TITLE: Ella Sarah Gets Dressed
AUTHOR: Margaret Chodos-Irvine
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed is a playful, colorful book with a lot
to offer both children and their parents as a read-aloud. Ella Sarah's character
will be familiar to many parents - she's the three, four, or five year old
who knows just what she wants to wear, and is ready to insist on it. Her
heart-felt list of the items in her favorite outfit makes up the book's
refrain: “I want to wear 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!”
As they learn it, children will have fun reading this refrain with you - or you can have them search for each item in the illustration as you read it (“Oh, let's find the yellow shoes!”).
Ella Sarah's desire to wear what she wants puts the book's emphasis on individuality. Each of the members of Ella Sarah's family comments on her outfit, finding it “too dressy”, “too fancy”, or “too silly”. Subtly, the illustrations show that each of the other characters wants Ella Sarah to dress as he or she does. For example, Ella Sarah's mother wants her to wear a flowy blue dress: a kid-sized replica of the one that the mother has on. Ella Sarah's father picks out unfussy, sporty clothes, while big sister wants Ella Sarah to wear her hand-me-downs. Ella Sarah's own treasured outfit is a funny, charming riot of color, full of personality - and Ella Sarah picks it out and puts it on herself.
What Ella Sarah Gets Dressed picks up on is that getting dressed by him or herself is one of the earliest expressions of a child's desire for independence. It's a safe way for a young child to show individuality. The illustrations of Ella Sarah getting dressed by herself are cheerful and bright, and could be encouraging to a child who wants to try getting dressed 'all by myself'.
Ella Sarah's colorful clothes are only part of the distinctive and beautiful illustrations in this book, which was chosen as a Caldecott honor book. Margaret Chodos-Irvine, a printmaker, describes the techniques she uses to create the illustrations in an interview on her publisher's website: “...cutting shapes out of various flat materials (poster board, vinyl, plastic lace, textured wallpaper, to name a few), inking them up with relief inks, and then transferring the inks to a piece of printmaking paper with the help of my press. Each print gets run through the press many times to build up layers of color and texture. I also do some stenciling and stamping to add details to my images.”
The result of this process: illustrations with a striking level of color and texture. Overlaid details like a sock flung over a rocking horse or the green ribbon trim on the 'dress with orange and green flowers' add to the book's realism, as well as to the eye-catching textures and patterns on every page. Another example is the changing wallpaper in different rooms of the house, with its intricate designs and beautiful, bold colors; pinks, oranges, yellows, greens. Part of the interest of the illustrations lies in the realistic postures and movement of characters, in contrast with the bold, bright, stylized color. The slouch of a disappointed toddler, the floppiness of Ella Sarah's stuffed animal, or Ella Sarah putting on her socks while lying on her back couldn't be more real, and are recognizable as part of the immediate world of parents and children.
There are many ways to extend Ella Sarah in a reading with children. The book's emphasis on shape and color would lend itself well to going on a 'pattern hunt'. Have your child help you find patterns and shapes - spirals, paisleys, circles, flowers, fans, stripes, leaves and vines, polka dots. You might also identify the colors on each page. If your child enjoys art projects, the look of Ella Sarah could be mimicked with cut-out shapes and stamping. Cut out different shapes from brightly colored, sturdy paper and glue them onto a background to make people or animals or just geometric shapes. Use stamps, paint, or marker to add details to the shape pictures. (Children who are too young to cut with scissors sometimes enjoy tearing paper to make shapes.) Creating your own “Ella Sarah” paper dolls and their funky outfits would be a fun activity to pursue with older children.
Ella Sarah Gets Dressed is similar to Swimmy by Leo Lionni in the vivacity of its illustrations. It also includes some of the same themes. We've discussed the book's emphasis on individuality, being one's own person. Like Swimmy, Ella Sarah Gets Dressed focuses on community as well. It's plain in the warmth of the illustrations and text that Ella Sarah is a loved and valued member of her family. (Also, it's not surprising that she should have her own sense of style, considering that her mother, father, and sister have their own strongly held opinions - the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree!) In addition, there's a nice surprise at the end of the book - a move toward community. When Ella Sarah's friends come over for a tea party, they're dressed just as wonderfully and wackily as she is; one wears a zoot suit, one a feather boa, and the third a jeweled and feathered headband. It's a funny moment, and one that quietly highlights values of friendship, community, and acceptance for the budding individual.
READ extension:
At READ, we offer the children a big basket of clothes full of all kinds of colorful things - vests, hats, skirts, funky sunglasses, ties, purses, and scarves, and let them pick what they want to put on. It helps them invest in the story and feel like part of it - when the dressed-up kids arrive at the end of the story, we could say “It looks like you!” We also used a doorbell sound effect for when the doorbell rings at the end of the book - you might replicate this at home with a horn or a bell (or just having your child say “DING-DONG!”). Children tend to love sound effects and we bring them in whenever we can. Children could also dress stuffed animals - it's good for fine motor skills as well as expressing creativity.
Book Partners:
Read Ella Sarah Gets Dressed with Swimmy and/or Little Blue, Little Yellow to highlight themes of individuality and community, and compare the colorful illustrations.
Read Ella Sarah with Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? for playful stories that emphasize family and a child's routine of getting dressed.
Ella Sarah could also be read with books about art, artists, and color, not only because of its focus on color and pattern, but because nonconformist, colorful Ella Sarah could be viewed as an artist-to-be (especially when her bohemian friends come into the picture). Here are some suggestions from the Esme's Planet website:
Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh
My Crayons Talk by Patricia Hubbard
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Links:
Interview with Margaret Chodos-Irvine (as illustrator of Hide and Seek)
Author's website
Other Book Reviews:
10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle
Swimmy and Little Blue by Leo Lionni