When Royals Wore Ruffles: A Funny and Fashionable Alphabet! [Hardcover]

Pamela Jaber (Author), Chesley McLaren (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

In this Hilarious, oh-so-fascinating trip through fashion history, a little girl goes back in time and meets a cast of characters wearing the latest trends. In B, we see Bustles, in H there’s sky-high hats (and hair!) and, in S, well, you won’t believe the shoes. And when the girl finishes her sylish trip—with Y for You and Your own Zany style—she puts on a fashion show for the people she’s met.

From fashionistas Chesley McLaren and Pamela Jaber comes an informative look at outrageous styles and how they came to be. With tidbits, anecdotes, and laugh-out-loud styles, this is the perfect picture book for fashion lovers everywhere.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1–4—This jauntily illustrated alphabet of all things fabulous will find a willing audience among elementary-age divas already dreaming of careers in the spotlight. With each letter, this historical tour highlights Western trends from the age of Cleopatra through the grunge era of the early '90s. Beginning with the best accessory, "attitude," readers learn about flappers, go-go boots, intruding wig snatchers ("I is for an Illegal Intruder the wig snatcher"), teetering on chopines, and "your very own style." Each heading is accompanied by two or three paragraphs of background information-enough to satisfy casual readers while inspiring the historically inclined to do some further reading. The whimsical gouache and India ink illustrations are a pleasing complement to the sassy text. This book fits cozily between other fashion must-haves like Kate Feiffer's Double Pink (S & S) on the younger end and Leslie Sills's From Rags to Riches (Holiday House, both 2005) for more sophisticated readers. A safe bet wherever little girls love to look lovely.—Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Review

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, November 10, 2008:
“Witty as the writing may be, the illustrations are irresistible. Like the best fashion, the lines and colors feel effortlessly right.”

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Schwartz & Wade (January 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375851666
• ISBN-13: 978-0375851667
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 0.4 x 11.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #957,078 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #99 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Crafts & Music > Art > Fashion

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adorable!, February 14, 2009

By 

Living in a College Town (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Royals Wore Ruffles: A Funny and Fashionable Alphabet! (Hardcover)

This book is absolutely adorable and such a fun way for a little girl to learn her ABC's, especially if she's a little fashionista. I saw it in Anthropologie in Chicago and had to get it for my cousin's daughter. The book stores didn't have it in stock yet, it was just published in January. This book is probably best once a child has a basic grip on ABC's, not as a starting point.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for budding fashionistas, July 23, 2009

By 

Z Hayes (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: When Royals Wore Ruffles: A Funny and Fashionable Alphabet! (Hardcover)

My daughter, who is 4.5 picked this book up because it is pink [her favorite color] and has a woman adorned in ruffles on the cover [and a fashionable young girl next to her]. The title was a winner for me: "When Royals Wore Ruffles", and we both could not wait to read the book.

Basically, the book is a sort of alphabet book for young fashionistas, but it is more than that. It also covers the history of fashion, tracing important fashion trends through the centuries, but simplified and presented in a fun manner with the aid of whimsical full-color illustrations. E.g. "G is for Go-Go Boots!" and there is a brief explanation as to how the MOD look came about, even mentioning the first supermodel [?] Twiggy. Some of the entries are laugh out loud -"K is for the King's Knickers and Knees" which then goes on to explain about the Peacock Age [when men's fashion was more dominant and flashier than women's].

Incredibly informative, yet never ponderous, this is a fun book for not just young girls and boys fascinated by fashion, but even older readers. As an adult, I found this book not only entertaining, but informative as well. Highly recommended!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Got this for my 22 yr old fashionista friend!, December 10, 2010

By 

M. Sesing "the magi" (madison, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When Royals Wore Ruffles: A Funny and Fashionable Alphabet! (Hardcover)

After seeing this book at Antropologie, I got it here for much cheaper. I got this book for my friend who is very much into fashion. Obviously this is more of a fun book and not the be-all end-all on fashion topics. Just the illustrations make the book... they're pretty amazing and creative!