Ella Sarah Gets Dressed
Written and Illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine
2004 Caldecott Honor Book
Ella Sarah is a little girl who wakes up one morning wanting to wear a very distinct outfit. Her outfit of choice included pink polka-dot pants, an orange and green flowered dress, purple and blue striped socks, yellow shoes, and a red hat with an orange flower sticking out. Throughout the book Ella Sarah's mom, dad, and sister attempt to get her to change her mind and wear an outfit that is more like what they each would wear. Ella Sarah refuses to conform and look like everyone around her and wears her outfit of choice. At the end Ella Sarah's friends show up for a tea party and each are dressed in their outfit of choice as well.
This little book reminds me of my children. Like Ella Sarah they do not really care about how others may react over their outfits of choice. They wear them anyways! I believe the message the author is trying to convey to children is that it doesn't matter if they look different from others. Embrace who you are. This book would be a good one for young readers because it is very repetitive with Ella Sarah's outfit choice being repeated on about every other page.
Margaret Chodos-Irvine spends most of her time illustrating books. While I wasn't familiar with her work before reading this one, after I have looked at them I see that her illustrations usually have a multi-cultural flair to them.
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