Coco and the Little Black Dress

by Annemarie Van Haeringen

Overview

"Hurry up! You may only go to bed when all the sheets are ironed." Little Coco grew up in the orphanage and had to work hard for a living sewing and embroidering like an angel. Until her eighteenth birthday . . . Coco knew one thing for sure Coco. She would never, never be poor again. A beautifully illustrated picture book biography of Coco Chanel. Coco Chanel (1883-1971) was a famous French fashion designer. Born into a poor family, strictly brought up in the orphanage, influenced by the style of wealthy suitors , she remained faithful throughout her life to the simplicity. A luxurious simplicity , which has produced memorable style icons like the little black dress and perfume Chanel No. 5.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735842397
Publisher:	NorthSouth Books
Publication date:	10/01/2015
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	928,319
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	AD600L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Annemarie Van Haeringen was born in 1959 in the Netherlands. She is a Dutch illustrator, having studied at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. She has created a remarkable number of children's picture books and has worked for several children's magazines.

Editorial Reviews

Van Haeringen's Coco channels some major children's literary figures, beginning as a kind of Madeline, crossed with Cinderella…Van Haeringen's illustrations, black line drawings with dabs of color against expanses of white, are drawn with a precise yet whimsical panache that brilliantly suits their subject.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

07/20/2015
Originally published in the Netherlands, this portrait of Coco Chanel isn’t short on style, but it’s sadly absent of substance. Van Haeringen’s breezy illustrations are just right for capturing the “loosely fitted knit dresses and cardigans” that Chanel become known for; in one of the book’s best moments, over a dozen women of all shapes, sizes, and ages flaunt their little black dresses. Unfortunately, Chanel’s life—from an orphanage upbringing to the allure of the upper-class and her career as a designer—is glossed over so quickly that while readers will get a hint of her influence on fashion, there is little sense of who she was. No citations are provided for the details mentioned, and a great deal about Chanel’s life is ignored outright—readers won’t even learn her real name. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"Van Haeringen’s spare artwork is simply beautiful and reflects Chanel’s approach to fashion. Vibrant touches of watercolor among delicate pen-and-ink drawings bring to mind Ludwig Bemelmans’s Madeline." - Samantha Lumetta, School Library Journal

"The line-drawn illustrations, often resembling fashion sketches, use white space and pops of color to maximum effect...the book’s simple elegance is perfectly suited to the story of Coco and her iconic black dress." -Julia Smith, Booklist

From the Publisher

09/01/2015
Gr 2–4—This modern-day fairy tale chronicles the rags-to-riches story of French fashion designer Coco Chanel. When Chanel was a child, her father sent her to live in an orphanage, where she developed marketable skills such as embroidery, sewing, knitting, mending, and crochet. As a young woman, Chanel found work as a seamstress and spent her nights singing and dancing in nightclubs. There, she befriended wealthy individuals, who often invited her to stay with them. Chanel took careful note of what activities and adornments the rich enjoyed and figured out how to improve them with her own flair, for instance, sewing her own pair of riding jodhpurs. Upon invitation to the races, Chanel bought straw boater hats from a thrift store and added her own embellishments; soon, there was enough demand that she was able to start a hat shop. Determined never to wear a corset, Chanel began designing functional dresses that included pockets. Her legacy, though, was her perfume and her Little Black Dress, which highlights the beauty of the woman wearing it. Van Haeringen's spare artwork is simply beautiful and reflects Chanel's approach to fashion. Vibrant touches of watercolor among delicate pen-and-ink drawings bring to mind Ludwig Bemelmans's Madeline. Infused with humor, this Cinderella-esque tale should appeal to readers. The book lacks back matter, however, making it more suitable for pleasure reading than for report writing. VERDICT Recommended for general purchase in school and public libraries.—Samantha Lumetta, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH

School Library Journal

2015-07-15
A picture-book look at one of fashion's most iconic designers.First published in the Netherlands in 2013, this playful sketch of Coco Chanel treats pre-readers to a revealing glimpse of the designer's early life. Born to humble origins, Coco grows up in an orphanage, sent there by her father when her mother died prematurely. There, under the strict tutelage of nuns, Coco learns needlework even before reaching her teens. Young Coco soon finds that her talents as a seamstress and singer gain her entree into high society, where, van Haeringen suggests, observing the rich inspires her. "So this is what rich people do!" Coco notes: "They go to parties, to the races, and to the beach. But look at their clothes…those hats!" Coco's response is to create jodhpurs for women, and she makes her first splash into fashion by designing hats. As her passion for creating fine clothing turns into a vocation, Chanel loosens the stays of the Edwardian corset and aims for more practical designs, like crushable hats and the eponymous—now ubiquitous—little black dress. Van Haeringen's spare mixed-media illustrations throughout this tiny tribute are as alluring as her subject's timeless designs, capturing the eye with fine pen and ink detail, stark colors, warm watercolor shading, and Bemelmans-like playfulness.With no notes or sources of any kind, the book is unsuitable as biography, but as a picture book, it is utterly endearing. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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