Friday, April 3, 2015

The Hundred Dresses

The Hundred Dresses
Eleanor Estes

Harcourt Brace and Company
San Diego
1994

This award winning book has a message of the effects of bullying. Wanda Petronski wears the same dress to school everyday, yet she claims that she has 100 hundred dresses. The others girls in the class tease Wanda. One day Wanda stops coming to school because of the bullying. Her father sends a note to school saying that they are moving to prevent Wanda from experiencing the bullying. Meanwhile, there is a drawing competition occurring. When the girls come to school on the day the winner will be announced, the see Wanda's 100 hundred dresses, all drawings. Wanda wins the contest, but she is not there because she is moving. The girls realize the mistake they made in teasing her. They try to make amends for their words and actions, but they learn that sometimes that is not enough.

Noteworthy Features:
  • Message: This book provides a good message about bullying. It illuminates the struggles a child being bullied faces, along with consequences. It shows how bullies cannot take back what they did even if they wish that they could. 
  • Themes: Courage, compassion, diversity
  • Illustrations: The book contains many illustrations that depict what is happening in the book. The illustrations do not have very distinct lines and are colored in quick shaded manner. 
This book is particularly of interest for young girls. This would be a great book for a teacher to read with a group of girls who may be struggling with bullying and/or girl drama in the classroom. It will help the girls recognize the effects bullying has both on the victim and on the bully.

Links to Classroom Activities:

No comments:

Post a Comment