Dress-Up Day

PreS-K–This delightful picture book captures the ups and downs of preschool life through the eyes of one girl. The nameless, tan-skinned narrator is excited to wear the rabbit costume her mom made her for dress-up day at school. But when illness forces the girl to stay home, her mom suggests she wear the costume the next day instead. This seems like a great idea, until the other kids make fun of her. Then Hugo shows up in his carrot costume—he was sick, too! The two have so much fun that the others join in, and the next day, a whole bunch of kids show up in costume. The concise, first-person text perfectly captures the little girl’s voice. The paper collage and digital illustrations are done in a naive style, depicting a diverse group of children with round heads, dot eyes, and colorfully dressed bodies. Despite working in deceptively simple forms, Gómez effectively portrays the narrator’s emotions through body language and facial expressions, enhancing and expanding the text.