The Dress and the Girl

The Dress and the Girl. Camille Andros. Illustrated by Julie Morstad. 2018. Harry N. Abrams. 40 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Back when time seemed slower and life simpler, there was a dress. A dress much like many others, made for a girl by her mother. The dress loved the girl, and the girl loved the dress. They spent each day together, an ordinary girl wearing an ordinary dress. Every day the same story.

Premise/plot: The Dress and The Girl has two narrators: the girl and the dress. (One certainly expects to find the point of view of a girl in a book--a picture book. But one does not expect to ever really read a book from the point of view of a dress.) The two are inseparable until they aren't. What will the dress do without the girl? What will the girl do without the dress?

My thoughts: I just want to say that if you can fall in love with a book based on the end papers alone, I fell in love. It's just that simple. The brown fabric spoke to me, called me by name, said CREATE. I also love the illustrations. They are beautiful and compelling. They compliment the story so well. I'm not as sure about the text as I am the illustrations. I liked it. I did. But at the same time I didn't. I loved when the dress and the girl were together. I liked when the dress and the girl were reunited decades later. But when the dress is on its own, well, the narrative is just so ODD. 

I think adults may appreciate this one more. This book screams out SYMBOLISM. I think the dress symbolizes one's connection to the past, to a way of life, to traditions, to memories; it is tangible reminder of the past, of where you've been. 

Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10

© 2018 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews