Download the 2025 Spring Catalog!

  • Nancy Bess Had a Dress
  • Nancy Bess Had a Dress
  • Nancy Bess Had a Dress
  • Nancy Bess Had a Dress
  • Nancy Bess Had a Dress
  • Nancy Bess Had a Dress
  • Nancy Bess Had a Dress

Nancy Bess Had a Dress

Written by Claire Noland
Illustrated by Angela C. Hawkins

Share:

~ A Foreword INDIES Picture Book of the Year Finalist! ~

~ Children's Book Council 2025 Librarians' Favorite Award Winner! ~

Waste not, want not! A patterned flour sack becomes a clever creation in this story set in the late 1930's featuring a crafty girl with a gift for repurposing her favorite daisy print.

When the family flour sack is emptied, Nancy Bess remakes it into a dress. But little girls grow as little girls do, and soon that dress is too small. Bit by bit, Nancy Bess fashions the material into new creations, until finally, all that is left of the flour sack are a few tattered pieces. Peering into the family scrap basket, Nancy Bess comes up with a plan to use the material once more, sewing something special to last for generations.

With carefully crafted and richly detailed illustrations, Nancy Bess Had a Dress will appeal to curious young historians and recycling enthusiasts, as well as like-minded teachers, librarians and caregivers.

Download Press Release

March 19, 2024

Key Concepts

Recycling and repurposing, arts/crafts (quilting and sewing), seasons, and U.S. history (1930's).

Additional Details

  • 10 x 10 inches
  • 32 Pages
  • Ages 5 to 9
  • Trade ISBN: 9781957655239
  • Ebook ISBN: 9781957655260

    • Reader Reviews

    • ★★★★★

      “A resourceful girl imparts a history lesson and a message on sustainability in this period picture book . . . Bold colors and whimsical patterns stitch together to form dynamic illustrations as Nancy Bess skips along a creek’s edge, balances pies on her head, and
      picks oranges.      ”


      Danielle Ballantyne, Foreward Magazine

    • ★★★★★

      “Nancy Bess and her multi-purpose flour sack will make an excellent story for history units and environmental lessons, with the story’s gentle pitch for conservation and repurposing. A delightful addition to all primary library shelves.”


      Tracy Cronce, School Library Journal (Sept. 2024 Online)

    • ★★★★★

      “. . . Noland’s writing is lovely. The colorful illustrations by Angela C. Hawkins are simply enchanting with marvelous details filling every page and complementing the story perfectly. Kids will love this beautiful book.”


      Rosi Hollinbeck, Los Angeles Book Review, May 2024

    • ★★★★★

      “Children will enjoy seeing (and guessing?) how Nancy Bess will next use the pretty patterned cloth. The recurrent phrase, “Nancy Bess knew how to make do” is catchy. The full-page, colorful illustrations hide a second story, revealed at the end. Delightful! ”


      Elizabeth Caulfield Felt, Historical Novel Society

    Awards & Accolades