Pink IS the New Black: Polly's Pink Pajamas by Vivian French

POLLY LOVED HER PINK PAJAMAS.

WHAT DID SHE WEAR TO BED? PINK PAJAMAS.

WHAT DID SHE WEAR WHEN SHE GOT UP? PINK PAJAMAS.

WHAT DID SHE WEAR WHEN SHE ATE BREAKFAST? PINK PAJAMAS.

WHAT DID SHE WEAR ALL DAY LONG? PINK PAJAMAS.

Polly sees nothing wrong with making her little pink pajamas with big red hearts the heart of her wardrobe. Until--she gets a party invitation from her friend Fred. Suddenly Polly has that universal thought--she has nothing to wear!

What's a girl to do on short notice? Of course, Polly turns to her friends for help, and they come through in the pinch. Mia makes the offer of her red ruffled dress; Jo provides a green sweater; Harry has striped socks to contribute to the ensemble; and Claire comes through with some lovely blue shoes.

Back home Polly tries out the loaners in front of a full-length mirror ... and bursts into tears. The borrowed duds are each all right in and of themselves, but together they are a mis-matched and ill-fitting ensemble indeed. There's no way Polly can go to that party looking like this!

But then Fred calls to inquire why she's not there.

OH, FRED! I CAN'T COME. I HAVEN'T GOT ANY PARTY CLOTHES!"

"BUT, POLLY, IT'S NOT A PARTY-CLOTHES PARTY! SAYS FRED. "IT'S A PAJAMA PARTY!"

All's well that ends with pizza, and Fred's party concludes with pizza, bedtime stories, and pajamas for the whole sleepover gang. Vivian French's Polly's Pink Pajamas (Candlewick, 2010), illustrated amiably by Sue Heap, provides a cheery vehicle for reinforcement of basic color concepts (not that many preschool girls need any of that for the color pink!). This one pairs well with other books of the pink persuasion--Cherise Mericle Harper's recent Pink Me Up (see my recent post here,) any of Victoria Kann's best-selling Pinkalicious series, and, of course, Jane O'Connor's many best-selling books about that mother-of-all-pinkanistas, Fancy Nancy.