The Gold-Threaded Dress

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Summary: Young Immigrants Featured Review
Review: From Candlewick Press comes this engaging, easy-to-read story of fourth grader Oy, a Thai-American student new to a predominantly Mexican-American school, who struggles to fit in with the popular clique. The understated yet poignant description of the girls tearing apart Oy's precious family heirloom was especially moving. Readers will sympathize with Oy's desire to find a friend and enjoy the glimpses of wry humor, which is especially prized in Thai culture. The book weaves in other lovely details about Thai traditions like dance, cuisine, and cultural gatherings.

Oy's benevolent, wise parents calmly guide her through the dilemma and act as her advocates in the school. This doesn't always happen in immigrant families, especially when a principal's public reprimand is seen as bringing shame on the whole family. My parents, for example, would have hit the roof! However, Oy's unquestioning devotion to her parents is common among pre-adolescent immigrants, and the cool-headedness, or "jai-yen," of her parents is certainly a prized Thai trait. (My fourth-grade son, who loved living in Thailand, devoured this book in one day, even taking it to school in spite of the 'girly' cover).

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Summary: Marsden bridges a gap and scores!
Review: From the engaging cover art, including the photo of the demur Thai child in her gold threaded dress and the elegant border design to the convincing whisps of lint on the end pages, this story pivots on beauty: first the superficial attraction of the elegant and the inner beauty which surfaces in Oy as she defends her family and culture against the blunt ignorance of her classmates who capriciously may or may not include her.

Marsden's deft language, telling just enough, captures the reader with this authentic tale of the poignancy of the first days of school when kids posture for position in their group. Gold threaded Dress is a joy to hold in the hand and the heart.

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Summary: A Wonderful Read!
Review: I love Marsden's THE GOLD-THREADED DRESS! In vivid yet brief chapters, Marsden introduces us to Oy, a young Thai girl trying to fit into an American school. Because of its cultural content, this book is great to read aloud and discuss in the elementary classroom. But most of all, THE GOLD-THREADED DRESS is a personal, touching, satisfying read. Somehow Marsden packs in just enough detail in her short text to give it a rich, textured realism. I look forward to Marsden's next book.

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Summary: Marsden bridges a gap and scores!
Review: Marsden's Gold Threaded Dress honestly, authentically shows the dilemma of young people who must straddle two cultures and learn to honor their own needs as well as navigate the traditions of both cultures. The school situations in young Oy's story could be taken from any school in the U.S, yet they ring as the young girl's personal truth. Marsden's skillful storytelling moves the reader through the story with an even flow and Oy's anguish over the spoiled dress becomes our own. The resolution is generously told. Readers young and old will look forward to Marsden's next books.

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Summary: What a delight.
Review: Marsden's The Gold-Threaded Dress was a pleasant story. It was short, but entertaining. I loved reading about Oy and her family and culture. Since reading this story with my ten year old, I have found an interest in going to Thai grocery stores near where I live. My daughter has shown a great interest in learning as much about Thai culture as well.

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Summary: dress
Review: Oy is trying to fit in. One day, a picture of her in a special dress is seen by the other girls. She is invited to be in the "it" crowd only if she brings the dress for them to try on. This story is a charming story of a child reconciling her Thai heritage and being an American. It is predictable, but it is unique in that the other children are identified as having immigrant heritage as much as the main character, which seems to have the accuracy of Southern Californian situations. It is a brief glimpse into the Thai American experience. Children will find it easy to read. It offers an American perspective that is not often viewed.


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Summary: The book you have to read
Review: This book is about a little girl named Oy. She moved to America with her family from Thailand. A mean kid from school named Frankie would tease her just because the way she looks and her religious background. He would say "Chinese girl." Oy would say "stop I'm not Chinese" but Frankie would still tease her. One day she dropped her backpack in school a lovely picture of her in a pink threaded dress with a hair piece and jewelry fell out. The most popular girl saw it. Her name was Lilindra. Lilindra had a club and Oy wanted to be in it so badly. Lilindra said I will let you be in the club if you let me try on that dress.
Well I bet you're wondering what she did. I'm not going to tell you. You're just going to have to figure it out yourself by reading The Gold Threaded Dress.
I think you should read this book. It's really good.

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Summary: Outstanding contribution to asian-american children's lit.
Review: This is a fabulous book! I read it aloud to my third graders and they simply adored it! It is a great contribution to my multicultural library. There are lessons to be learned about the asian-american identity, about character education, about the trials and tribulations of growing up, and about life in general. I have the fortunate opportunity to be a friend and former colleague of Ms. Marsden and she presented a fabulous author study to my students. I highly recommend this book for use in the classroom. It should become part of the canon for high quality children's literature.

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Summary: An outstanding book
Review: This is an outstanding book that deals with universal issues: fitting in, wanting to be liked and to have friends, respecting one's parents, learning to cope in new situations. It is so well written that parts of it brought tears to my eyes, and that happens only rarely to me. It is a touching, moving story of a little girl from a different culture (she is Thai) who experiences loneliness and teasing, but grows stronger and closer to others after some painful lessons. The author is right on the mark with this age group as far as touching on issues that are dear to a little girl's heart. Excellent story, excellently written and plotted. My daughter loved it, and so did I.

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Summary: Excellent multi-cultural book!
Review: This was a wonderful multi-cultural story about the need to fit in. It shows the dilemmas a young girl faces at a new school trying to make friends. While she makes the wrong choice, everything turns out for the best (as one would expect). The heroine finds out who her true friends really are. A great story line for teaching ancestry and good citizenship. My 3rd grader loved the story!