Book Review of The Hundred Dresses
The Children’s Book Review
What to Expect: Kindness, Bullying, and Inclusivity
Eleanor Estes wrote 19 children’s books and one novel for adults. Published in 1945, Estes’ The Hundred Dresses won the Newbery Honor, has never been out of print, and has remained a beloved classic ever since. Its message about empathy and kindness still resonates today.
People can be mean sometimes. They can say hurtful things. So it’s up to us to stand up for what’s right! Wanda Petronski is Polish, her family is poor, and she has no friends. The fact that she talks with an accent immediately sets her apart from the other girls at her Connecticut school. Can you imagine attending class and feeling like you don’t fit in?
The other kids see that she wears the same faded blue dress every day, and they begin to tease her, so Wanda tells them she has one hundred beautiful dresses at home that she wears for special occasions. Of course, it’s not true, and none of the girls believe her, and it only makes them taunt her more. Maddie, one of the school girls, knows the teasing is not okay, but she does not speak out because she is afraid that others will turn against her.
It isn’t until Wanda is removed from school by her parents that the girls feel remorse. Maddie decides that she will always speak out in the future. Wanda’s story reminds us to be compassionate and kind and to stand up for one another.
The Hundred Dresses is a book you will remember reading forever; you’ll never forget how Wanda was made to feel!
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About the Author
ELEANOR ESTES (1906-1988), a children’s librarian for many years, launched her writing career with the publication of The Moffats in 1941. Two of her books about the Moffats are Newbery Honor books, as is The Hundred Dresses. She won the Newbery Medal for Ginger Pye in 1952.
What to Read Next If You Love The Hundred Dresses
Pinky Pye, by Eleanor Estes
The Middle Moffat, by Eleanor Estes
Rufus M., by Eleanor Estes
The Invisible Boy, by Trudy Ludwig
Bianca Schulze reviewed The Hundred Dresses. Discover more books like The Hundred Dresses of Meatballs by reading our reviews and articles tagged with Bullying, Chapter Books, Inclusivity, and Kindness.
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