Let’s talk pockets, shall we? Is there anything worse than “rotten pockets”? The fake ones, the tiny ones, the missing all together ones? Pockets have a long and checkered history in dresses and skirts. It was understood that trousers needed decent, sizable serviceable pockets. But dresses? Why on earth would pockets be needed in dresses. Besides, it might be possible for the wearer to squirrel pro women’s voting tracts in pockets and sow “sedition”. When dress silhouettes shifted from wide to narrow in the early 1900s, the loss of pockets was felt universally.
Lucy, the heroine of our story is on the hunt for the perfect birthday gift dress. And there are so many! Dresses with ruffles. Dresses with feathers. Dresses that look like clouds. Dresses that have twinkle lights. But, none of these are quite what Lucy is looking for. After trying on a mountain of frocks, Lucy tells her proper Aunt Augusta what’s missing. POCKETS. POCKETS? Yes of course! Where else would Lucy put the rocks and worms and frogs she finds along her ways? How will she have adventures without pockets? How indeed! After recovering from the shock of this request, the shopkeeper finds what Lucy’s heart desires and wonder of wonders, Aunt Augusta leaves with a pocket dress, too!
This story is filled with energetic illustrations and clever rhymes. The end papers are filled with all the treasures Lucy would stash in her pockets. A fun romp for dress wearing adventurers and pocket lovers everywhere!
--reviewed by Ruth