Children's Literature
- Joella Peterson
Budding drama-queens and fashionistas alike will immediately enjoy this new picture book with end pages that depict silhouettes of various clothing items such as dresses, shoes, dance outfits, etc. This little girl has a problem, she does not like many of the clothes she is given to possibly wear. They are "too purpley, too tickly, to pucker, too prickly" and so on. In each case, the youngster and her pet turtle try on various items of clothing to prove how they are simply not right. The bright computer-generated illustrations are full of bold colors, interesting patterns, and fun expressions. Readers are sure to love the pigtailed girl who knows exactly what she wants. Parents and children alike will relate to wanting to find the "So comfy! Just right." clothes at the end of the book as well as in real life. Toddlers and preschoolers will want to read it again and again. Reviewer: Joella Peterson
Publishers Weekly
Debut author Reidy’s couplets about a fussy dresser deliver their message with maximum economy. Leloup’s persnickety toddler looks like a paper doll; she’s a two-dimensional cutie-pie with dots for eyes, pigtails, and an awesome collection of outfits. Unfortunately, she doesn’t like any of them. “NOT THESE CLOTHES!” she yells at her mother, who enters carrying an enormous pile of options. “Too purpley,” the girl continues, as she is seen dressed in a purple pullover and jumper, against purple wallpaper (even her pet turtle is purple). The complaints add up: “Too tickly, too puckery, too prickly,” she wails, as the toddler laughs at a big furry sweater, tries to smooth out a wrinkly outfit, and holds her arms out so her cactus sweater doesn’t stick her. Neatly constructed rhymes carry through to the girl’s selection of sneakers, a pullover, jumper, and pair of pants—she rejects all the Fancy Nancy finery for sensible everyday wear. “So comfy!” she finishes. “Just right!” Both art and text have a somewhat generic feel, but they’re tidily executed, and a clothing-obsessed readership awaits. Ages 3–5. (Feb.)
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2—A girl dressing for the day has a hard time deciding what she will wear. Her choices are shown in bright illustrations that include her similarly attired pet turtle. The clothes are "too purpley…too itchy…too feathery," etc. Some of her outfits are shown on spreads: "too stripey" has stripes everywhere, including across the letters and on the turtle, which is trying to creep off the page. In "too matchy," her dress is exactly like the slipcover on a chair. This little fashionista is not a princess or a Fancy Nancy, so her eventual choice is an outfit that is "comfy." This fun book has lots of descriptive words that tickle the ear, great colors and patterns, and a charming protagonist.—Elaine Lesh Morgan, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
Kirkus Reviews
Fussy dressers, this one's for you! "NOT THESE CLOTHES!" hollers a pigtailed, underwear-clad narrator, her bellow stretching across a double-page spread to a mom-like figure holding a towering pile of options. The girl tries and rejects each outfit in swift, glorious, rhyming, upper-case complaint: "Too purpley, too tickly, / too puckery, / too prickly. / Too itchy, / too scratchy, / too stitchy, / too matchy!" Too strappy's covered in buckles; too baggy's a paper sack. Leloup's digital illustrations are two-dimensional but energetic, her protagonist a vehement preschooler with a Charlie Brown-shaped head. A wee turtle companionably echoes the outfit changes, as does the background wallpaper. This smorgasbord of colors and patterns approaches garishness, but only the too stripey spread glares painfully (and even the character shuts her eyes in disgust). It's too bad the last page isn't more harmonious in hue, as the girl finally (and inexplicably-but isn't that how it works?) declares a jumper over jeans and turtleneck to be "So comfy! Just right." Clothing-decision screamers and their caretakers will relate and laugh. (Picture book. 2-5)
