Gertie was such a cozy fashion icon to her family. She had a look, which reflected her pride and dignity as a woman with a college degree, a beautiful soprano singing voice, and her background as a farm girl from Maryland. Even when she worked in the garden she wore a blouse and slacks. I don’t ever remember seeing her in shorts or a t-shirt! She had jewelry that reflected her lived experiences, gifts from my grandfather, her love for her children and grandchildren, and her travels. She had a beautiful pearl necklace from Japan, a pink kilt from Scotland that I still have, and she wore diamonds to church. She always smelled like flowers and powder and her white hair went with everything. But Gertie loved life and children more than she loved clothes. I loved her for that. There can be love in everything, even what we wear, and how we respond to what others wear.
GERTIE RECOMMENDS…
“Culture determines who counts in society and reflects the society itself. What Parker observed while looking at the portrait of First Lady was her own greatness.” -Amy Sherman, artist who painted the official portrait of former first lady Michelle Obama.
What I loved about this book is that it’s not just about what a little girl wears and how she feels when she encounters a portrait of Michelle Obama in the National Gallery but it’s also about visiting a museum as a child and experiencing it as place where everyone can belong and look at art and respond to it. It’s about looking up, and stopping to observe what we see in the world around us. And how when we see ourselves reflected in that world, it help us determine who we are and who we want to be.
Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love.
This was my favorite book that Gertie recommended for Gertie’s Pearls and that is saying a lot because Gertie’s Pearls list was filled with, well pearls. Every book on Gertie’s list this time is a precious jewel and this one is the crowning glory of the entire post. With lavish, colorful artwork and simple narrative text this book shows a young boy’s enthusiasm for becoming a mermaid through imaginative play and how he finds love and acceptance for that from his beloved Abuela and his community. The illustrator’s loving eye finds beauty in every character depicted here. I love this book!
Little Golden Books and awesome Iris Apfel for the win!
Don’t you love these Little Golden Books? Gertie loves how they are small and fit on a child-size shelf, and the colorful illustrations and the straightforward text that lends itself well to non-fiction subjects and early independent readers. They aren’t as long as an early chapter book but the text is a good challenge for an early reader. Iris Apfel was a fashion icon in her old age and is also an icon of self-expression and wearing what makes you feel good and really feel like yourself. This is a good introduction to who she was and her cultural impact and encourages self-expression.
“It’s the way things have always been and the way things will always be. And no one thought it should be any different. Actually that last part’s not entirely true…Mary thought it should be different, and she had an idea.”
This is a picture book about Mary Edwards Walker, civil war surgeon, winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor, and activist for justice who only wore pants. And she was arrested for it many times. But it didn’t stop her. Even as a prisoner of war behind Confederate enemy lines, she steadfastly refused to wear a dress. I mean it’s hard to understand needing someone to perform surgery in a war hospital but not letting them wear pants. Talk about needing to reexamine priorities. But this picture book doesn’t explore these details. Instead it shows a feisty and determined child who simply refused to wear dresses to school. Her reason? She liked pants better. Simple as that.
And for the next Mary that Gertie recommends…
This recommendation from Gertie made me smile. Mary loves Glam. She wants to go to school dressed with pizazz and she even adds things to her hand-made outfit from nature on her way to school. She helps her classmates find their inner glam too. But when recess time comes, she doesn’t let her fashion sense interfere with her desire to run and play. In fact, Mary’s glam is just part of her playful and creative spirit.
Gertie's Book Blog 