PPBF: Nancy Bess Had A Dress

Happy December, dear reader; today I'm repurposing some of the food from our Thanksgiving feast. So far, the bone from the spiral-baked ham has become broth for our navy bean soup this week,

And that leads us beautifully into today's PPBF.

Title: Nancy Bess had a Dress

Author: Claire Annette Noland

Illustrator: Angela C. Hawkins

Publisher: Gnome Road Publishing

Birth Date: March 19, 2024

Suitable for: ages 5-8

Themes: recycling, creativity, history

Brief synopsis: When Nancy outgrows her favorite flour-sack dress, how many other uses for it can this young crafter concoct and create?

Opening page: Daddy needed a new hammer, Mama's bucket had a hole, and the flour sack was empty. So, on Saturday, after chores, Nancy Bess and her family piled into the old truck and rattled into town.

Resources:

Read reflections and a book review {here}.

Take a peek inside courtesy of Kathy Temean {here}.

Download the teachers' guide {here}.

Watch the book trailer.

Why I like this book: My two favorite things are

1. the connection I feel to this charming story because

John's mom, Ruby, once wore flour-sack dresses, and

2. the book's captivating and mesmerizing illustrations.

Travel back to the Depression and meet Nancy Bess, a creative young lady, who finds joy the small things in life, like a trip in her family's truck into town to pick out the flour sack which will eventually become her darling daisy dress. Thankfully, as she grows, she does her skill as a seamstress.

Nancy outgrows her dress {and life happens}, but don't fret;

she takes that flour-sack material to her sewing machine and upcycles it.

She measured,

cut,

stitched,

and saved the unused bits.

This poetic refrain will be something young readers will delight in repeating as the story progresses and the pages turn.

The bonus in the back of the book takes me back to my own nostalgic Paper Dolls era even as it excites me at the prospect of using these templates printed on card stock to play dolls with my new granddaughter before too long.

Use Nancy's story as a springboard for a repurposing project; invite your students to create something new to save something that you no longer need from its fate in the landfill.

What could an empty toilet roll be next?

How about a paper towel roll?

How about the pictures on a calendar?

What could an old t-shirt become?

Or an old magazine you no longer need?

An empty water bottle or soda bottle?

Finally, discuss the old addage: Waste Not, Want Not!