The Hundred Dresses

Our read aloud for the past 2 weeks has been The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes. This is a great book that has allowed for some great discussion between Zoe and I. Although I think some of it might have been a little over Zoe's head, I'm sure that the general message was able to get through, I am also sure that it is one of those kind of stories that will stick with us for a while. The Hundred Dresses, is about Wanda, a poor immigrant girl and her way of coping with her poverty and the constant teasing she receives for wearing the same blue dress to school everyday, One of her ways of coping is to tell a story to the little girls about how she has 100 dresses in her closet. We find out by the end of the story that she is not exactly lying. The little girls in the story are not necessarily portrayed as being terrible, they are just immature and materialistic. The story ends sadly with the little girl moving away because of the treatment from the children in her class. This leaves the girls with feelings of remorse and they attempt to make it right with Wanda, but they find out that they are a little too late.
As you can imagine there are so many great discussions that can come from this book. I have decided that when Zoe is just a little older I will put together a mother, daughter book club and this is one of those books we will revisit again.