A Timeless Lesson on Peer Pressure
Children today are faced with the problem of peer pressure, just as they were when this book was first written. Wanda comes from a foreign country and does not own the wardrobe necessary to be accepted by her classmates. She is mercilessly ridiculed and teased by the other girls. Eleanor Estes skill is proven by her understated portrayal of Wanda which causes the reader to empathize with Wanda's plight. It is only after Wanda leaves and her book of 100 dresses is discovered that Wanda's profound artistic and imaginative nature are discovered. It is too late, however, because Wanda is gone, leaving her beautiful "dresses" as a legacy. This quiet book with its message of acceptance stays with the reader long after it is finished.
