Written by: Julie Merberg

Illustrated by: Mai Kemble

For ages: 4-8 years

Language: English

Topics Covered: Tomboy, Acceptance, Family, Sports, Social-Emotional Development.

Summary: Shelby likes to climb trees, dig for worms with her best friend Nate, and wear nothing but her dirty red high tops.  Shelby’s neighbor Sophie always wants her to have tea parties and dress up like princesses but Shelby is NOT interested.  One day Shelby gets home and her parents present her with several dresses and some news-Shelby is going to be a flower girl in a wedding and she gets to dress up fancy!  Shelby declares that she is SO not wearing a dress!  She wants to wear a baseball hat, not a tiara.  She wants to weather sneakers, not high heels.  What will Shelby do?  Is there a compromise to be made?  Will she HAVE to wear a dress?

We all have to compromise sometimes, to make others happy.  What is not fair, is someone that feels like they must constantly suppress who they are in order to be taken seriously, not teased, or receive positive attention from classmates and family members.  This book is cute because of course wearing a fancy dress for one occasion isn’t everyone’s favorite, but Shelby is able to retain a bit of her personality in the end.  This makes it memorable for everyone!

Reflection Questions:

• Have you ever had a big event like Shelby did, being a flower girl?
• How do you feel when you are asked to do something you don’t want to do?
• How do you compromise with others?
• What is your advice to people that sometimes have to do things like wear a fancy dress when they don’t want to?

About the Author & the Illustrator:

Julie Merberg is the author of many children’s books including My First Book of Girl Power, My First Book of Feminism (for Boys), In the Garden with Van Gogh (and the rest of the best-selling Mini Masters series), How is Mona Lisa Feeling?, and My Favorite Shoes. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, the writer David Bar Katz, their four hilarious sons, and a sweet mutt named Alvy Singer. Julie Merberg began her publishing career 30 years ago as an editorial assistant at Simon & Schuster—which now handles sales and distribution for Downtown Bookworks. Many years as an editor and then as a packager led her to launch Downtown Bookworks as a book packaging company in 2005. But it was her experience as a mother of 4 boys that compelled her to start a children’s publishing company with the mission of keeping kids engaged in reading and the world around them. The list reflects her passions—science and nature, the arts, girl power (and her husband’s passion—super heroes). She has written many of our books including My First Book of Feminism (for Boys), Baby’s First Eames, My First Book of Girl Power, and My First Jewish Baby Book. Julie lives in Tribeca with her husband, their sons, and a rescue mutt named Alvy who sleeps under her desk and protects her from delivery people.

Mai Kemble was born in Long Beach, CA in 1981 and raised in Huntington Beach, CA. She graduated from Cal State University, Long Beach in 2005 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration. She is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) since winning the Illustrator Contest for “Crusin’” in 2007, and was also one of their Featured Artists in 2008. Since then, she has illustrated several picture books with various publishers.

Mai currently lives in Lancaster, CA with her husband Joshua Kemble (Xeric Grant Winner for NUMB/comic book artist/designer/illustrator), their son and two dogs.

Email Mai by clicking here.

Mai also enjoys creating images that feature pets and other favorite animals.  See these featured on various merchandise for purchase at her Society6 page or contact her via Facebook to stay-up-to date with these ever growing images.

You can follow Mai on Instagram @maikemble