I’m twirling myself silly with delight over this brand new picture book by Boni Ashburn and Julia Denos. 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.

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. But one day, her favoritest dress ever is just too short and she’s beside herself. Mama comes to the rescue, advising that instead of making mountains out of molehills, she make molehills out of mountains. So, with a “SNIP, SNIP, sew sew” — it’s “New shirt, hello!”

Thus begins a series of clever, wholly satisfying transformations. 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. 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!  Continue reading →