I Like Old Clothes
As the song says, everything old is new again—at least it is to a young girl who revels in collecting and dressing up in hand-me-downs and secondhand finery. She inventively repurposes some garments and muses about the previous lives of others: “I try to imagine / The places they’ve been / And the faces they’ve seen— / And whose clothes they’ll be / When they’ve finished with me.” With a deft rhythm and rhyme, Hoberman’s celebration of clothes well worn (and well loved) feels fresh and timely, despite the text’s original publication in 1976, and it is an apt message for a new generation just learning the three Rs—reduce, reuse, and recycle. Barton’s new mixed-media and pencil illustrations, featuring a soft, faded quality and fabric-like patterns, show scenes of an exuberant red-haired girl, with younger brother in tow, piling on everything from a marching-band jacket to a weathered flannel shirt with equal—and infectious—enthusiasm. A marvelous example of how a little creativity and imagination can elevate everyday economy into something much more fun. Preschool-Grade 1. --Kristen McKulski