Synopsis
Eleanor Estes’s The Hundred Dresses won a Newbery Honor in 1945 and has never been out of print since. At the heart of the story is Wanda Petronski, a Polish girl in a Connecticut school who is ridiculed by her classmates for wearing the same faded blue dress every day. Wanda claims she has one hundred dresses at home, but everyone knows she doesn’t and bullies her mercilessly. The class feels terrible when Wanda is pulled out of the school, but by that time it’s too late for apologies. Maddie, one of Wanda’s classmates, ultimately decides that she is "never going to stand by and say nothing again."- ★★★★★
- ★★★★☆
- ★★★★★
- ★★★★★
- How did Maddie feel about her behavior toward Wanda? Regret.
- Why was Maddie able to empathize with Wanda? Maddie is also poor and wears hand-me-down clothes.
- Many times Maddie felt Peggy’s behavior was not right. Could the outcome have been different if she had listened to her inner voice?
- Why do you need courage to speak up to correct a wrong? Reflect on the following hadith with your child: “Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then [let him change it] with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart—and that is the weakest of faith.” (#34, 40 Hadith an-Nawawi)
- On p. 49, Maddie feels that her lack of action as a bystander to stop the teasing was worse than Peggy’s tormenting. Do you think she is right? It is one thing to do something wrong and it is another to knowingly do something wrong.
- Maddie was unable to bear the guilt. It had weighed heavily on her as she had lost sleep thinking about Wanda. What did Maddie ultimately learn from this experience after reflecting deeply on her part in this? “If she ever heard anybody picking on someone because they were funny looking or because they had strange names, she’d speak up. Even if it meant losing Peggy’s friendship.” (p. 63)
- For older children, discuss the historical perspective presented in this book—Polish immigration and, on a broader scale, the mass European immigration to the United States during the late 1800s to early 1900s and the resulting anti-immigrant sentiment and discrimination immigrants faced during that time.
Mindful Muslim Review
First published in 1944, this timeless story of the consequences of bullying and discrimination has earned our Gold Star. Set during the wave of Polish immigration at the turn of the 20th century, the story teaches young girls why they need courage to speak up in order to right a wrong, how to respect others by appreciating their differences, why the friends you choose are important, what it means to be a good friend, and the beauty of forgiveness. We highly recommend reading this book aloud to every little girl though children of all ages could greatly benefit from the story’s morals. Note: The Letter to Readers section found in the beginning of the book may be more poignant after the story is read as this book is based on a true story.
