Along Came Coco: A Story About Coco Chanel

by Eva Byrne

Overview

In a time when children were meant to be seen and not heard, along came Coco, a small French orphan with an eye for style, a talent for sewing, and a big imagination. Coco grew up in an orphanage run by very strict nuns, but she wasn’t very good at following rules. At a time when girls were told to brush their hair 100 times until their arms were sore, Coco promised herself that one day she would snip away her locks so that she wouldn’t have to be so fussy—girls needed time for other things, and they needed some of the comforts that boys enjoyed. Why shouldn’t girls have pockets? And why did they have to wear corsets all the time? An exploration of Coco’s early life and a celebration of her creativity, Along Came Coco †‹shows the ways in which Coco Chanel’s imaginative spirit led her to grow into one of the world’s most beloved fashion icons. 
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683354703
Publisher:	ABRAMS
Publication date:	03/19/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Lexile:	AD800L (what's this?)
File size:	31 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Eva Byrne is an artist who specializes in fashion illustration and children’s books. She is the illustrator of the #1 New York Times bestseller Princesses Wear Pants. She lives in the Irish countryside.

Editorial Reviews

01/07/2019

In Byrne’s story of Coco Chanel, her rebellious childhood in a French convent and early love of beautiful garments sets the stage for her career as a pioneering fashion designer. Byrne illustrates with squiggly, wavelike lines and sweeping watercolors; readers see Chanel soaking in the sights and styles of Paris, channeling them into her fresh designs. Chanel’s free yet practically minded spirit is evident in her decision to wear her hair short and forsake corsets in favor of loose dresses and pocketed smocks. An author’s note provides additional background on Chanel (and notes her somewhat inscrutable nature). The book doesn’t offer a particularly intimate perspective on the subject’s life, but Byrne makes it clear how Chanel’s forward-thinking designs revolutionized fashion. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Byrne makes it clear how Chanel’s forward-thinking designs revolutionized fashion."—Publishers Weekly

"A celebration of Coco Chanel's creative spirit . . . Byrne encourages readers to explore their creativity and remain steadfast in following their dreams."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

04/01/2019

K-Gr 2-"Has there ever been a little French girl with such a big imagination who has made breaking the rules look so good?" This simple picture book begins with Coco Chanel's childhood in a strict French orphanage, tracing the fashion icon's knack for spotting inspiration and innovation in unlikely places throughout the story. Coco's dreams of doing things differently came true in many ways: by sewing dolls for her friends in the convent, creating practical hats and swimsuits, using sailors' jerseys as fashion inspiration, and eventually cutting her hair short after a gas lamp exploded in her dressing room. Byrne succinctly describes Coco's revolution of women's clothing, freeing women from the binding of corsets, smelling salts, and fainting couches of the time period. The black-and-white contrast in many of the illustrations captures Chanel's sophisticated styles and simple elegance, with the characters' expressions both playful and elusive. Byrne successfully portrays Coco Chanel's creativity, though the narrative is a bit simplistic in nature. VERDICT Overall, this biography is a celebration of one little girl's big dreams and the successful woman she became; a nice addition that honors female innovators.-Jamie Jensen, Wayne Cox Elementary School, Roanoke, TX

School Library Journal

2019-01-15

More a celebration of Coco Chanel's creative spirit than a straightforward biography, this book portrays the petite French waif as a smiling, self-confident rule breaker with an innate flair for fashion and a big imagination.

Chanel found it difficult to follow the rigid discipline of the strict nuns who ran the orphanage where she grew up. She was, however, inspired by the "dramatic and mysterious" black-and-white habits they wore. With an eye for style and a talent for sewing, Chanel was determined to follow her own unique vision of fashion as soon as she was old enough to leave the orphanage. Chanel's practical yet fashionable designs did not impress everyone, but her emphasis on comfort, simplicity, and breaking long-standing rules of fashion caught on and changed forever how women dressed. Byrne's illustrations in pen and ink and watercolor are appropriately stylish and energetic. The endpapers feature women wearing Chanel's many creations. In an afterword, Byrne notes the difficulty of distinguishing fact from fiction due to Chanel's penchant for embellishing stories throughout her life. Byrne does not acknowledge established controversies about Chanel: her anti-Semitism, homophobia, and collaboration with the Nazi occupation. Omitted from the bibliography is Hal Vaughan's adult biography Sleeping with the Enemy (2001), which discusses them.

Through Chanel's incomplete story, Byrne encourages readers to explore their creativity and remain steadfast in following their dreams—but aren't there other, better subjects that could serve the same purpose? (selected bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews