Book Spotlight in Sponsorship with Jeanne Walker Harvey of Dressing Up the Stars: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head
The Children’s Book Review
Discover the true story of how a shy miner’s daughter became one of the most legendary costume designers in Hollywood in this inspiring nonfiction picture book biography.
Together, the art and storytelling capture Head’s belief in the transformative magic of costumes, which will certainly strike a chord with dress-up enthusiasts.
ALA Booklist (STARRED review)
About the Book
Dressing Up the Stars: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head
Written by Jeanne Walker Harvey
Illustrated by Diana Toledano
Ages 3-8 | 40 Pages
Publisher: Beach Lane Books | ISBN-13: 9781534451056
Publisher’s Book Summary: Discover the true story of how a shy miner’s daughter became one of the most legendary costume designers in Hollywood in this inspiring nonfiction picture book biography.
As a child in the small mining town of Searchlight, Nevada, Edith Head had few friends and spent most of her time dressing up her toys and pets and even wild animals using fabric scraps. She always knew she wanted to move somewhere full of people and excitement. She set her sights on Hollywood and talked her way into a job sketching costumes for a movie studio.
Did she know how to draw or sew costumes? No. But that didn’t stop her!
Edith taught herself and tirelessly worked her way up until she was dressing some of the biggest stars of the day, from Audrey Hepburn to Grace Kelly to Ginger Rogers. She became the first woman to head a major Hollywood movie studio costume department and went on to win eight Academy Awards for best costume design—and she defined the style of an era.
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About the Author and Illustrator
About the Author
Jeanne Walker Harvey studied literature and psychology at Stanford University and has worn many job hats, ranging from being a roller coaster ride operator to an attorney, a middle school language arts teacher, and a long-time docent for school groups at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She is the author of several books for young readers, including the picture book biographies Dressing up the Stars: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head, Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas, and Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines. Jeanne lives in Northern California.
Visit her online at www.jeanneharvey.com.
About the Illustrator
Diana Toledano is an illustrator, writer, and educator. She is also a Pisces who loves children’s books, patterns, and dancing her heart out. Originally from Spain, Diana (pronounced the Spanish way: dee-ah-na) grew up in Madrid where she studied art history and illustration. Now she lives in San Francisco with her husband and two fluffy cats. Her mixed media art seeks to capture the magic of the ordinary. Diana’s product designs, picture books, board books, and chapter books have been published and sold all over the world. Diana also teaches workshops for kids and adults. She enjoys doing school visits and speaking at conferences.
Learn more at Diana-Toledano.com.
14 Comments
this sounds like a fun book and a learning book zay would enjouy…………. heck I want to read it before I give it to her
I have a great-grandson who has always enjoyed costuming and has said he’d love to be a costume designer when he grows up. (He also wants to be a pirate and an artist, but I’m sure he’ll work that all out.) I know he’d love this book!
looks fun
I never knew her story and it sounds like a very inspirational one.
🔥🔥🔥🙏
This sounds like a great book!
My sister who is interested in fashion would love this book.
Marion
This is nice way for kids to learn about some the different types of job adventures are out there…………… Zay would enjoy
this is a nice way for kids to learn about a future and how to work to get it.
a good learning book about picking a c=future
My granddaughter would appreciate this book as she loves to dress up and play with costumes. I like the colorful illustrations.
I have a bunch of readers at my school who’d be interested in this story!
this would be one of thos books that a little girl would keep and reread a lot
This really sounds like a good book would lead a child to learning about careers zay would like