In this darling picture book, Lottie is sound asleep in dreamland and does not want to get up, despite the fact that her mother will be late for work. In her dreams, she’s a princess, going to school in the castle, making crafts, and she does not want to leave her project behind.
Finally and with great reluctance, she gets up, but she doesn’t want to wear her boring old clothes. She would much rather wear her princess dress! Never mind that her dress is thin and it’s starting to snow. It’s the perfect day to dress like a princess.
Time is running out and Mom is getting impatient. School and work will not wait for Lottie to decide what to wear. After much bantering back and forth, Mom decides that Lottie can wear her princess dress if she will wear her coat over it. But now Lottie has another idea – Mom should wear her red evening gown with the gold spots and be a queen for the day. Mom’s not sure the dress is suitable for work, but Lottie asks nicely, and Mom gives in. Together they leave the house, Lottie in her princess dress, and Mom in her evening gown, wearing one of Lottie’s extra crowns. The sun has come out and they don’t even need their coats any more. The bus driver calls them “Your Highnesses,” and asks them where they would like to go. The people on the bus agree, it must be a very special day indeed.
To Mom’s surprise, no one at work gives her a hard time about her dress. Instead, they all tell her that she looks very nice. Lottie has a marvelous day at school, and they both agree that dressing up can be a wonderful thing.
Based on the author’s own battle with her daughter to get dressed in the morning, this story shows how mothers and daughters can knock heads, but always come back together in the end.
(This book was published in 1999 by Dial Books and was illustrated by Julia Kaergel.)
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