- Oct 30, 2022
How Lena "Lane" Bryant Changed
the Shape of Fashion
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Clarion Books
(pub. 4.12.2022) 32 pages
Author: Mara Rockliff
Illustrator: Juana Martinez-Neal
Character: Lena "Lane" Bryant
Overview:
"Lena came to America with nothing but a dream—and an exceptional ability to drape and snip and stitch. She never used a pattern or a tape measure, but every dress she sewed turned out to be a perfect fit.
Then, one day, a customer presented her with a new challenge. Could she design a stylish, comfortable gown for a body shape that did not meet the current standards of fashion?
Lena took the challenge. Under the company name Lane Bryant, she became famous for flattering and modish clothing designed for all different shapes and sizes. The world of fashion would never be the same."
Tantalizing taste:
"One day a customer came in with an unusual request. She was going to have a baby. Could Lena make a gown that would grow bigger with her belly, so that it would never squeeze or pinch?
Lena had never heard of such a thing. Who had?
But she remembered her grandfather's words. Here was a chance to help another person through her work.
So, she draped and snipped and stitched, and made a gown of silk and lace - with room to grow. It was elegant. It was comfortable . And it was a success."
And something more: Mara Rockliff, in the Author's Note, explains that "Lena Himmelstein was born in 1879 in Rietavas, Lithuania. Her mother died ten days later, and Lena and her older sister, Annie, were raised by their grandparents. Russian persecution and a lack of opportunities for Jews led first Annie, then Lena, to escape to the United States ... All her life, Lena recalled her grandfather, a rabbi, saying, 'Any work that helps another human being has dignity. The only real success comes from filling a human need.' She saw helping people as the best part of her work - along with silk and lace."
- Oct 28, 2022
Kip Tiernan and Rosie's Place,
the Nation's First Shelter for Women
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Candlewick Press
(pub 3.1.2022) 40 pages
Author: Christine McDonnell
Illustrator: Victoria Tentler-Krylov
Character: Kip Tiernan
Overview:
"When Kip Tiernan was growing up during the Great Depression, she’d help her granny feed the men who came to their door asking for help. As Kip grew older, and as she continued to serve food to hungry people, she noticed something peculiar: huddled at the back of serving lines were women dressed as men. At the time, it was believed that there were no women experiencing homelessness. And yet Kip would see women sleeping on park benches and searching for food in trash cans.
Kip decided to open the first shelter for women—a shelter with no questions asked, no required chores, just good meals and warm beds. With persistence, Kip took on the city of Boston in her quest to open Rosie's Place, our nation's first shelter for women."
Tantalizing taste:
" At Saint Joseph's house, everyone ate together. Kip looked down the row of people seated at the long table. Individuals struggling with addiction or living with mental illness were among the guests. Sometimes, at dinner, the only sentence she understood was 'Pass the bread, please.' Toward the end of her stay, she decided to turn and touch people's arms, to look into their eyes, to listen to them. She did this for the next three days.
On the fourth day, when she came down to breakfast, guests from dinner had gathered at the foot of the stairs.
'They're waiting for you,' a worker told her.
'Why?' Kip asked, worried that she had done something wrong.
'Because you listened to them,' Dorothy Day said."
And something more: More About Kip Tiernan at the back of the book explains that "A memorial to Kip Tiernan was unveiled in October 2018, near Copley Square, in Boston. Tall arches inscribed with quotations from Kip Tiernan's speeches and writing line the sidewalk. The arches represent doorways, an image that Kip Tiernan frequently used to explain her decision to join the urban ministry at Warwick House: 'I have passed through a door and there is no turning back.'"
- Oct 27, 2022
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Charlesbridge
(pub 4.5.2022) 40 pages
Author: Emma Bland Smith
Illustrator: Jenn Ely
Character: Elliott Michener
Overview:
"When Elliott Michener was locked away in Alcatraz for counterfeiting, he was determined to defy the odds and bust out. But when he got a job tending the prison garden, a funny thing happened. He found new interests and skills--and a sense of dignity and fulfillment. Elliott transformed Alcatraz Island, and the island transformed him."
Tantalizing taste:
"The island had changed in the nine years since Elliott had arrived.
The gray was gone. In its place was green. And other colors! Pink snapdragons. Red geraniums. Purple iris.
Elliott, too, had changed. He knew sedum from sage and dahlias from daffodils. He also had passion, pride, and solid skills. He could see a colorful future for himself – one that didn't involve breaking the law."
And something more: Emma Bland Smith, in the Author's Note, explains: "Researching this book involved many people and processes. I was excited to find valuable and revealing primary sources, such as prison reports on Elliott Michener, a recorded audio interview, and a delightful exchange of letters between Elliott and Warner Swoop.… Jenn Ely and I tried to be as accurate as possible in both text and art."
The bibliography of primary sources is impressive and such sources provide compelling details to the story. The Back Matter includes this excerpt from a letter Elliott sent after he moved to Southern California, married and led a productive life (one source said as a landscaper): "It continually amazes me that so many good things have happened," he wrote to Mr. Swope. "Ain't that sumpin'?"
