The Hundred Dresses

The Hundred Dresses

• Genre: Fiction; children’s/middle grade classic novella
• Originally Published: 1944
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 870L; grades 3-5
• Structure/Length: 7 chapters; approx. 80 pages; approx. 54 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: A young girl, Maddie, snubs a girl in her class, Wanda Petronski, who claims she has one hundred dresses. A classroom contest reveals to Maddie that she was wrong to tease and exclude Wanda, whose actions show forgiveness and acceptance.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Bullying; brief reference to dated national/racial slurs

Eleanor Estes, Author

• Bio: 1906-1988; born in Connecticut; credits her mother’s stories with promoting her love of literature; worked as a children’s librarian before falling ill with tuberculosis; her illness prompted her to begin writing; wrote 20 books for children, including popular stories about the Moffats, a family inspired by her own from childhood; earned the Newbery Medal (for Ginger Pye; 1952); awarded Certificate of Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Literature (1968)
• Other Works: The Moffats (1941); Ginger Pye (1951); Pinky Pye (1958); The Witch Family (1960); The Alley (1964); The Lollipop Princess (1967); The Moffat Museum (1983)
• Awards: Newbery Honor (1945)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Power of Imagination
• The Damaging Effect of Bullying and Discrimination
• The Importance of Respect and Kindness