Children Book Review Tour: Dressing Up the Stars: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head by Jeanne Walker Harvey and Diana Toledano

Posted August 19, 2022 by jrsbookr in Children picture book / 0 Comments

Children Book Review Tour: Dressing Up the Stars: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head by Jeanne Walker Harvey and Diana Toledano

by Jeanne Walker Harvey
Children Book Review Tour: Dressing Up the Stars: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head by Jeanne Walker Harvey and Diana ToledanoDressing Up the Stars Published by Beach Lane Books on September 20, 2022
Genres: Juvenile Nonfiction / Art / Fashion, Juvenile Nonfiction / Biography & Autobiography / Women, Juvenile Nonfiction / Clothing & Dress
Pages: 40
Find the Author: Website, Amazon
Goodreads

Discover the true story of how a shy miner’s daughter became one of the most legendary costume designers in Hollywood in this inspiring nonfiction picture book biography.

As a child in the small mining town of Searchlight, Nevada, Edith Head had few friends and spent most of her time dressing up her toys and pets and even wild animals using fabric scraps. She always knew she wanted to move somewhere full of people and excitement. She set her sights on Hollywood and talked her way into a job sketching costumes for a movie studio.

Did she know how to draw or sew costumes? No. But that didn’t stop her!

Edith taught herself and tirelessly worked her way up until she was dressing some of the biggest stars of the day, from Audrey Hepburn to Grace Kelly to Ginger Rogers. She became the first woman to head a major Hollywood movie studio costume department and went on to win eight Academy Awards for best costume design—and she defined the style of an era.

Review:

Dressing up the Stars is an inspiring picture book that looks at the life of a costume designer. Edith comes from simple beginnings but dreams of a life that is more than what she currently has. Like most children, things that interest them in childhood can involve big dreams for what they want to strive to be in adulthood. Her mother saw this big dream of Ediths and sought to make that happen by enrolling her in a high school in Los Angeles, helping to put her on a path to becoming a costume designer.

Edith’s journey is fascinating as she moves from teaching to sketch artist to costume designer. The illustrations are eye-catching and help tell the story. The story also helps children see that it takes determination, hard work, and striving toward what you want without giving up. You can achieve success, but it takes some hard work. The author’s note at the end gives an even more in-depth look at this determined woman for those inquisitive questions children always seem to have.

I recommend Dressing up the Stars to teachers who want to share various jobs and how it can take a bit of grit, but if you’re determined, you can achieve your desires.

Giveaway:

Enter for a chance to win a set of five copies of Dressing Up the Stars: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head!

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A set of five copies of Dressing Up the Stars: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head

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About Jeanne Walker Harvey

Jeanne Walker Harvey studied literature and psychology at Stanford University and has worn many job hats, ranging from being a roller coaster ride operator to an attorney, a middle school language arts teacher, and a long-time docent for school groups at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She is the author of several books for young readers, including the picture book biographies Dressing up the Stars: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head, Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas, and Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines. Jeanne lives in Northern California.