The Hundred Dresses By Eleanor Estes

This was a Newbery Honour Book in 1945 so many of you will have not only heard of it but read it as well. It is an interesting little social commentary about our fear of different people as well as how cruel children can be. A little Polish girl in a small town is made fun of because she always wears the same dress to school and her name is not like the other girls. Of the two main culprits one realizes her error but is she too late to make amends? My wish is that every parent would read this to their kids and instill in them a caring nature, especially those kids who are the bullies either physically or emotionally. Maybe that’s too utopian and too much to hope for but stranger things have happened. I just read this with my 14 year old and she and I talked about the whole dynamic of her school and the cliques and ‘popular kids’ and although I knew most of what was going on there it was a great talk. I recommend this book for all ages.