DRESSING UP THE STARS
The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head
Jeanne Walker Harvey + Diana Toledano. (Beach Lane, Fall 2022)
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 went on to win eight Academy Awards for best costume design—and she defined the style of an era.
REVIEWS
“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.” - ★ Booklist, starred review
“Toledano's mixed-media artwork... combined with starry-eyed prose, the result is a glamorous life story with a Hollywood ending.” - Publishers Weekly
“Dressing Up the Stars offers readers… the lesson that success is about perseverance as much as it is about talent. Beautiful, expansive, unframed images evoke the fast pace of Hollywood life and show Edith fitting into her chosen setting on her terms.” - The Children’s Book Review
PRAISE
• CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center) Best of the Year 2023 Choices
• CBC (Children’s Book Council) Children’s Favorites Awards 2023
