Dress Like a Girl

by Patricia Toht, Lorian Tu-Dean (Illustrator)

Overview

A playful and fashionable slumber party takes an empowering turn in this gorgeous picture book, perfect for fans of Princesses Wear Pants and Rosie Revere, Engineer!

In these beautifully illustrated pages, a diverse cast of slumber party participants considers the most time-honored traditions for how to dress. If a lady should wear white in summertime, then how about donning a spacesuit? If team colors are apropos at sporting events, why not wear helmets and play ball?

Uplifting and resonant, and with a variety of interests ranging from sports to science to politics, this book is sure to inspire any young girl, instilling the idea that the best way to dress like a girl is the way that makes you feel most like YOU!

What does it mean to dress like a girl?

Many will tell you in this big, wide world

that there are strict rules that must be addressed,

rules you will need when looking your best.

But when you are given these rules to obey,

the secret is heeding them—in your own way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062798923
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	01/22/2019
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	497,833
Product dimensions:	9.80(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

Editorial Reviews

12/10/2018

Toht pokes fun at fashion “rules” as a diverse group of friends dress for a variety of special occasions. When “bright, vivid hues” are in order, the girls don firefighter and police uniforms, and when a day at the beach (or bath time) calls for “sleek swimwear,” they wear snorkel gear. On “game day,” they don uniforms to play sports (among them hockey, soccer, basketball, and football), and in a tool shop, they wear hard hats and take measurements. Tu-Dean captures the joy of dressing up, friendship, and discovery in her mixed-media art. Fashion is limitless and fun, Toht suggests—but it’s not so much the clothes that matter as the individual underneath. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

A promotion of girl power . . .  girl-centric playtime, role play, and friendship.” — Kirkus Reviews

“What does it mean to “dress like a girl?” The six youngsters in this title show that there are no restrictions when it comes to answering that question… The girls-can-do-anything theme rings loud and clear and is presented with energy in an entertaining format.” — ALA Booklist

“Tu-Dean captures the joy of dressing up, friendship, and discovery in her mixed-media art. Fashion is limitless and fun, Toht suggests—but it’s not so much the clothes that matter as the individual underneath.” — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

What does it mean to “dress like a girl?” The six youngsters in this title show that there are no restrictions when it comes to answering that question… The girls-can-do-anything theme rings loud and clear and is presented with energy in an entertaining format.

ALA Booklist

02/01/2019

PreS-K—What does it mean to "dress like a girl"? This timely picture book features six energetic young girls who dream past stereotypical gender norms and societal expectation. In rhyming verse, the narrative explains that while "[m]any will tell you in this big wide world /that there are strict rules that must be addressed," girls can demonstrate their own unique freedom in thinking outside the predictable dress-up box. The girls in this story are attending a sleepover and instead of donning prescribed tiaras, fairy wings, or tutus, their limitless imaginative dress-up play includes the warm reds and striking blues of a firefighter or police officer outfit, the confident white of a lab coat or space suit, or the sleek black of a scuba suit or a judge's robes. Tu-Dean's welcoming watercolor pencil-and-ink illustrations beautifully capture this friendly, ambitious girl group alongside the text, which ultimately urges girls to "Express your true self, for there's only one you/Can't find what you like? Then design something new!" VERDICT Empowering and encouraging, this title delivers an important message for today's girls: dream big and be yourself. Recommended for picture book shelves.—Brianne Colombo, Fairfield Free Public Library, NJ

School Library Journal

2018-09-30

Fashion-conscious young girls get practical tips on finding suitable outfits for every occasion—and profession.

An ethnically diverse group of girls arrives at the home of their friend, whose Asian father and black mother look on. In the rhyming text readers learn that the rules about what it means to dress like a girl are to be heeded "in your own way." The girls proceed to play dress-up and make-believe with costumes of astronauts, doctors, conductors, fire fighters, police officers, scuba divers, arctic explorers, athletes, and construction workers. The ink-and-watercolor illustrations render lively children against spare backgrounds of rooms throughout the house that adapt to the girls' imaginations. Readers are told to "Make your own rules / in this big wide world. // Set your sights high / and… // …DRESS LIKE A GIRL!" After many play scenes, they demonstrate their costumes and personalities for the hostess's family, holding signs that say "Whoooo runs the world? GIRLS" and "My own hero" and "Get it, GIRL!" Then they fall asleep in their superhero-, dinosaur-, and outer-space-themed sleeping bags, with costume equipment scattered around on the floor. More a promotion of girl power than a challenge to gender—it does still validate the concept of "dressing like a girl"—this book encourages girls to broaden their horizons beyond princesses and fairies.

A cute reflection of girl-centric playtime, role play, and friendship. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews