out and in my opinion this shows her personality.

Classroom Extensions:
One activity the students could do is have them dress up in their own Ella Sarah outfit for the day. Another thing the students could do is to turn the story into a little play that they can act out. show less

The book Ella Sarah Gets Dressed is a wonderful book to inroduce to little children. This book is about Ella Sarah and how she so badly wants to wear the outfit she has picked out for herself to school. All of her family members try and persuade her into wearing what each one of them want her to wear. She refuses to wear what they have picked out. She ends up wearing exactly what she had picked out on her own and is glad about it.

Personal Reaction :
I really enjoyed this book. In a way Ella Sarah reminds me of myself when i was her age. She is sure of what she wants to wear and is NOT changing her mind. I think this is such a cute book with a lot of teachable moments in it for kids.

Extension:
1. I could have the children come to school show more in an outfit they picked out on their own and go over how everyone dressed different.
2. This book could be used when learning about "becoming young boys and girls". show less

I think this book could be received only in two ways, that being either rebellious or confident. Throughout the book you can see how determined Ella was to where her specific outfit and she wasn't letting anyone get in her way. Although it is good for a child to learn to stand up for what they want and believe in, I don't think we should have seen the temper of Ella somewhat get the best of her. I did very much enjoy the book and can see kids relating to it.