Although I do appreciate the idea of the book - a boy with a wild imagination, a dream and joy beyond gender stereotypes - I do find the ending disappointing. The mother is obviously supporting of her sons wish to own and wear the dress. But why would she buy it, encourage her son to do all chores around the neighborhood just to take him back to the second hand store and make him sad and feeling disappointed by having bought the dress beforehand hence the dress not being there anymore to buy.

And in the end she gifts her son the dress at a party where he is feeling grief about the “lost” dress.

I would have wished him a big moment of trying on the dress in the store (and yes of course his mother could have still gifted him the dress).

This felt a bit odd. The rhymes were nice and the illustration joyful.

Love. Love. LOVE!!! I can't accurately or fully express how happy this book made me feel and how important this book is going to be for so many kids out there. Everything about this book was utterly flawless, from start to finish. The rhyming: on point. The illustrations: magnificent. The plot: amazing. The idea: THE BEST!
I don't know what else to say about this book other than everyone everywhere should (MUST) read it.
I'm going to go cry happy tears now.

The beautiful, sparkly, irresistible dress in the window. This is a sweet story about a little boy who desperately wants a bright red, glimmering evening gown. The dual theme of working hard for what you want and a parent who accepts her child as he or she is, make this book irresistible as well.

The Dress In the Window is a beautiful, well illustrated children's picture book about embracing and nurturing imagination, as well as identity. A little boy falls sees a sparkly red dress in the window of a charity shop and begins to imagine all the people who wore it before. He sets his heart on buying the dress and his mother suggests that he might be able to do chores or things to earn money. He goes home and runs errands, cleans his neighbours' cars and houses, cuts lawns, and walks their dogs. He has finally earned enough money and after school, he and his mother go by the shop, only to find out that someone has already bought it. It is his birthday, so when he gets home, all the neighbours are there to celebrate. He gets lots of gifts, and finally his mother gives him her gift. What do you think is inside it? I loved how inclusive this story was and how it showed a mother supporting and nurturing her sons dreams and imagination and allowing him to embrace them. Although this might be a controversial story for some, my grandkids loved this book. They loved seeing who might have worn it before and even added their own suggestions. They are members of a very inclusive family who accept anyone no matter their preference. I have pictures of my grandson in braids and wearing a dress which we looked at as well. We really liked this book with its gorgeous, vibrant illustrations. What a great message to our children of today.

This is a very sweet story about a boy who desperately wants to buy a sparkly red dress he sees in a store window and all the people who support him and help him to get what he desires. The illustrations are beautiful, as is the sentiment. Thank you NetGalley and Flyaway Books for letting me read an ARC.

This was a cute picture book about self-expression and about working hard for the things we want.

A young boy finds a one-of-kind sequin red dress in a second-hand shop and falls in love. He works hard to save the money for the dress until the day he finally has enough to buy it.

The illustrations are vibrant and cute, the characters are fun and interesting. It's a heartwarming book about individuality and self-expression.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinion are completely my own.

I'm rather jealous of the boy's sparkly red dress. The story has a wonderful message of saving money if you truly want something. The illustrations are bright, lively and there's a dachshund. Also the love and acceptance the boy is surrounded by is beautiful and and I wish all children felt safe to truly be themselves.

This is a fantastic and creative and storyline of how one boy's wish for one used dress made the whole neighbour to support his individuality and self-expression. He is trying hard to work and to get his own money to buy that beautiful red dress in the window of one secondhand store. The Dress in the Window by Robert Tregoning is showing the unlimited love from mother to his son. Thanks a lot to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this story!

"The Dress in the Window" is a book about longing, the need to be seen and understood, and the way a gift can come when you least expect it. The rhyming works well for this story and will endear it to young children and the art is colorful and engaging. I will read/purchase any book about a boy who loves dresses because we need more stories like this. The mother's support and acknowledgement of her son in this is wonderful. So glad to discover this treasure. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. #TheDressintheWindow #NetGalley

This is a cute book about a little boy who wants a very fancy dress and works hard to earn money to buy it. Overall, I thought the premise was delightful, but the second half of the story left me a little confused. Why go to all the trouble of having the boy help neighbors with more chores than could reasonably be completed in an afternoon, just to give him the dress as a birthday present on (apparently) the next day? I feel like the author simply tried to do too much. That being said, the story is cute and the illustrations are vibrant. It's definitely worth a read.

A joyful story in which the central conflict has nothing to do with the gender of the main character, a boy wishing for a beautiful dress - he's completely supported by his family and community, there's no teasing or questioning him or even pointing out that this might be at all outside the norm. Picture books have come so far in the past decade since Morris Micklewhite! In an interview, Robert Tregoning said, "I wanted to write a story about a boy who challenged gender stereotypes, that didn’t contain a single speck of shame." And he has succeeded beautifully. With fun, rhyming text and vibrant illustrations, this is a book for every kid but especially affirming for dress-loving boys and anyone who longs for a world where all kids are celebrated for exactly who they are.

It`s a very cute book on an important subject but it flew over my kid's head. I feel this would be better as a chapter book and not a picture book.

I read this little adventure at a time when I needed love and approval.
I found it in every page and drawing.
If you want to achieve something work using all your skills, the ending can’t be different from a happy ending.

Thank you to the author, Flyaway Books and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My apologies for the delay in posting this review, I had a bit too much going on.

This children's book is like a warm hug, about dreaming, self-expression and nurturing imagination. The illustrations are fantastic, and I loved the subtle not-so-subtle message about gender roles and inclusivity. Although I am not a big fan of rhyming, it suited the story very well. My only quibble is the lack of a male role model that was as positive as the female role model.

This sweet book tells the story of a boy who falls in love with a red, glittering dress that he sees in a shop window, and how he works hard to save enough money to buy it. Along the way, he faces some challenges and doubts, but he never gives up on his dream. He is unconditionally supported by his loving mother and his kind neighbors, who all celebrate his happiness and individuality! This book is a wonderful celebration of self-expression, acceptance, and diversity. Also, the illustrations by Pippa Curnick are vibrant and absolutely charming.

A pretty straightforward story about working to get something that matters to you. That's the face value message. Of course there is also the not-so-subtle messaging about gender roles and feeling pretty regardless of gender. Cute.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

The Dress In the Window is a beautiful, expressive children's picture book about embracing and nurturing imagination.
A little boy falls in love with a beautiful, sparkly red dress in a charity shop window and let's hid imagination run wild with all the people the dress has been worn by before ending up in the window. His mother suggests he do some chores to get pocket money and save up to get it, and the boy sets to work running errands, cleaning neighbours' cars and houses, cutting lawns, and walking their dogs. Just as he's saved enough, he races to the shop on his way home from school on his birthday, but the dress is gone. But all is not lost as mum had secretly bought the dress for him for his birthday, knowing it may have sold by the time he'd saved enough money to get it.
I loved how inclusive this story was and how it showed a mother supporting and nurturing her sons dreams and imagination and allowing him to embrace them.

I loved this picture book about a child wanting to buy a beautiful dress they say in a resale store window. I loved how their mom and neighbors were so supportive of who they are. I would have liked to see more friends joining in but it seemed it was more about their neighbors or people in the community they saw often. It's still a great picture book for all libraries!!

The illustrations are super pretty and full of movement, the cadence of the story telling follows rhyming meter traditions. I liked it! I thought it was nice that it showed a little boy being drawn to a sparkly dress, but not assigning him any sort of orientation or identity- just enjoying a dress. I would say this is LGBTQ+ safe or relevant, but it's not exclusively for that community!

WHERE IS THE DAD. We need more representation of dads accepting boys drawn to feminine clothing/styles.

And all that hard work he did was worth $25 of coins? In this economy? And he didn't even get the satisfaction of using his earnings?

Also upset at the mom. I realize her briefly saying she didn't want to walk by the shop was the author trying to show remorse, but she never openly apologizes to the boy or lets him feel his sadness- which is a totally fine thing to do, even over something material. If it was me, I would tell him right then and there that I was scared it would sell, so I bought it for him and it's waiting at home instead of accidentally negging the poor kid.


I played a prank once on my 10yrs younger brother. For his 7th birthday, he wanted an Xbox DESPERATELY. We urged him to save up holiday money and to do extra chores, because money was tight and a new console was a Big Deal. So we got him one and set it up secretly, but left clues in the rest of his wrapped gifts as to what his big gift was.... but there was no Xbox to be unwrapped. That kid was so heartbroken that we couldn't get him out of his room to come see that we actually did get him his greatest wish. This story reminds me of that night and a little boy being built up only to have the pedestal of hope kicked out from under, and then haphazardly hoisted back up.

The Dress in the Window is a heartwarming and hopeful book about a boy who falls in love with a red dress, and his mom who supports his love for it. The illustrations are vibrant, colourful, and perfectly match the tone of the book. I loved the rhyming and structure of the story as well, it kept you reading along to find out what was coming next.