The Hundred Dresses/ Newbery

Plot Summary:

            We find out that the narrator, Maddie and her friend, Peggy notice one of their classmates has not been coming to school. The reason that they notice Wanda is missing, is because they wait every morning before school starts so that Peggy can tease the poor girl about the hundred dresses that she claims to have in her closet. Everyone in school knows that Wanda is poor, she wears the same dress every day, and the kids dislike the fact that she lies about having an outrageous amount of clothing. Peggy is the best artist in class, or so everyone thinks, and is expected to win the drawing contest that the school is holding. Peggy and Maddie are shocked when they enter the classroom and there are tons of pictures of dresses all over the wall. Miss Mason, the teacher announces that the pictures are Wanda’s and she won the contest. Only Wanda is not there to retrieve her prize due to the fact that she has moved. Her dad writes a letter to the school that says the family is moving because the kids were being bullied. Maddie is very upset and she and Peggy go to Wanda’s house to apologize only to find out they were too late. They send a letter to her in hopes that the post office will forward the mail. Eventually, Wanda writes back to the class and lets the girls know that she likes them and bequeaths some of her drawings to them.

Personal Reaction:

            This book is a transition between chapter and picture book. It is a great length and the message is universal. First published in 1944, the life lesson of this book is still completely valid today. All kids must deal with bullying in one way or another, this book brings an important player of the bullying triangle into the forefront: the bystander. These are the kids who can stop bullying, and the book puts responsibility into their hands. The illustrations of this book were abstract images. I have to say that I prefer more realistic art in general, but I believe that what was used was appropriate and more realistic drawings might have detracted from the message of the work. In addition, the pictures of the clothing were very bright, which offset the pictures of everything else which went along with the somber mode of the book.

Estes, E., & Slobodkin, L. (1944). The hundred dresses. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co..