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Ella Sarah Gets Dressed
A 2004 Caldecott Honor Book
Ella Sarah may be little, but she has a BIG sense of style--and it isn't at all like that of her mother, father, and older sister. Yet they all want her to dress just like them! Ella Sarah will have none of it--and when her flamboyantly dressed friends arrive, it's clear that Ella Sarah's favorite outfit is just right for her. Written and illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine, this spirited, Caldecott Honor-winning story
will gently nudge young children toward independence--providing plenty of exuberant colors and patterns to identify along the way.
Ella Sarah may be little, but she has a BIG sense of style--and it isn't at all like that of her mother, father, and older sister. Yet they all want her to dress just like them! Ella Sarah will have none of it--and when her flamboyantly dressed friends arrive, it's clear that Ella Sarah's favorite outfit is just right for her. Written and illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine, this spirited, Caldecott Honor-winning story
will gently nudge young children toward independence--providing plenty of exuberant colors and patterns to identify along the way.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 346 reviews
June 22, 2018
With the thousands of pictures books up for a Caldecott award, how in the hell did this book win one. Seriously. The art is bland and horrible and the story is simplistic at best. There is nothing to make this book stand out. I simply can't believe it won an Honor. Really. There were politics at play here.
I didn't like this so much, I didn't even read this to the kids. This is a waste of an award. I would have been much more kind to the book if it didn't win this award. I would have given it 2 stars.
I didn't like this so much, I didn't even read this to the kids. This is a waste of an award. I would have been much more kind to the book if it didn't win this award. I would have given it 2 stars.
November 10, 2022
I didn't really care for this story. Ella Sarah is practically throwing a tantrum most of the story because each of her parents are telling her to wear something that she says "no" to.... And in the end she wears the outfit she wants; and even though her parents didn't like it, her friends think it's cool - which is to say, that's all that matters.
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**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
SoFolloworFriendme here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and thePicture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sellon Etsy!
June 3, 2023
A cute little story! A strong-willed little girl knows exactly what she wants to wear and sticks to it despite the pressure from family members to wear something less fancy. I was charmed by the closing pages that reveal that sticking to her choice of clothing is not just a whim of childish stubbornness on Ella Sarah's part.
May 6, 2017
It was good, but, not great. The book is about a little girl with opinions on what she wants to wear and parents that don't believe she should make her own decisions about what to wear. I do like that the parents just tell her that her outfit will be too fancy instead of telling her that her outfit is 'bad' or 'doesn't match' or some similar thing.
I let me daughter wear mismatched leggings and tutu's and her combinations always turned out cute and kid appropriate. I've never understood parents who didn't let their kids have some say in what they wore. I mean, obviously outfits should be weather appropriate, but, otherwise I've let my kid pick her clothes since she was 3 or so. So, the parents were a bit annoying to me, but, not as annoying as some I've encountered. In the end, Ella Sarah does get to wear her outfit to her own tea party.
I let me daughter wear mismatched leggings and tutu's and her combinations always turned out cute and kid appropriate. I've never understood parents who didn't let their kids have some say in what they wore. I mean, obviously outfits should be weather appropriate, but, otherwise I've let my kid pick her clothes since she was 3 or so. So, the parents were a bit annoying to me, but, not as annoying as some I've encountered. In the end, Ella Sarah does get to wear her outfit to her own tea party.
February 7, 2013
This book is about a girl named Ella Sarah who wanted to dress herself in this crazy outfit. Her mom, dad, and sister told her not to wear whet she wanted to wear because it was silly, too fancy, or too dressy. Ella was not pleased and threw a mini fit and decided to wear what she wanted. At the end of the story the little girl is playing with her friends in the outfit she wanted to wear. There were many things that I didn't like about this book. 1. the girl throws a fit about what outfit she wants to wear and ends up being able to wear the outfit. 2. her family is telling the little girl what they think she should wear instead of letting her be her own person the first time she asked to wear what she wanted. 3. There was an illustrations of Ella getting dressed that I thought was inappropriate for a children's book. 4. The ending was very quick.
The author seemed to not have many ideas for this book because it wasn't a good storyline. I think the crowd that would be interested in this book is up to kindergarten. Little kids are able to relate because they are going through the phase of learning that they cannot have everything they want and also becoming a little independent.
The author seemed to not have many ideas for this book because it wasn't a good storyline. I think the crowd that would be interested in this book is up to kindergarten. Little kids are able to relate because they are going through the phase of learning that they cannot have everything they want and also becoming a little independent.
February 5, 2008
Precious! Totally the cutest book ever! Ella wants to dress a certain way and no one wants to let her until she has a fit. At the end of the story, when she's finally ready, you see why she is dressed perfectly. Love the illustrations too.
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January 26, 2016Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by Margaret Chodos-Irvine is a beautifully illustrated children’s book. The book is colorful with large bright colored pictures throughout the book. There was no way of determining Ella Sarah’s race or ethnicity. Most children would have been able to identify with Ella Sara. I liked this book because it reframes the thinking of parents about letting children choose their own clothes. Moreover, it illustrates a positive way that children can be assertive in expressing their opinions and in making choices.
Sometimes as adults we think that what children think does not matter. Undoubtedly, there was a time when children would have been told by their parents to “wear what I picked out for you to wear”. Children from some homes would be punished for taking a stand like Ella Sarah did. However, as professionals in early childhood education we now know how important it is for us to acknowledge and encourage children to have opinions and tastes of their own. Ella Sarah wanted to wear her “Pink Polka Dot Pants, Dress with Orange and Green Flowers, Purple and Blue Striped Socks, Yellow Shoes, and Red Hat”. As adults (like her parents and older sister) we might have thought her choice of an outfit was “too dressy, too fancy or silly”. Some adults may have even thought that Ella Sarah’s choice was mismatched and hideous. Since all of the clothes belonged to Ella Sarah and none of them were inappropriate; why spend time fighting with her about her preference?
Parents and adults might want to spend less time trying to make children fit into a perfectly matching mold; and, more time and energy teaching them to express their own opinions. After all, why shouldn’t children be able to wear what they like? It is good for children to have opinions and to express their opinions. If Ella Sarah thought her outfit looked just right then why should she be convinced that her choice was not good enough?
This is book is a good example of how parents can let children develop their own tastes. As an adult I might not like what Ella Sarah chose to wear, but I can remember when my parents didn’t like what I chose to wear either. It is important for children to have an opportunity to develop their own tastes.
Some children may feel pressured to dress the right way so that they please their parents and older siblings. As long as Ella Sarah was dressed appropriately, it was ok for her to choose what she wanted to wear and she had a right to pick out what looked good to her. Apparently she was not the only one who liked her “Pink Polka Dot Pants, Dress with Orange and Green Flowers, Purple and Blue Striped Socks, Yellow Shoes, and Red Hat” It looks like her friends liked her outfit too! Most of all, Ella Sarah was pleased with herself! This is a great book for teaching children independence, individuality and assertiveness.
Sometimes as adults we think that what children think does not matter. Undoubtedly, there was a time when children would have been told by their parents to “wear what I picked out for you to wear”. Children from some homes would be punished for taking a stand like Ella Sarah did. However, as professionals in early childhood education we now know how important it is for us to acknowledge and encourage children to have opinions and tastes of their own. Ella Sarah wanted to wear her “Pink Polka Dot Pants, Dress with Orange and Green Flowers, Purple and Blue Striped Socks, Yellow Shoes, and Red Hat”. As adults (like her parents and older sister) we might have thought her choice of an outfit was “too dressy, too fancy or silly”. Some adults may have even thought that Ella Sarah’s choice was mismatched and hideous. Since all of the clothes belonged to Ella Sarah and none of them were inappropriate; why spend time fighting with her about her preference?
Parents and adults might want to spend less time trying to make children fit into a perfectly matching mold; and, more time and energy teaching them to express their own opinions. After all, why shouldn’t children be able to wear what they like? It is good for children to have opinions and to express their opinions. If Ella Sarah thought her outfit looked just right then why should she be convinced that her choice was not good enough?
This is book is a good example of how parents can let children develop their own tastes. As an adult I might not like what Ella Sarah chose to wear, but I can remember when my parents didn’t like what I chose to wear either. It is important for children to have an opportunity to develop their own tastes.
Some children may feel pressured to dress the right way so that they please their parents and older siblings. As long as Ella Sarah was dressed appropriately, it was ok for her to choose what she wanted to wear and she had a right to pick out what looked good to her. Apparently she was not the only one who liked her “Pink Polka Dot Pants, Dress with Orange and Green Flowers, Purple and Blue Striped Socks, Yellow Shoes, and Red Hat” It looks like her friends liked her outfit too! Most of all, Ella Sarah was pleased with herself! This is a great book for teaching children independence, individuality and assertiveness.
January 23, 2016
Book Title: Ella Sarah Gets Dressed
Author: Margaret Chodos-Irvine
Rating: 4
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed is about a little girl that wants to wear a fancy outfit, but her parents and older sister try to discourage her from wearing this fancy outfit. In the end of the book Ella Sarah gets her way and wears her outfit. The reason why she wanted to wear this outfit is because her friends are also dressing up in their fancy clothes. I think that the main purpose of this book is for children to not be swayed by other people’s opinions children have ideas and they have their reason for doing things the way that they want them and they should always stick with what they want to do no matter their reasons behind it. I also think that there is a message for parents in this book. If Ella Sarah parents would have asked her for her reasoning for wanting to wear her fancy outfit she would have explained to them that her and friends decided to dress fancy that day. I think that the book shows that parents don’t ask their children their reason for doing things and automatically think that children are just doing things for no reason at all. I like the book because it shows the determination that little kids have. Ella Sarah mother, father, and her older sister couldn’t discourage from wearing her outfit even when they used words like, that outfits to fancy or that outfit is too silly, she was not discouraged to wear her fancy outfit and she did. The pictures in the book are vibrate and shows just the right amount of colors and details without the pictures taking over the whole page and discouraging the child or reader from the words of the story or what the story is about. The words in this book are not hard to pronounce and are very easy to catch on to. There is also some rhyme used in the book, so children will probably start to say the words along with the reader after they hear the story a couple of times. If parents or teachers are trying to get their child or students to become interested in reading or trying to teach them to read, then this book will do the trick because of the simple words and easy to pronounce words used in the book. The children will also enjoy looking at the pictures in the book, but like I said earlier they want get to distracted with the pictures because the pictures in this book are just enough to help the story come to life and will take a child’s attention away from the story.
Author: Margaret Chodos-Irvine
Rating: 4
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed is about a little girl that wants to wear a fancy outfit, but her parents and older sister try to discourage her from wearing this fancy outfit. In the end of the book Ella Sarah gets her way and wears her outfit. The reason why she wanted to wear this outfit is because her friends are also dressing up in their fancy clothes. I think that the main purpose of this book is for children to not be swayed by other people’s opinions children have ideas and they have their reason for doing things the way that they want them and they should always stick with what they want to do no matter their reasons behind it. I also think that there is a message for parents in this book. If Ella Sarah parents would have asked her for her reasoning for wanting to wear her fancy outfit she would have explained to them that her and friends decided to dress fancy that day. I think that the book shows that parents don’t ask their children their reason for doing things and automatically think that children are just doing things for no reason at all. I like the book because it shows the determination that little kids have. Ella Sarah mother, father, and her older sister couldn’t discourage from wearing her outfit even when they used words like, that outfits to fancy or that outfit is too silly, she was not discouraged to wear her fancy outfit and she did. The pictures in the book are vibrate and shows just the right amount of colors and details without the pictures taking over the whole page and discouraging the child or reader from the words of the story or what the story is about. The words in this book are not hard to pronounce and are very easy to catch on to. There is also some rhyme used in the book, so children will probably start to say the words along with the reader after they hear the story a couple of times. If parents or teachers are trying to get their child or students to become interested in reading or trying to teach them to read, then this book will do the trick because of the simple words and easy to pronounce words used in the book. The children will also enjoy looking at the pictures in the book, but like I said earlier they want get to distracted with the pictures because the pictures in this book are just enough to help the story come to life and will take a child’s attention away from the story.
January 20, 2016
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed By Margaret Chodos-Irvine
This book is about a girl name Ella Sarah who wanted to wear a certain outfit which was her pink polka-dot pants, dress with orange –and- green flowers, purple –and- blue striped socks, yellow shoes and red hat but her mother, father, and sister each had other outfits in mind for her to wear. Ella’s mother told her that her outfit was too dressy and wanted her to put on something that match which was a blue dress with matching socks and white sandals. Her dad told Ella her outfit was too fancy and wanted her to wear a T-shirt with white shorts and sneakers. Ella’s sister told her outfit was too silly and wanted her to wear her old overalls and boots which Ella’s sister apparently grew out of. They all wanted Ella Sarah to put on things that they wanted her to wear. They did not ask Ella what she wanted to wear so of course Ella, refused to all of the outfits that her family member presented to her. Ella Sarah wanted to dress herself and pick out her own outfit and that she did. Ella put on her pink polka-dot pants, dress with orange –and- green flowers, purple –and- blue striped socks, yellow shoes and red hat. She looked in the mirror and thought her outfit was cool. When Ella Sarah heard the doorbell it was her friends dressed in different patterns as well ready to have their tea party. Her friends thought her outfit was cool too. She seems to know what to wear for a certain occasion.
The message I got out of this book was wear what you want to wear. Wear what makes yourself feel good or whatever make you different from other. Also, don’t let others make choice for you even your family member. Only you know what you like and want. Don’t let the influences of others change who you really are inside.
“Ella Sarah Gets Dressed” by Margaret Chodos-Irvine was a good book. I think it would be a great choice for children who are starting to dress themselves. There is one thing about the book that I did not like which was the parents did not ask Ella Sarah what she wanted to wear. They kind of just told her that the outfit was not appropriate and pick out the outfit they wanted. I do feel a little compromise would have helped, maybe trying to combine their outfits with Ella’s and not just shutting her down.
Overall it was a good book.
This book is about a girl name Ella Sarah who wanted to wear a certain outfit which was her pink polka-dot pants, dress with orange –and- green flowers, purple –and- blue striped socks, yellow shoes and red hat but her mother, father, and sister each had other outfits in mind for her to wear. Ella’s mother told her that her outfit was too dressy and wanted her to put on something that match which was a blue dress with matching socks and white sandals. Her dad told Ella her outfit was too fancy and wanted her to wear a T-shirt with white shorts and sneakers. Ella’s sister told her outfit was too silly and wanted her to wear her old overalls and boots which Ella’s sister apparently grew out of. They all wanted Ella Sarah to put on things that they wanted her to wear. They did not ask Ella what she wanted to wear so of course Ella, refused to all of the outfits that her family member presented to her. Ella Sarah wanted to dress herself and pick out her own outfit and that she did. Ella put on her pink polka-dot pants, dress with orange –and- green flowers, purple –and- blue striped socks, yellow shoes and red hat. She looked in the mirror and thought her outfit was cool. When Ella Sarah heard the doorbell it was her friends dressed in different patterns as well ready to have their tea party. Her friends thought her outfit was cool too. She seems to know what to wear for a certain occasion.
The message I got out of this book was wear what you want to wear. Wear what makes yourself feel good or whatever make you different from other. Also, don’t let others make choice for you even your family member. Only you know what you like and want. Don’t let the influences of others change who you really are inside.
“Ella Sarah Gets Dressed” by Margaret Chodos-Irvine was a good book. I think it would be a great choice for children who are starting to dress themselves. There is one thing about the book that I did not like which was the parents did not ask Ella Sarah what she wanted to wear. They kind of just told her that the outfit was not appropriate and pick out the outfit they wanted. I do feel a little compromise would have helped, maybe trying to combine their outfits with Ella’s and not just shutting her down.
Overall it was a good book.
February 9, 2017
Margaret Chodos-Irvine’s picture book Ella Sara Gets Dressed is about Ella Sarah, a girl who tries to dress herself despite all her family members telling her that her outfit is too crazy. Ella wants to wear her dress with orange-and-green flowers, her pink polka-dot pants, her purple-and-blue striped socks, her yellow shoes, and her red hat. Each of her family members comes up to her stating that her outfit is too dressy and suggests different clothing options. Because of this, Ella gets annoyed, but still, she refuses to give up on her idea of her perfect outfit for the day.
Although Ella is a round character, she is more of a static character. Readers know many characteristics of Ella because of her actions and appearance in the story. We also know her because of what her family’s actions towards her. She is a strong-willed young girl who has a vibrant fashion sense. Her family doesn’t necessarily accept this because they want her to wear something else to school. Despite this, she is a static character because she doesn’t change throughout the story. The plot in this story has a chronological order with a person versus person (Ella versus her family) conflict. The illustrations in the picture book are very whimsical with a cartoon-like quality to them. Chodos-Irvine’s use of color adds to this whimsical feel to the story. The colors that she used were light, bright, and pastel colors. Furthermore, the first letter of the paragraph on every page is enlarged and is teal in color. This also adds to the optimistic and fun feel to the book. These elements together give the story a fun, light-hearted feel that makes it enjoyable to younger age readers.
Reading through the picture book for the first time, I don’t mind it, but I don’t totally love the book either. The repetitiveness of the book makes it a wonderful book for younger children as they’re learning to read; however, there isn’t a lot of deep meaning to it. I liked the idea of it, to stay true to your personal style regardless of what everyone else thinks. Even with this, I still didn’t enjoy the story as much, partially because of the illustrations. I don’t necessarily like the cartoonish style of the illustrations. Overall, this book is perfect for younger children but is not necessarily fun for any other ages to read.
Although Ella is a round character, she is more of a static character. Readers know many characteristics of Ella because of her actions and appearance in the story. We also know her because of what her family’s actions towards her. She is a strong-willed young girl who has a vibrant fashion sense. Her family doesn’t necessarily accept this because they want her to wear something else to school. Despite this, she is a static character because she doesn’t change throughout the story. The plot in this story has a chronological order with a person versus person (Ella versus her family) conflict. The illustrations in the picture book are very whimsical with a cartoon-like quality to them. Chodos-Irvine’s use of color adds to this whimsical feel to the story. The colors that she used were light, bright, and pastel colors. Furthermore, the first letter of the paragraph on every page is enlarged and is teal in color. This also adds to the optimistic and fun feel to the book. These elements together give the story a fun, light-hearted feel that makes it enjoyable to younger age readers.
Reading through the picture book for the first time, I don’t mind it, but I don’t totally love the book either. The repetitiveness of the book makes it a wonderful book for younger children as they’re learning to read; however, there isn’t a lot of deep meaning to it. I liked the idea of it, to stay true to your personal style regardless of what everyone else thinks. Even with this, I still didn’t enjoy the story as much, partially because of the illustrations. I don’t necessarily like the cartoonish style of the illustrations. Overall, this book is perfect for younger children but is not necessarily fun for any other ages to read.
January 27, 2016
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by Margaret Chodos-Irvine is a story about a girl who was about to get dressed for the day. She went to her closet to see what she wanted to wear. She decided that she wanted to wear her pink polka-dot pants, her dress with orange-and-green flowers, her purple-and-blue striped socks, her yellow shoes, and her red hat. Ella Sarah’s family members did not agree with her choices and made other recommendations for her. Ella Sarah’s mother felt her chosen outfit was too dressy and asked her to wear her nice blue dress with matching socks and her white sandals. Her father felt her chosen outfit was too fancy and asked her to wear her yellow T-shirt with white shorts and tennis shoes. Her sister felt her chosen outfit was too silly and asked her to wear overalls and boots that had belonged to her but was now too small and old. However, Ella Sarah did not have a change of mind. She did not accept any of their suggestions by saying, “No” to all of them. She got dressed in the outfit that she had chosen and looked at herself in the mirror. With a smile on her face, she thought her outfit was just right. After which, the doorbell rang. She opened the door and there stood her three friends. They were all dressed in similar attire and had smiles as well. They proceeded to have a tea party, of which they had all preplanned.
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed shows how easy it is to intervene in helping children to make decisions when sometimes it is best to allow them to make their own choices. In situations when it is safe for the child, autonomy should be supported. This independence can be an important step in teaching a child to show initiative, persistence, and flexibility as Ella Sarah showed. Play, particularly dramatic play, is important in helping children develop creativity. As Ella Sarah and friends interact with one another at the tea party, language, social and emotional development will be enhanced.
My personal opinion of Ella Sarah Gets Dressed is that it is a great children’s book. It is simplistic and the message is a teachable one for both adults and children. The pictures are colorful and the print is large and bold. I enjoyed reading this book and it made me smile at the end, just as Ella Sarah did.
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed shows how easy it is to intervene in helping children to make decisions when sometimes it is best to allow them to make their own choices. In situations when it is safe for the child, autonomy should be supported. This independence can be an important step in teaching a child to show initiative, persistence, and flexibility as Ella Sarah showed. Play, particularly dramatic play, is important in helping children develop creativity. As Ella Sarah and friends interact with one another at the tea party, language, social and emotional development will be enhanced.
My personal opinion of Ella Sarah Gets Dressed is that it is a great children’s book. It is simplistic and the message is a teachable one for both adults and children. The pictures are colorful and the print is large and bold. I enjoyed reading this book and it made me smile at the end, just as Ella Sarah did.
September 16, 2014
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed by: Margaret Chodos-Irvine was a cleverly written way of letting young children know that individuality is quite alright! Even when people tell you that you are being too dressy or too silly, being yourself is always the way to go. In this book young Ella Sarah wants to wear the most outrageous outfit that anyone in her family has ever heard of! They do their very best to convince her that wearing a plain outfit would be better but Ella Sarah does not listen. She sticks to what she knows she likes and wears that silly outfit anyway!
This book is completely covered in amazing full-fledged illustrations. There are no thick boarders to be found on the pictures. The text is bold and black so that it is easy to find and read on each page. I think that the pictures definitely enhance the reading experience. They tell another part of the story that the text does not say. The text repeats "I want to wear my pink polka-dot pants, my dress with the orange-and-green flowers, my purple-and-blue striped socks, my yellow shoes, and my red hat!". This gives us a vague idea of how silly the outfit looks but until you see the outfit for yourself, you cannot appreciate its full crazy effect! The color pallet in this book was on point as well. Lots of oranges and yellows and blues were found along the pages which enhanced my reading experience and left me feeling very happy and content at the conclusion of this book.
There is a lot of movement found within these wild pages as well. When she throws a tantrum you can definitely see limbs flailing and her poor stuffed animal being thrown across the pages. My overall impression of this story was that it was very well written, easy to read and follow along with. I believe that the message was clear and well informed and I also think that the text and illustrations work very well together. My only issue with this book was that her family kept trying to take away her "out there" personality instead of encouraging her to be herself and nothing else!
This book is completely covered in amazing full-fledged illustrations. There are no thick boarders to be found on the pictures. The text is bold and black so that it is easy to find and read on each page. I think that the pictures definitely enhance the reading experience. They tell another part of the story that the text does not say. The text repeats "I want to wear my pink polka-dot pants, my dress with the orange-and-green flowers, my purple-and-blue striped socks, my yellow shoes, and my red hat!". This gives us a vague idea of how silly the outfit looks but until you see the outfit for yourself, you cannot appreciate its full crazy effect! The color pallet in this book was on point as well. Lots of oranges and yellows and blues were found along the pages which enhanced my reading experience and left me feeling very happy and content at the conclusion of this book.
There is a lot of movement found within these wild pages as well. When she throws a tantrum you can definitely see limbs flailing and her poor stuffed animal being thrown across the pages. My overall impression of this story was that it was very well written, easy to read and follow along with. I believe that the message was clear and well informed and I also think that the text and illustrations work very well together. My only issue with this book was that her family kept trying to take away her "out there" personality instead of encouraging her to be herself and nothing else!
April 26, 2015
This book centers around a young girl named Ella, who loves to dress herself. After she insists she wants to wear, pink polka-dot pants, a dress with orange and green flowers, purple and blue striped socks, yellow shoes and a red hat, her family tries their best to persuade her otherwise. Her mother offers a nice plain blue dress with matching socks and shoes, Ella wants none of it. Her father than offers her a pair of pants, a t-shirt with a basketball on it and sneakers, Ella wants none of it. Her sister even offered her own clothes as hand-me-downs, Ella declined for a third time. Ella’s mind was made up, she put on her crazy outfit just in time to meet her friends at the door. At the end, the author clearly depicts all of her friends has equally unique styles as she does.
This book fits within a realistic fiction category because this book is written for today’s youth; this story represents contemporary times based on real world situations. Even though this story is based on a problem in a Kindergarten or Preschoolers point of view, little things can be a big deal for someone that does not know any better. The book gives a sense of independence as little Ella is determined to dress in the outfit she picked out. The author does a great job leading the reader through the book; page after page of independence is shown. The author has clearly laid this book out in a way that shows that you have to let young children express themselves in a variety of ways to promote independence.
I would recommend this book to children in preschool and kindergarten and classroom teachers. This teaches valuable lessons and is worth reading every word. Even though the author portrays this lesson through an outfit, it is much bigger than that. The author uses voice and it makes the reader feel as if they the characters in the book are real and are speaking directly towards us.
Great mentor texts that also depict independence and individuality are: Stand Tall by Molly Lou Melon, Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes and A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon.
This book fits within a realistic fiction category because this book is written for today’s youth; this story represents contemporary times based on real world situations. Even though this story is based on a problem in a Kindergarten or Preschoolers point of view, little things can be a big deal for someone that does not know any better. The book gives a sense of independence as little Ella is determined to dress in the outfit she picked out. The author does a great job leading the reader through the book; page after page of independence is shown. The author has clearly laid this book out in a way that shows that you have to let young children express themselves in a variety of ways to promote independence.
I would recommend this book to children in preschool and kindergarten and classroom teachers. This teaches valuable lessons and is worth reading every word. Even though the author portrays this lesson through an outfit, it is much bigger than that. The author uses voice and it makes the reader feel as if they the characters in the book are real and are speaking directly towards us.
Great mentor texts that also depict independence and individuality are: Stand Tall by Molly Lou Melon, Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes and A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon.
December 5, 2012
Citation: Ella Sarah Gets Dressed, by Margaret Chodos-Irvine. (Harcourt, 2003). 40 p. Contemporary Picture book.
Summary: Ella Sarah has a very particular idea of what she wants to wear today. She refuses her mother, her father, and her sister when they suggest more traditional outfits and insists on a colorful combination of her favorites. She finds she is perfectly dressed when her friends arrive for a tea party.
Critique: a) This book’s unique illustrations as demonstrated through a variety of media and printing techniques are what set it apart
b) Complementing this book’s content theme of brightly-colored clothing for an independent-thinking child, the illustrations use what appear to be screen-printing to create overlapping patterns and designs. The background prints are so bright and interesting, while Ella Sarah’s clothing really stands apart. The reader’s eyes are drawn to the patterns on the characters, but a closer look yields fascinating details in the household items.
c) Chodos-Irvine’s creation of wallpaper on the title page is designed with muted tones, but the intricacies of the pattern elicit memories of a past time. Ella Sarah’s quilt shows squares presumably printed from a patterned fabric. The best use of the printing, though, is Ella Sarah’s coveted outfit with the pink and orange polka-dot pants, and the dress with orange-and-green flowers, on which the pattern is printed to show the movement of her arms and body, and all tied together with a green rick-rack pattern, repeated again on the book jacket.
Curriculum Connection: This is an excellent read aloud book for a primary level classroom. The repeating text lends itself to strong participation. It would also make a good complimentary text to a study on colors for a pre-K or Kindergarten class.
Summary: Ella Sarah has a very particular idea of what she wants to wear today. She refuses her mother, her father, and her sister when they suggest more traditional outfits and insists on a colorful combination of her favorites. She finds she is perfectly dressed when her friends arrive for a tea party.
Critique: a) This book’s unique illustrations as demonstrated through a variety of media and printing techniques are what set it apart
b) Complementing this book’s content theme of brightly-colored clothing for an independent-thinking child, the illustrations use what appear to be screen-printing to create overlapping patterns and designs. The background prints are so bright and interesting, while Ella Sarah’s clothing really stands apart. The reader’s eyes are drawn to the patterns on the characters, but a closer look yields fascinating details in the household items.
c) Chodos-Irvine’s creation of wallpaper on the title page is designed with muted tones, but the intricacies of the pattern elicit memories of a past time. Ella Sarah’s quilt shows squares presumably printed from a patterned fabric. The best use of the printing, though, is Ella Sarah’s coveted outfit with the pink and orange polka-dot pants, and the dress with orange-and-green flowers, on which the pattern is printed to show the movement of her arms and body, and all tied together with a green rick-rack pattern, repeated again on the book jacket.
Curriculum Connection: This is an excellent read aloud book for a primary level classroom. The repeating text lends itself to strong participation. It would also make a good complimentary text to a study on colors for a pre-K or Kindergarten class.
September 16, 2014
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed, a storybook by Margaret Chodos-Irvine, is about a young girl who has a mind and style of her own. For being little, Ella Sarah sure does have a big sense of style, especially in comparison to her parents and older sister. She is confident and determined to rock her pink polka-dot pants, purple-and-blue striped socks, red hat, and yellow shoes. However, Ella Sarah’s family does not feel the same way about her bold fashion statements. Instead, they want her to try on more understated outfits that mold their idea of the right look. Her father insists on her wearing a basic yellow shirt, white shorts, and tennis shoes. Despite this, Ella Sarah stays true to herself and expresses her personality by wearing vivid colors and mismatched patterns.
Chodos-Irvine does an impeccable job with the storybook’s illustrations through a variety of creative printmaking techniques. This not only adds emotion to the main character, but gives it a more realistic and relatable feeling. With minimal opaque shapes, the illustrations beautifully convey Ella Sarah through her gestures and temper tantrums. The exuberant colors and patterns of the rugs, wallpaper, and toys create delightful rhythms for the reader. The pops of oranges, yellows, purples, and pinks initially brings focus towards the reader because they surprisingly work together so well and all represent the quirkiness of Ella Sarah’s style. Furthermore, the signature art and minimal words bring a universal childhood struggle to life. While Ella Sarah tends to become repetitive with the list of her clothing, children will enjoy chanting along and being fully engaged. Young children of both sexes can picture themselves in her fierce shoes because everyone expresses their individuality through fashion, whether they mean to or not.
Chodos-Irvine does an impeccable job with the storybook’s illustrations through a variety of creative printmaking techniques. This not only adds emotion to the main character, but gives it a more realistic and relatable feeling. With minimal opaque shapes, the illustrations beautifully convey Ella Sarah through her gestures and temper tantrums. The exuberant colors and patterns of the rugs, wallpaper, and toys create delightful rhythms for the reader. The pops of oranges, yellows, purples, and pinks initially brings focus towards the reader because they surprisingly work together so well and all represent the quirkiness of Ella Sarah’s style. Furthermore, the signature art and minimal words bring a universal childhood struggle to life. While Ella Sarah tends to become repetitive with the list of her clothing, children will enjoy chanting along and being fully engaged. Young children of both sexes can picture themselves in her fierce shoes because everyone expresses their individuality through fashion, whether they mean to or not.
October 18, 2011
1) Picture Book-Concept (Colors/Patterns)
2) When Ella Sarah wants to get dressed in her personally selected outfit, her family tries to persuade her to wear something else. After expressing that she only wanted to wear her flamboyant, multi-colored, multi-colored outfit, she simply gets dressed and joins her friends who dress just like her.
3a) Illustrations
3b) The illustrations really made the book come to life. From left to right, top to bottom, there was something to capture the eye. The bright bold colors and large usage of patterns made it even better. The illustrations also had a cut-and-paste look which I found oddly interesting.
3c) On pages 24 and 25, the illustrator drew a close up of Ella Sarah as she put on her red hat. The details of the page layout alone would be enough to catch the attention of anyone. The way Ella Sarah’s hands were placed on the hat as if you were watching her put it on in front of you. Young readers are also able to learn about simple patterns and basic colors just from the illustrations as Ella Sarah dresses up in her outfit on pages 22-25. The illustrator showed Ella Sarah’s emotions very well when she didn’t want to wear the clothes given to her by her family members, especially when she was at her last straw and threw her teddy bear across the room. On pages 18 and 19, it looks like someone could have cut out pictures from a magazine and glued them in the book. I think this is due to the white outline around some of the pictures which was neat and different.
4) I would use this book to share with the entire class as a whole to introduce or review colors and patterns. The students can then draw their favorite outfit and verbally tell me what each color is and what patterns if any.
2) When Ella Sarah wants to get dressed in her personally selected outfit, her family tries to persuade her to wear something else. After expressing that she only wanted to wear her flamboyant, multi-colored, multi-colored outfit, she simply gets dressed and joins her friends who dress just like her.
3a) Illustrations
3b) The illustrations really made the book come to life. From left to right, top to bottom, there was something to capture the eye. The bright bold colors and large usage of patterns made it even better. The illustrations also had a cut-and-paste look which I found oddly interesting.
3c) On pages 24 and 25, the illustrator drew a close up of Ella Sarah as she put on her red hat. The details of the page layout alone would be enough to catch the attention of anyone. The way Ella Sarah’s hands were placed on the hat as if you were watching her put it on in front of you. Young readers are also able to learn about simple patterns and basic colors just from the illustrations as Ella Sarah dresses up in her outfit on pages 22-25. The illustrator showed Ella Sarah’s emotions very well when she didn’t want to wear the clothes given to her by her family members, especially when she was at her last straw and threw her teddy bear across the room. On pages 18 and 19, it looks like someone could have cut out pictures from a magazine and glued them in the book. I think this is due to the white outline around some of the pictures which was neat and different.
4) I would use this book to share with the entire class as a whole to introduce or review colors and patterns. The students can then draw their favorite outfit and verbally tell me what each color is and what patterns if any.
September 25, 2013
A great picture book is Ella Sarah gets dressed by Margaret Chodos-Irvine. This is a great book because it celebrates children’s creativity and independence. In this modern age, students are told by the media how they should dress and think. This book however teaches just the opposite, to dress how you feel, to let others know who you are and have fun. The book audience for the book is kindergartners to first graders. This is an issue children face and Ella Sarah gives insightful advice.
The artistic media that is used in this book is cartoon art. The illustrator uses watercolor as her medium. In addition, the illustrator gives a white, thin outline for all her pieces. For example, Ella Sarah is outlined in white. The overall drawing gives the reader the sense that it is a collage when in reality it is not a collage. Throughout the book the author uses vibrant colors that reflect a lot of the same color choices of a kindergartner, which they can relate to. The illustrations in the story are double spread. A great example of how the illustrations match the text is when Ella Sarah finally put on what she always wanted to wear. Ella Sarah first put on her pant, and then the dress followed by the socks, her shoes and finishes her combo with her red hat. The text is above the illustrations that captures the moments when Ella Sarah is putting the individual garments. When she put on her hat, we see a shadow underneath her chin. Also, brush strokes create the ruffled ribbon at the end of her sleeves.
In all, this book is a great picture storybook because it has a great message and its illustrations are engaging. I would rate this book four stars out of five. I would use this book and recommend this book to others.
The artistic media that is used in this book is cartoon art. The illustrator uses watercolor as her medium. In addition, the illustrator gives a white, thin outline for all her pieces. For example, Ella Sarah is outlined in white. The overall drawing gives the reader the sense that it is a collage when in reality it is not a collage. Throughout the book the author uses vibrant colors that reflect a lot of the same color choices of a kindergartner, which they can relate to. The illustrations in the story are double spread. A great example of how the illustrations match the text is when Ella Sarah finally put on what she always wanted to wear. Ella Sarah first put on her pant, and then the dress followed by the socks, her shoes and finishes her combo with her red hat. The text is above the illustrations that captures the moments when Ella Sarah is putting the individual garments. When she put on her hat, we see a shadow underneath her chin. Also, brush strokes create the ruffled ribbon at the end of her sleeves.
In all, this book is a great picture storybook because it has a great message and its illustrations are engaging. I would rate this book four stars out of five. I would use this book and recommend this book to others.
February 10, 2015
The picture-story book ELLA SARAH GET DERSSED is written and illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine. Ella Sarah is a girl who she knows what she wants especially when she is dressing, she knows what she wants to wear: “she want her pink polka-dot pants, her dress with orange and green flowers, her purple and blue striped socks, her yellow shoes and her red hat”. The story develops with her family suggesting to wear more formal clothes, or not silly cloths, but she says No! And finally she wears what she wants!
In this book the text and the pictures, both are important, because even though the text is repetitive, gives meaning to the story and rounds the message. It is clear that Ella Sarah doesn´t want to wear normal clothes, she wants the colorful dress and the red hat, and she wants to wear the clothes that she likes. And this message is very-very important, because now a day we worry too much about our image and what others think about us. It shows too, how children don´t feel embarrassed wearing “estrange” clothes, and this is also significant.
The pictures are nice; they are not so realistic but, transmit very well Ella Sarah´s feelings. I liked the contrasts that the author did with colors of the pages; one page is crowed of colors and the next one in white with just some images. These give sense to the story. The covers have their especial function too, because the story start in the front cover and finishes in the back one.
So without any hesitation I would use this sweet book in a class with children of 2-4 years.
In this book the text and the pictures, both are important, because even though the text is repetitive, gives meaning to the story and rounds the message. It is clear that Ella Sarah doesn´t want to wear normal clothes, she wants the colorful dress and the red hat, and she wants to wear the clothes that she likes. And this message is very-very important, because now a day we worry too much about our image and what others think about us. It shows too, how children don´t feel embarrassed wearing “estrange” clothes, and this is also significant.
The pictures are nice; they are not so realistic but, transmit very well Ella Sarah´s feelings. I liked the contrasts that the author did with colors of the pages; one page is crowed of colors and the next one in white with just some images. These give sense to the story. The covers have their especial function too, because the story start in the front cover and finishes in the back one.
So without any hesitation I would use this sweet book in a class with children of 2-4 years.
March 29, 2016
"Ella Sarah Gets Dressed" is about a young girl named Ella Sarah who wakes up one morning wanting to dress herself and the family members try to persuade her to wear a different outfit throughout the story. The outfit Ella Sarah so longs to wear is a dress with orange-and-green flowers, pink polka-dot pants, purple-and-blue striped socks, yellow shoes, and a red hat. Ella Sarah's mom, dad, and sister suggest and outfit for her to wear but she says, "no." Finally, Ella Sarah gets dressed by herself and meets up with a group of friends for a playdate.
The key theme in "Ella Sarah Gets Dressed" is independence. Ella Sarah has a strong will of making her own decisions and would like the freedom to do so. She wants to be able to express her own individuality and not continue to allow family to pick out her clothes.
I really liked this short story and I have rated it four stars. The colors within the illustrations are bright and allow the reader to catch an understanding of Ella Sarah's personality.
"Ella Sarah Gets Dressed" is a great representative of a toddlers independent personality. At this stage, a child wants to be able to decide on things for themselves. I can remember when my cousin was younger, she always wanted to dress herself and wore the same purple dress over and over again.
I would recommend this story for little girls to read or for their parents to read it to them. This book would be great for girls to read so they can learn independence and a sense of style!
The key theme in "Ella Sarah Gets Dressed" is independence. Ella Sarah has a strong will of making her own decisions and would like the freedom to do so. She wants to be able to express her own individuality and not continue to allow family to pick out her clothes.
I really liked this short story and I have rated it four stars. The colors within the illustrations are bright and allow the reader to catch an understanding of Ella Sarah's personality.
"Ella Sarah Gets Dressed" is a great representative of a toddlers independent personality. At this stage, a child wants to be able to decide on things for themselves. I can remember when my cousin was younger, she always wanted to dress herself and wore the same purple dress over and over again.
I would recommend this story for little girls to read or for their parents to read it to them. This book would be great for girls to read so they can learn independence and a sense of style!
May 1, 2012
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed byMargaret Chodos-Irvineis a story of a little girl who insists on picking her own outfit to wear, despite other suggestions from her family.
The bold, bright illustrations were created using a variety of printmaking techniques on Rives paper. My favorite images are blue outfit, yellow T-shirt, fist shaking, getting dressed, red hat, friends, and party. The many patterns should attract young viewers. Particularly striking are the double page spreads of the red hat, mirror, friends, and party.
I liked the illustrations, though I didnt't like the stuffed cat being thrown. The repetition, predictible nature of the story and bold font make this a good choice for beginning readers. I found the tantrum part realistic, but a bit annoying. The struggle between independence and dependence is shown. I liked the fact that Ella Sarah definitely didn't want to dress like her mother or with hand-me-downs from her sister. Despite the tantrum, I enjoyed this. 4.0 rating.
For ages 3 to 6, colors, independence, clothing, individuality, family-tragedy, self-expression, following-own-rules, standing-up-for-yourself, tantrums, predictible, and fans of Margaret Chodos-Irvine.
The bold, bright illustrations were created using a variety of printmaking techniques on Rives paper. My favorite images are blue outfit, yellow T-shirt, fist shaking, getting dressed, red hat, friends, and party. The many patterns should attract young viewers. Particularly striking are the double page spreads of the red hat, mirror, friends, and party.
I liked the illustrations, though I didnt't like the stuffed cat being thrown. The repetition, predictible nature of the story and bold font make this a good choice for beginning readers. I found the tantrum part realistic, but a bit annoying. The struggle between independence and dependence is shown. I liked the fact that Ella Sarah definitely didn't want to dress like her mother or with hand-me-downs from her sister. Despite the tantrum, I enjoyed this. 4.0 rating.
For ages 3 to 6, colors, independence, clothing, individuality, family-tragedy, self-expression, following-own-rules, standing-up-for-yourself, tantrums, predictible, and fans of Margaret Chodos-Irvine.
July 29, 2012
Ella Sarah knows exactly what she wants to wear this morning:
“My pink polka-dot pants,
my dress with orange-and-green flowers,
my purple-and-blue striped socks,
my yellow shoes,
and my red hat.”
Unfortunately, the rest of Ella Sarah’s family has other ideas. Her mother thinks the outfit is too dressy and suggests she wear a nice blue dress. Her father thinks she should wear her yellow T-shirt and white shorts. And her sister pulls out her old overalls. But Ella Sarah is adamant and so she puts on her colorful outfit. She thinks she looks just right and so do all her friends who arrive for a fancy pretend tea party.
The illustrations in this Caldecott Honor book are bright, created with silhouetted shapes and printed patterns. Vibrant colors and a variety of printmaking techniques are used to create Ella Sarah’s world. Chodos-Irvine has clearly put a lot of thought into the layout of the illustrations. Sometimes the whole page is filled with a close up of Ella Sarah’s face, while another page features a series of smaller illustrations that show Ella Sarah getting dressed. The text moves along quickly. The description of Ella Sarah’s preferred outfit is frequently repeated, much like the chorus of a song.
Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day:http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...
“My pink polka-dot pants,
my dress with orange-and-green flowers,
my purple-and-blue striped socks,
my yellow shoes,
and my red hat.”
Unfortunately, the rest of Ella Sarah’s family has other ideas. Her mother thinks the outfit is too dressy and suggests she wear a nice blue dress. Her father thinks she should wear her yellow T-shirt and white shorts. And her sister pulls out her old overalls. But Ella Sarah is adamant and so she puts on her colorful outfit. She thinks she looks just right and so do all her friends who arrive for a fancy pretend tea party.
The illustrations in this Caldecott Honor book are bright, created with silhouetted shapes and printed patterns. Vibrant colors and a variety of printmaking techniques are used to create Ella Sarah’s world. Chodos-Irvine has clearly put a lot of thought into the layout of the illustrations. Sometimes the whole page is filled with a close up of Ella Sarah’s face, while another page features a series of smaller illustrations that show Ella Sarah getting dressed. The text moves along quickly. The description of Ella Sarah’s preferred outfit is frequently repeated, much like the chorus of a song.
Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day:http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...
October 18, 2017
This review is required for Dr. Sykes READ3307 course at the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor.
Ella Sarah wants to wear a certain outfit, but each member of her family is telling her that she should wear something else instead. Ella Sarah is a very young brunette girl and very persistent in wearing this outfit. She has a mind of her own, and she is stubborn. She does not conform to the opinions of her family. The setting takes place at Ella Sarah’s house. The theme of this book is staying true to yourself, even when others are persuading you to be different. The point-of-view is in third person. In regards to the style of the book, the pictures are very colorful, bright, and large. There are minimum words on each page, clearly geared for very young readers. The sentences sometimes go directly beside a picture to get the point across better. This is a hardback book, with glossy pages. It is easy to read and the pictures and fun and inviting for a young child. The pictures look like they are cut out from different colored papers and pasted to form the illustrations. Ella Sarah lives in a house with her mom, dad, and older sister. It is the average middle-class American household. Ella Sarah also has some friends who seem to be middle-class as well, who appear at the end of the story. The recommended read-together age for this book is 3-6. The read-alone age ranges from 5- 8.
Ella Sarah wants to wear a certain outfit, but each member of her family is telling her that she should wear something else instead. Ella Sarah is a very young brunette girl and very persistent in wearing this outfit. She has a mind of her own, and she is stubborn. She does not conform to the opinions of her family. The setting takes place at Ella Sarah’s house. The theme of this book is staying true to yourself, even when others are persuading you to be different. The point-of-view is in third person. In regards to the style of the book, the pictures are very colorful, bright, and large. There are minimum words on each page, clearly geared for very young readers. The sentences sometimes go directly beside a picture to get the point across better. This is a hardback book, with glossy pages. It is easy to read and the pictures and fun and inviting for a young child. The pictures look like they are cut out from different colored papers and pasted to form the illustrations. Ella Sarah lives in a house with her mom, dad, and older sister. It is the average middle-class American household. Ella Sarah also has some friends who seem to be middle-class as well, who appear at the end of the story. The recommended read-together age for this book is 3-6. The read-alone age ranges from 5- 8.
October 7, 2009
Margaret Chodos-Irvine’s Ella Sarah Gets Dressed is perfect for preschool-kindergarten children, although it can be appreciated by readers of all ages. Young Ella Sarah is a kid with flair, and she has a special outfit in mind: "my pink polka-dot pants, my dress with orange-and-green flowers, my purple-and-blue striped socks, my yellow shoes, and my red hat." Mom, Dad, and Big Sister offer alternate ensembles, complaining that Ella Sarah's outfit is "too dressy" and "too silly," but Ella Sarah insists on her own choice and finally manages to pull everything on. Then the doorbell rings. In walks a crowd of Ella Sarah's young friends, dressed in equally flamboyant clothes, and the glamorous kids enjoy a tea party. With minimal words and her signature art marked by bright, bold prints, Chodos-Irvine perfectly captures a universal childhood struggle. Preschoolers will enjoy chanting along with Ella Sarah's often repeated list of clothing, and the illustrations create strong mood and movement with just a few opaque shapes, beautifully conveying Ella Sarah's gestures, from pre-tantrum stuffed-animal tosses to the wrestling war of getting dressed to her smug tea pouring at the story's end. This book is a winner of the Caldecott Honor.
October 17, 2011
(Patterned/ Predictable Books)I think this book is simply amazing. The colors are bright and bold and go right along with text as any childrens picture book should! The illustations focused solely on Ella Sarah and her clothing. Although other dialogue from other characters was in the book their faces were not shown which kept the focus on Ella Sarah and the bright colors of her clothing. I liked that the pages were broken up into white pages with little illustration whereever the pattern of Ella Sarah saying "No. I want to wear my pink polka dot...." and then there was a burst of illustrations with lots of color on the next pages. I enjoyed the message that was sent in this book to children that no matter what other people think of you it is most certainly okay to step out of the box and be different even when it comes to something as simple as clothing. The illustrations most certainly went along with the text for each piece of clothing mentioned in the text it was shown in the illustrations. Ella Sarah was happy with her look and proud despite was her family may have said about her choice of clothing. I think that this book is appropriate for early readers especially those who are starting to have the urge to dress themselves and create their own style.
December 5, 2014
Jennifer Johnson and Carly Meyers
Ella Sarah wants to pick out her outfit with pink polka dot pants, dress with green and orange flowers, purple and blue striped socks, yellow shoes and red hat. When her mom asks her what she wants to wear Ella Sarah tells her. Then Mom said that it was too fancy and she should wear her blue dress instead. Ella Sarah didn't want to wear that. When her dad asks her what she wants to wear, Ella Sarah tells him. Dad said it was too fancy as well and told her to wear her yellow t-shirt with white shorts and her tennis shoes but Ella Sarah didn't want to wear that either. Then her sister told Ella Sarah that her outfit was too silly. What will Ella Sarah end up wearing?
This story is under the realistic fiction genre due to the childlike antics and real life scenarios. Children can relate because they like to pick out their own outfits without others telling them no. This story goes through Ella Sarah's start of the day of picking out what to wear. Ella Sarah is a believable character and the readers can relate. The colors on the page are bright and colorful which doesn't show any negative emotions. The words and pictures flow together so the new readers can go through the book with ease.
Ella Sarah wants to pick out her outfit with pink polka dot pants, dress with green and orange flowers, purple and blue striped socks, yellow shoes and red hat. When her mom asks her what she wants to wear Ella Sarah tells her. Then Mom said that it was too fancy and she should wear her blue dress instead. Ella Sarah didn't want to wear that. When her dad asks her what she wants to wear, Ella Sarah tells him. Dad said it was too fancy as well and told her to wear her yellow t-shirt with white shorts and her tennis shoes but Ella Sarah didn't want to wear that either. Then her sister told Ella Sarah that her outfit was too silly. What will Ella Sarah end up wearing?
This story is under the realistic fiction genre due to the childlike antics and real life scenarios. Children can relate because they like to pick out their own outfits without others telling them no. This story goes through Ella Sarah's start of the day of picking out what to wear. Ella Sarah is a believable character and the readers can relate. The colors on the page are bright and colorful which doesn't show any negative emotions. The words and pictures flow together so the new readers can go through the book with ease.
December 8, 2015
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed was a really good book to read to children in the toddler/elementary school range. This book has a lot of great quality lessons children can look up to while learning. Children want to be different and seem as if they are grown up, and this book really shows children how to be themselves. Doing what you want can really help a child express themselves. It’s really hard sometimes for people to be able to be themselves, and this book can just remind a parent or even a child that being yourself and who you want to be is so important. We are only kids for a short while so I just wish more parents and children read this book. Being a kid is so lost nowadays, and it just isn’t preserved. This book is a pretty easy read, with lots of bright colors to look at through the book. It’s not one of the best books I have read, because there isn’t a lot to it. I wish there was more content to the book, I feel like they could have done better to make it more appealing. It’s a good moral book but I just feel like there isn’t enough to love the book. It is a great start for kids who are having troubles to find themselves, or teaching parents how to let their kids be who they want to be.
Read
January 24, 2016Ella Sarah is a little girl who seems to be very independent because she has a mind of her own. She knows what she wants to wear so she decided that she wanted to dress herself. Ella Sarah has a wide sense of style and her mother, father and big sister doesn't like it. They think she should dress like them but with Ella Sarah already having her mind made up she is not having that. She wanted to wear pink polka-dot pants, a dress with orange and green flowers, purple and blue stripped socks, yellow shoes, and a red hat. When her family tried to get her to change her mind she does not go for it. Ella Sarah is determined to get what she wants and have her way. She wanted to be fancy because her friends was going to be wearing something fancy.
I loved the book. I think when children have their mind made up of how they want something done it's no changing their minds. You just have to find out why they want it that way and let them do it. It's just about letting them be independent and comfortable enough to do their own thing. I think that the book shows us as parents sometimes don't take the time out and think about the reason why their child is doing this or that. Ella Sarah was very determined and stood her ground.
I loved the book. I think when children have their mind made up of how they want something done it's no changing their minds. You just have to find out why they want it that way and let them do it. It's just about letting them be independent and comfortable enough to do their own thing. I think that the book shows us as parents sometimes don't take the time out and think about the reason why their child is doing this or that. Ella Sarah was very determined and stood her ground.
October 5, 2017
Like most preschoolers, Ella Sarah has interesting, if not questionable, fashion sense, but she and her friends think her outfit is fabulous, and that is what matters. There are several things to love about the illustrations in this picture book. One is the eye-popping bright colors, which fill every spread and draw the eye right into the story. Another is Ella Sarah’s sad faces, and tantrum motions, which increase with intensity the more her family suggests that she conform to their style of dress. Best of all is the scene where Ella Sarah dons her outfit of choice and stands triumphant before the mirror. She probably shouldn’t have thrown her teddy bear at her sister, but she’s looking good! This is a story about fierce independence, not about listening to your mother, but that just shows it’s a true children’s story, written from the child’s point of view.
Read at preschool story time on 3/16/12:http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read during rec. center class visit on 2/20/13:http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read at preschool story time on 3/16/12:http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
Read during rec. center class visit on 2/20/13:http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
October 28, 2009
Grade/Interest Level: Pre-K-1
Ella Sarah is a little girl who knows what she likes. In spite of her family members' advice, she is determined to wear the unique outfit she has put together for herself.
This example of realistic fiction has a message most everyone will be able to relate to: being proud of the unique person you are. The text is accessible for early readers, and the large, colorful illustrations often span across the pages. The fact that Ella is the "star" of this story is highlighted in the way the illustrator lets the top of the page crop off the upper body of each adult figure. It might also serve as a way for the reader to imagine the faces of people in their own lives that try to tell them what to wear or how to act. With young students, I would use this book as a prompt for discussion about everyone's uniqueness and how they express it. I might have students create a classroom "Ella", with each student decorating an article of her clothing in their own way, signifying the beautiful uniqueness in each member of our class.
Ella Sarah is a little girl who knows what she likes. In spite of her family members' advice, she is determined to wear the unique outfit she has put together for herself.
This example of realistic fiction has a message most everyone will be able to relate to: being proud of the unique person you are. The text is accessible for early readers, and the large, colorful illustrations often span across the pages. The fact that Ella is the "star" of this story is highlighted in the way the illustrator lets the top of the page crop off the upper body of each adult figure. It might also serve as a way for the reader to imagine the faces of people in their own lives that try to tell them what to wear or how to act. With young students, I would use this book as a prompt for discussion about everyone's uniqueness and how they express it. I might have students create a classroom "Ella", with each student decorating an article of her clothing in their own way, signifying the beautiful uniqueness in each member of our class.
February 25, 2011
Toddler Ella Sarah wants to wear her combination of pink polka-dot pants, orange-and-green flowered dress, purple-and-blue striped socks, yellow shoes, and red hat. Yet, her mother, father, and big sister try to suggest other options, to convince her to wear something more appropriate. Nonetheless, Ella Sarah insists on wearing what SHE chooses to wear…and she does just that. “Ella Sarah thought her outfit was just right. And so did her friends.” With all of the elements of a true picture book, the illustrations dominate the pages with full color and add so much detail to the text of the story. For Pre-K and kindergarten readers, they will be able to connect to the story through personal experiences of exploration and free play. This is a fantastic story of independence and self-expression. To further encourage high self-esteem and self-expression in young children, I’m Gonna Like Me: Letting Off a Little Self-Esteem (2002) by Jamie Lee Curtis and My Princess Boy (2010) by Cheryl Kilodavis are great texts to add to the classroom collection.
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