Voguish At Best: novel dress: children's books

a little princess by frances hodgson burnett // in the maldives printed dress

I couldn't help myself. After playing with books and dresses last Friday, I continued my pilgrimage for even more literary ensembles. This time around I focused specifically on children's stories (although to be fair, many of them hedge closer to young adult fiction). I'm currently reading A Little Princess for the first time, which was my first inspiration. I grew up watching the movie. It is such a beautiful book and it has only reinforced for me how much I love Sara and her story.

I love to read, and I've even shared my love for some of these books before. But it all had to begin somewhere. And for me, it started here. With some of these books. I feel a unique gratitude toward these stories that permeated my earliest reading years, and they remain most precious to me. They have stayed with me in a way that other books scarcely can.

There's something incredibly special and lasting about the first stories that blew your little mind, striking down those natural walls that arrive with adolescence and self doubt. I was lucky enough to have parents who loved my imagination and fostered it whenever possible. I remember Barnes and Noble trips where my mom would let me pick out new books, many of them chosen more for their front cover art than anything else. I would wander through the children's aisle for as long as possible, picking up smooth paperbacks and reading the back covers, breathing in the smell of the pages and being incredibly indecisive. It was impossible to choose just one.

There are hundreds of beautiful children's stories out there, so I am sharing some of my personal favorites here. I would love to know if you have ever read any of these. Even as an adult, these remain some of my favorite books and series. If you haven't read them, you should! They're very near to me. Enjoy!