Luxbacher is pure genius, weaving in a half century-plus of fashion history into a glowing celebration of family.
A cozy read-aloud, particularly for grandparents and their grandchildren.
Luxbacher’s gentle story, dedicated to her father “Frank the Tailor,” brims with nostalgia and affection.
A USBBY Outstanding International Book
A Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice
"Outstanding mixed-media collages and a thoughtful text create a distinctive book that rises far above most tributes to grandparental love. . . . a perfect book." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Beautifully written and filled with visual details of days gone by, this small treasure is waiting to be shared again and again with a young grandchild…or with any young child." — School Library Journal
"Luxbacher is pure genius, weaving in a half century-plus of fashion history into a glowing celebration of family." — BookDragon
"A cozy read-aloud, particularly for grandparents and their grandchildren." — Booklist
"This quiet story is a wonderful homage to grandparents everywhere who delight in pleasing their grandchildren." — Library Media Connection
“In short, the outfit Mr. Frank was making today was perfect. So perfect, that after sewing the last stich, Mr. Frank knew there was nothing else he wanted to do. No suit, no dress, no costume, no tutu would ever seem special enough to thread another needle for.” — from the book
07/01/2014
PreS-K—Mr. Frank has been a tailor for many years, and he has made lots of stylish and playful, dazzling, comfortable, and special outfits for a variety of people. But today he has received an order for "an outfit that made all the others seem rather dull." As he thinks back some 60 years and recalls some of the clothing he has created and repaired—soldiers' uniforms, tailored men's suits, miniskirts, gauzy tutus, and more—he realizes that none of them will ever be as special as the outfit he is making this day. When it is finished, he will pack up his shop and retire—almost—for there is someone very important for whom he wants to continue to create special outfits. Luxbacher's warm, mixed-media illustrations combine pencil, cloth, collage, drawings, photos, clothing patterns, magazine clippings, and more. They are filled with color, pattern, texture, history, reminiscence, and love. Beautifully written and filled with visual details of days gone by, this small treasure is waiting to be shared again and again with a young grandchild…or with any young child.—Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Public Library, OH
★ 2014-07-16
Outstanding mixed-media collages and a thoughtful text create a distinctive book that rises far above most tributes to grandparental love. "Mr. Frank was a tailor," proclaims the first page, in bold, unambiguous lettering. The image is of an older man, humbly clothed in a baseball cap and a fuzzy sweater with elbow patches. He smiles slightly as he prepares to unlock his workshop door. In the next pages, readers learn that today, "Mr. Frank received an order for an outfit that made all the others seem rather dull." The double-page spreads that follow are perfect examples of artwork extending text, as each decade of Mr. Frank's long career reveals the fashions he helped to create and promulgate—always in the context of how much more wonderful Mr. Frank's newest creation must be. From army uniforms to miniskirts to tutus, readers get a taste of past fashions, as this outfit must be "more stylish than the suits he made over fifty years ago" and "more playful than the dresses and skirts he hemmed forty-some-odd years ago." In fact, the project Mr. Frank works on so lovingly today is "perfect…there was nothing else he wanted to do." The entirely wordless climax hints that the book may be turning maudlin, until the turn of the page reveals a humorous and heartwarming denouement. It's a perfect ending to a perfect book. (Picture book. 3-7)
