Every-Day Dress-Up, by Selina Alko; Alfred A. Knopf, 2011; ISBN
0375860924; $16.99
Format: Picture Book
Rating: 1-5 (5 is excellent or a Starred review)
2–would be a 1 but the idea is a good one–just not well executed
Genre: Semi-biographical
What did you like about the book?
The main premise, which was that of a little girl dressing up as
famous women rather than as the ubiquitous princess
What didn’t you like about the book?
Each character was identified only by a first name in the body of the
book, though (very limited) biographical information was provided in
the back. Marie Curie was identified as a chemist rather than the
person who discovered radium’s X-ray properties, for which she is best
known. I didn’t like the first-name format and the “name-dropping”
(“Eleanor” and “Sonia” for Eleanor Roosevelt and Sonia Sotomayor)
because the intended audience would not be likely to know to whom the
author is referring. (Am I the only one who doesn’t know anything
about Alice Neel?)
Neither my assistant nor I liked the illustrations. The paper-doll
endpapers just beg a young patron to cut them out.
This book, like “I’m Your Peanut Butter Big Brother,” is
semi-autobiographical. Since I’m not a fan of “Brother,” either, maybe
I’m not the person to be reviewing this author/illustrator.
To whom would you recommend this book? (Read-alikes if you can think of them)
I wouldn’t recommend it–I just didn’t like it.
Who should buy this book? (Middle schools, high schools, small
libraries, all libraries, etc.)
It would be a marginal book for early elementary picture book. There
isn’t enough information to put it with Biographies.
Where would you shelve it and why? Picture books
Should we (librarians) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? No
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City:
Cynthia Fordham, Children’s Librarian, Woburn Public Library, Woburn MA 01801
Date of review:
1/6/12
