So, would you like to know if Boni and Julia ever had a favorite article of clothing or accessory when they were little, and if they have one now? I asked Boni to also include her daughter Lily, who inspired the book.īONI: While my mother had a great deal of fun dressing my little sister and me in matching, homemade dresses, they were never, ever my favorites! I wasn’t much of a dress girl at all (and I’m still not), but I did have a favorite red-and-blue plaid shirt that I wore WAY too much for WAY too long until it mysteriously disappeared. What a beautiful celebration of creativity and all things handmade. Readers will be anxious to see what the “dress” will turn into next, and will love poring over each stylish spread with its cheery colors, paper cut-outs and endearing stitches. Julia’s exuberant mixed media illustrations (watercolor, graphite, colored pencil, needle and thread collage) - so fresh, child-like, and evocative - perfectly complement Boni’s spirited, patterned text (loose internal rhymes, alliterative tag lines, days-of-the-week structure). Growing older is a process of reinvention, and I love how this story embraces positivity, possibility, and resourcefulness.

Speaking of clever transformations, this sprightly, contemporary girly-girl adaptation of the familiar “Something from Nothing” Jewish folktale will totally enchant budding fashionistas, showing them that change needn’t necessarily be a bad thing, since it can invite something new and surprising. And what happens when puppy shreds the bow into teeny tiny scraps? The girl creates something all by herself that enables her to wear her favoritest dress “every day of every season of every year.” Brilliant! When the shirt becomes too tight, Mama turns it into a tank top, then a more school-appropriate skirt, a tassely scarf for winter, a pair of cozy socks, and a pretty hair bow. Thus begins a series of clever, wholly satisfying transformations. So, with a “SNIP, SNIP, sew sew” - it’s “New shirt, hello!” Mama comes to the rescue, advising that instead of making mountains out of molehills, she make molehills out of mountains. But one day, her favoritest dress ever is just too short and she’s beside herself. Here’s a girl who love love loves her salmon-colored, striped-bodice, ruffly-skirt dress, wearing it every single Tuesday, her favorite day of the week. It made me wonder if Boni and Julia ever had a favorite dress. More on that in a bit, but for now, let’s try this charming story on for size. I’m twirling myself silly with delight over this brand new picture book by Boni Ashburn and Julia Denos.

I Had a Favorite Dress by Boni Ashburn