Hannah and the Seven Dresses

by Marthe Jocelyn

Hannah, a little girl whose mother loves to sew, has a beautiful dress to wear each day of the week, but can't decide what to wear on her birthday, in a picture book illustrated entirely in fabrics. 10,000 first printing.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Canadian born
22 books published for young readers"

Reviews

[Kelly Sommers · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about a little girl who wore a different dress each day. On her birthday she could not decide what she wanted to wear so she put on all of her dresses, This made it hard to participate in all her birthday activities. So she decided to put on pants and a tshirt. She never worse a dress again. This book is great for ages 5 through 8 years old. It teaches chidden about gender norms and that it is okay to be yourself. I would probably keep this book in my classroom in the future but i do not know if I would teach a lesson on it.

[Victoria Salzmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book teaches young girls ages 0-3 to be themselves while keeping a colorful, easy to follow, pattern. I liked this picture book because it had a cute ending and the book is inviting. This book is about a young girl who has many dresses, but realizes in the end that its easier to play games in her pants. She then steps away from her routine of many dresses to find that pants are much more fitting.

[Erin Saflarski]

This beautiful children's picture book tells the story of Hannah, a girl who does not know what to wear on her birthday. She goes through all of her outfits and then decides to wear all of them to solve her problem! This does not end up working out. She ends up finding a solution that makes her feel much better about her identity. This lovely book is relatable for any young girl and could grow to be a favorite. Appropriate for early elementary age students.

[Marya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this author's YA novel, so I was somewhat disappointed by this picture book. Of course, picture books rely more on pictures and lyrical words than on character development. Still, for fans of Birdie's Big Girl Shoes, this is the next logical step.

[Anna Loeppky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a girl who cannot make up her mind on what to wear. She decides on having a dress for each day of the week. These decisions that she is making are very important to her. This book is perfect for preschool children especially if they are bad at making up their minds.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has been a few years since I read this, but I remember thinking it was all right. I was a little old for it when I finally did read it, but it is certainly a good enough children's book. Worth all three stars even to a person of my age!

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful children's story!

[Brandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neat fabric collage illustrations accompany this picture book about decisions and getting dressed.

[Kinnley Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hannah and the Seven Dresses is about a young girl who continuously has a hard time deciding which dress to wear each day. This book was interesting because when Hannah started thinking about what she was going to wear, "Hannah pressed her fists against her eyes until she saw fireworks... her face got hot. She shivered all over. Her knees went jiggly and her toes curled under." The poor girl is only 5 and she would have a small panic attack just thinking about what to wear. I was not sure how I felt about that.. but at the end of the book she decided to ditch dresses from then on, hopefully it will make her mornings a little more relaxing.

[Mare · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the end of the year, I've traveled down the road of my favourite picture books from childhood. I saved this one for last because this was the one I always made my dad read to me almost every night. Going back to this book I'm so happy I hung onto it. It is such a sweet story yet simple story. This book will always have a place in my heart.

[Hannah Atwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is overall okay, but does not have a very impactful plot or message. It is about a little girl that wears the same seven dresses all week. There would not be much value to bring into a classroom unless it has direct correlation to the coursework in some way. It could be read to lower elementary.