{Review/Giveaway} DRESSING UP THE STARS: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head by Jeanne Walker Harvey with Illustrations by Diana Toledano


 

If you're looking for an inspiring story of resilience and success when it looked like all hope was lost, look no further than the true story of Edith Head's life, now told through an easily accessible picture book entitled DRESSING UP THE STARS: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head by Jeanne Walker Harvey with Illustrations by Diana Toledano that even kids can easily consume and become influenced by in regards to their own dreams.

Edith Head's tale is the age-old refrain: NEVER GIVE UP. Never listen to the naysayers. Never let go of your dreams. If you believe in yourself enough and work hard enough, anything is possible.

This is what we are all told as children, but too many of us listen to the naysayers over the years and let their sharp words wear us down until we've given up on our dreams and fallen into the mundane routine of life, leaving them dashed on the rocks far behind us.

When Edith Head was little, she lived an isolated life in the Nevada desert. When the family would visit town, she'd bring her bag of fabric scraps and go door to door begging for scraps of fabric from the townsfolk. She used that fabric to dress up her pets, desert animals, her dollhouse, and even the desert cactus. She also costumed her two friends who lived in town and liked to put on their own plays.

ⓒDRESSING UP THE STARS / Beach Lane Books

Eventually, she moved to Los Angeles and enrolled in school. No longer homeschooled, she tried many new things that were now accessible to her and went to college to be a teacher. Her biggest hobby was going to the mesmerizing movie theater and learning about other people and their lives. Teaching wasn't where her heart was, and Head landed a job as a costume design sketch artist, despite the fact that she wasn't good at drawing. Luckily, she was taken under a higher up's wing and taught how to sketch. Head put a lot of practice into it and eventually became much better at drawing, and took on more jobs. Her very first big costuming job was dressing animals for film -- a throwback to her early life dressing animals for fun!

ⓒDRESSING UP THE STARS / Beach Lane Books

As Head moved up in Hollywood, some jobs were tougher than others and at times, she was almost fired, and often told she wasn't any good. But she persevered and eventually, she became one of the greatest costume designers Hollywood has ever known, going on to win Academy Awards and international acclaim. 

ⓒDRESSING UP THE STARS / Beach Lane Books

Her real life tale is incredibly inspiring for anyone who has dreams of their own they want to pursue despite the odds. It's also an intriguing origin story for fellow designers or Hollywood hopefuls. Anyone wanting to learn more about Head's amazing life can pick up many lengthier memoirs on her to dive into her life. For a child, this bite-size biography is perfect, and it's even a great way to wade in and get your feet wet for adults as well. At the end of the book, there's a great two-page spread with an overview of Head and her life that gives more detail about her and wraps everything up. I was certainly intrigued enough to now want to read even more about this amazing woman!

 

About The Book:

Title: DRESSING UP THE STARS: THE STORY OF MOVIE COSTUME DESIGNER EDITH HEAD

Author: Jeanne Walker Harvey & Diana Toledano (Illustrations)

Pub. Date: September 20, 2022

Publisher: Beach Lane Books

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 40

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, Kindle, B&NiBooks, KoboTBD, Bookshop.org

 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.

 

About Jeanne Walker Harvey:

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 JeanneHarvey.com.

 

Website | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon

 



About Diana Toledano:

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.

 

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Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of DRESSING UP THE STARS: THE STORY OF MOVIE COSTUME DESIGNER EDITH HEAD, US Only.

Ends September 24th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

8/31/2022

@jael_and_jenessa_reads

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9/1/2022

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9/2/2022

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9/3/2022

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Week Two:

9/4/2022

Just Another Teen Reading Books

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9/5/2022

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9/6/2022

One More Exclamation

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9/7/2022

Little Red Reads

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9/8/2022

Two Points of Interest

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9/9/2022

Nerdophiles

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9/10/2022

Do You Dog-ear?

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Week Three:

9/11/2022

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9/12/2022

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9/13/2022

Write. Read. Live

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9/14/2022

A Backwards Story

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9/15/2022

Nonbinary Knight Reads

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9/16/2022

For The Love Of The Page

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9/17/2022

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Week Four:

9/18/2022

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9/19/2022

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