Runaway Clothes

by Mrs. D.

An enlightening story about a little girl named Nika who didn’t want to take care of her clothes and toys. One hazy morning when Nika opened her closet, she discovered that it was empty. Her clothes had disappeared! What had happened to her shirts and pants? Where did her favorite dresses, coats, and socks go? Why did they leave her with just her pajamas on this misty morning? Will they come back? Taking a closer look at her room, Nika starts thinking about her attitude toward her clothes and toys. “How easy it is to lose something you love so much.” She learns an important lesson at the end of this story. Watch your children have a blast reading this story while learning valuable lessons.

Genres: Childrens

49 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 3, 2014

About the author

Olga D'Agostino (known as Mrs. D.) is an award-winning children’s author (recipient of multiple Mom’s Choice Awards, Beverly Hills Book Awards, and International Readers’ Favorite Awards). She lived and worked in Lviv, a cultural center in western Ukraine, before immigrating to the United States in 1992. In 2012 she published her first children’s book, and since then she’s pursued a career as a writer, focusing on writing children’s books that have meaning and provide valuable lessons. She speaks many languages, loves reading, writing, gardening, and traveling. Her award-winning illustrated children’s books include The Trees Have Hearts, Good Morning, World!, The City Kittens and the Old House Cat, Runaway Clothes, The Little Girl Praying on the Hill, and The Royal Palm. She lives in Smithville, NJ, with her husband, Patrick. They have four children and four grandchildren. Her unpredictable calico cat, Nyda, was the inspiration for many of her stories.

Published children's books by Mrs. D. include:

The Trees Have Hearts
The City Kittens and the Old House Cat
Good Morning, World!
Runaway Clothes
Runaway Clothes: Coloring and Activity Book for Kids
The Royal Palm
The Little Girl Praying on the Hill,
The Mysterious Life Inside a Closet
That Is How Things Are
That Is How Things Are: Coloring and Activity Book for Kids
Baby from the Moon
Who Will Feed Stacey First? Story 1
What’s Going On Inside the Fridge: Story 2
Who Is Most Important in the Fridge? Story 3
Who Is Most Important in the Fridge: Coloring Book for Kids
Carlo the Mouse, Book 1: Too Many Rules for One Little Mouse
Carlo the Mouse, Book 2: Now We're Talking!
Carlo the Mouse, Book 3: What's Going On?
Carlo the Mouse, Book 4: Rules Are for a Reason
Carlo the Mouse, Book 5: Nothing Is Safe in a Mouse’s Life
Carlo the Mouse, Book 6: That’s My Life!
The City Kittens
A Taste of Bread
Somewhere Between Two Worlds

Cat Who Wonders by Itself,
What is GOOD and What is BAD?
Where Did Grandpa Go?
My Grandpa Is a Werecow

Her books are available in print on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and as e-books for most popular e-devices.

The full series of Carlo the Mouse and her new novel, The Chinese Princess will be published in the near future.

Reviews

[Olga Guseva · Rating 5 out of 5]

An instructive and incredibly beautiful story with a happy conclusion.

One morning when the little girl woke up, to her huge surprise, she could not find her clothing. Standing in front of her empty closet, she tries to find out what happened to her clothes and why her favorite dresses, pants, and shirts left her on this misty morning. How dare they leave her with just her summer pajamas? Sound familiar? At first, Nika tries to blame the poor hangers, but the hangers have had enough of her unpleasant attitude, and they run away too. What happens next is a great story about Nika’s realization of her behavior toward her belongings. She finally understands that there is only one person who is responsible for all this mess … and now is the time to take responsibility for her own actions.

Any parent knows what it takes to make their children clean their room. Runaway Clothes sparked a needed conversation between my eight-year-old son and me. Without preaching and hammering, Mrs. D. made my young son believe that the clothing and toys have feelings also, and they need proper care and love. No mess in his room! At least for now. As the mother of a young child, I found Mrs. D.s book very useful. It helps me to better understand my son and how I should deal with some extraordinary situations, we are facing when it comes to cleaning his room. This book teaches children to respect their things and make them think about the circumstances.

In my humble opinion, this is a brilliant book! What I love the most about Mrs. D’s educational story is her approach to this very touching subject: how to help parents teach their children to take care of their belongings without being annoying. I am amazed how the author lures readers into the world of the young girl, who gradually begins to realize how unfair she was to her belongings. Marvelously executed illustrations lead readers throughout the story while teaching lessons and showing the solutions. The story is written with a touch of magic, which makes this book appealing and memorable. My son loved the magical wind, talking trees, and giggling sunrays. Runaway Clothes is one of these loving stories that young children will enjoy reading repeatedly. It suits both girls and boys.

I’ve read all the books by this author. Mrs. D. is an incredible storyteller. Her characters are fascinating, loving, and mesmerizing. They are believable in that they reach hearts, teach lessons, and most important, they are kind and sweet, and fun to read to children. All of her books are beautifully illustrated and very inviting. They give readers new emotions and experiences while transporting them into the magical world of the beautiful classic fairy tales. Excellent teaching tools for children and adults!

PS. It was impossible not to fall in love with one of her characters, Carlo the Mouse, who found a warm spot in the hearts of Russian children. They can hardly wait for the next book from the Carlo the Mouse series. I am sure Runaway Clothes will find its readers around the globe and will leave a positive impact on readers of all ages. This is a small book, but it carries huge messages and provides great teaching tools. A brilliant book for young children and an excellent helper for parents!

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Runaway Clothes by Mrs D. had me thinking, "Oh yes, we've been there!" In this funny little story, a little girl opens her closet to learn from the clothes hangers, much to her dismay, that her clothes have run away. They were tired of being left on the ground, crumpled up, and treated so poorly. As the little girl surveys her room, she also sees how all of her toys are also sad from being neglected and piled uncomfortably one on top of the other. Before long, the little girl is feeling dejected realizing that she has not been taking good care of her belongings.

In Mrs D's unique storytelling style, the reader is treated to a delightful tale brought to life through beautiful and colorful illustrations. As with previous books, I love how inanimate objects are given life through both the writing and the pictures making this book perfect with children (and grown-ups) who have vivid imaginations.

Without giving the ending away, I think most parents will be able to relate to the underlying message about teaching children to clean up after themselves, be it their clothes or toys. How many times have I heard, growing up, "If you don't take care of your things, one day they will run away!" I love the underlying message of the story and I recommend this wonderful book to school classrooms, library circles, and parents who wish to read a lovely tale with a moral about taking care of our belongings, to children ages 5 to 10.

* I received free copies of these books in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Oh My Bookness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review:
Brittany Perez (Oh My Bookness)
@OhMyBookness
Bperezbookreviews@gmail.com
December 21,2014

Runaway Clothes by Mrs D. had Runaway Clothes by Mrs. D is full of delightful imagery. A little girl opens her closest, and oh my, her her clothes have disappeared,money have run away. The world flows in such a hmmmmm....fanciful way? Shall I say? That my goodness children will sure become engaged as well just sucked completely into this story as if they were in it them selves.

The young girls clothes became tired of being crumpled and feeling abounded on the floor, on the ground and all around being treated so ......unfortunately poorly and nasty. The little girl starts to notices that not only her soothes were being treated so bad but her toys, and they were sad from being unnoticed, neglected as well as sad as being piled on top of each other.

The wonderful story has a of importance, teaching teaching the ones who read a lesson, a valued lesson. A lesson that will teach the young, I will even go as far as saying the "older" because we all tend to forget sometime the value of ANY OF YOUR POSSESSIONS. The value of your BELONGINGS. Mrs.D. Does it in such a way that you will not realize you are learning a loess on just reading a fantastical good story but subconsciously you realize the message, a message off taking care of one, or your things. And a great message it is.

[Inderpreet Uppal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful tale about a little girl who finds all her clothes missing one fine morning. She then realises the importance of looking after her things.
This is an enchanting picture book for children and even though it is a story about a girl, all children can learn from this book.
It has very beautiful pictures with full page color illustrations. The cute little girl, her messy room, sad toys and angry hangers; are all a delightful combination. It is a story meant to be read again and again, with a message and moral for all children.
Read it to your child and help them learn the right way of taking care of their things, books, toys & clothes. Flipping through the colourful pictures older children can understand the story and would be encouraged to read on their own.
The Runaway Clothes makes you want to cherish the clothes and the book.

[Inderpreet Uppal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful tale about a little girl who finds all her clothes missing one fine morning. She then realises the importance of looking after her things.
This is an enchanting picture book for children and even though it is a story about a girl, all children can learn from this book.
It has very beautiful pictures with full page color illustrations. The cute little girl, her messy room, sad toys and angry hangers; are all a delightful combination. It is a story meant to be read again and again, with a message and moral for all children.
Read it to your child and help them learn the right way of taking care of their things, books, toys & clothes. Flipping through the colourful pictures older children can understand the story and would be encouraged to read on their own.
The Runaway Clothes makes you want to cherish the clothes and the book.

[Janice Spina · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely way to teach children how to be neat and tidy and take care of their things. Mrs. D has the innate ability to tell a story in a fascinating way that grips the little readers. She creates a fantasy world where clothes can talk and the elements - wind and sunlight are the character's friends. Her books enable children to believe that anything is possible when you make believe.

Children will be drawn into the story by the easy flow of the tale. The beautiful illustrations will delight and mesmerize children. I have read other books by this author and have been in awe at her talent and creativity in weaving stories that are reminiscent of tales of old. I highly recommend all Mrs. D's books to parents who want their children to enjoy reading in a fun and engaging way.

[Deitre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This vibrant and to the point short story, tells of Nika and her missing clothes. Whom have run away all because she doesn't take the time to put them away nice and neat as she should. There is a lesson to be learned in this picture book by Mrs. D. As always the illustrations are very colorful and appealing. In the end, I do believe that some of the word usuage and the theme of the story did not connect (a few words I thought were too advance for our little readers). However, this most likely would be a read that would be between a mother and daughter, perhaps. I'll admit, I may have to lay this read around for my 13 year old daughter to stumble across and learn a valuable lesson from Nika.

[Cym · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw the cover of this book, I thought, “This would be perfect for my 7-year-old Ella who doesn’t like to keep her things and toys in order.” She just leaves them lying around, and I really get annoyed that someone has to clean up after her. I sometimes feel like a nagger as I tell my children to clean up, every.single.day! I want them to learn to put their things in the proper place because the helper and I will not always be around to do that.

See full review: http://www.cymplified.com/2014/runawa...

[Feather Chelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun way to encourage cleanliness

We really enjoyed this book, and it was unlike anything we’ve read before. I love that the hangers and the clothing or personified, and the kids really enjoyed the pictures. It’s a fun way to teach you about taking care of your belongings and keeping things neat.

[Barbara Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you have a young lady in your home who is a less than perfect housekeeper? This book might be just what the doctor ordered.

Nika is a wide-eyed pretty little lass who awakes one morning to find that all her clothes are missing from her closet. Both the metal and wooden hangers are bare. She looks outside her cold window and sees only the mist. Where can her clothes be hiding? Nika is freezing because she is dressed only in her pajamas. She does not know what to do. Then she gazes around her room and observes that all her toys are lying around in disorganized heaps. What if they decide to abandon her as well? Nika panics. So she purposefully sets out to clean and organize her toys and stuffed animals.

That does not resolve her dilemma. It is cold outside; how will she ever be able to leave the house without her clothing? Nika talks to the trees and the sun rays who are both sympathetic. The wind blows her salty tears and they land on her clothing, which it turns out, are closer than Nika is aware. Does Nika ever find her wayward clothing? At the end of the story, Nika's mom is really impressed with her daughter because she has learned a few valuable lessons.

The illustrations by Chanoa are beautifully done in large computer images with detailed facial expressions in soft pastels. As in another of MRS. D's previous, books, Good Morning, World!, personification plays a large role in the story. The hangers, clothing, wind, sun rays and fog come to life. There are some guardian spirits looking on as well. The illustrations face the text on the opposite page. While a few vocabulary words like enraged are a stretch for younger children, the illustrations provide context clues. I would recommend the book for little ones in the elementary grades and for parents who might want to impress upon their child the importance of taking good care of their belongings.

[Grampy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Runaway Clothes” by Mrs. D. joins this author’s growing list of good quality children’s books. The illustrations in this volume are superbly drawn by the very talented Chanoa, making this a delight to read, regardless of your age.

Young Nika awakens one morning to discover all her clothes are missing from her closet. She asks the hangers what they did with her clothes, but only manages to anger them, so the hangers run away, too.

After pouting for a bit, Nika realizes she did not treat her clothes very nicely, so it’s her own fault they ran away. This epiphany makes her realize that her toys might also become sufficiently disenchanted to run away, and then how would she cope?

To prevent such an eventuality, Nika decides to clean up her room like never before. She puts everything very neatly in its proper place, but is that enough to encourage her clothes to return to her closet?

“Runaway Clothes” is richly illustrated, with a hint of Anime influencing the drawings. The text of the story meshes perfectly with the illustrations; so much so, that you will find yourself pausing on each page to carefully peruse the illustrations after reading the text.

Mrs. D. has firmly established herself as one of this generation’s premier children’s authors. Readers are encouraged to visit her website, http://www.mrsdbooks.net/, for video trailers for each of her books… a definite plus when you need to select only one or two books out of a dozen or more choices.

All of Mrs. D’s books that I’ve so far read have been based on actual events in her life, which makes it very easy to relate to them. If you’ve not yet discovered Mrs. D, “Runaway Clothes” is an excellent one with which to start. You will grow to treasure all her stories.

[K. Lamb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Runaway Clothes by Mrs. D is full of delightful imagery. The words flow in such a fanciful way that children are sure to be immediately engaged and pulled into the story. Its endearing quality teaches young ones the importance of taking care of their valued belongings in such a way that they will not realize they are learning a lesson in the proper care of one's possessions. Excellently executed!

If the colorful writing does not yet engage the youngest of readers, the beautiful illustrations are guaranteed to catch their attention! I believe this book will delight children of all ages. The youngest will be drawn in by the vivid pictures while the older ones will become lost within the lovely descriptive words. They will feel the child's anguish at the loss of her runaway clothes, and later her joy, as she is reunited with them.

It is sometimes difficult for me to leave a review and judge someone's work, but this author made it an incredibly easy process for me. Beautiful storytelling, Mrs. D! I am sure it will be treasured by the many children lucky enough to get lost within its pages.

[Esperanza · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book that I read by Mrs. D. dealt with a life issue that affects many children in United States, bullying. I am actually a fan of this author and appreciate the life lessons that she offers to her young readers within her stories. In this book Runaway Clothes, the author takes issue with the conflict of a child needing to organize and appreciate her belongings. She addresses more than just being a clean child and organization, but also the issue of taking materialistic items for granted. The author uses items that are of great value to her character. This is done to draw a clear distinction between having something and losing it overnight. Once again, just as in the book The Trees Have Hearts, the trees and wind help the main character learn valuable life lessons. I admire the exceptional qualities of the trees and wind, and was truly excited to see them presented again in this new story. Parents and children alike will delight in following the main character on her journey of overcoming her immediate dilemma of missing clothes, and learning a valuable life lesson. We recommend this book in our homeschool and give it a big thumbs up!

[Literary Classics Book Awards & Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

One day young Nika wakes up to discover her closet is bare. Upon discovery of her empty wardrobe her hangers gleefully announce that Nika's clothes have had enough of her mistreatment and have decided to run away. It seems Nika has cared for her clothes quite poorly. But as Nika laments the loss of her favorite clothes she looks around her room at total disarray. With toys stacked upon one another in chaotic disorder, she is struck with a terrible thought. What if her toys were to decide to leave her as well? With a little help from her friends Sun and Wind, Nika learns a valuable lesson about treating her things with respect.

Author, Mrs. D., has written a beautiful book full of wonderfully imaginative scenarios and lovely imagery. Runaway Clothes is sure to strike a chord with young readers, inspiring them to take good care of their belongings.

Runaway Clothes is recommended for home and school libraries.

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Runaway Clothes is a whimsical and charming tale that educates children on the importance of taking care of their belongings.

Nika is shocked to find that her clothes have disappeared and now her hangers are leaving as well. Bewildered by this development, Nika begins to reflect on her treatment of her beautiful clothes. She remembers that she often threw them on the ground or stuffed them in her drawer. As she cries she notices her toys are scattered about her room. Worried that they too will leave, Nika decides to make a change, but is it too late?

The author uses Runaway Clothes to teach children to be grateful for the things they have and to value them through care a respect. The delightful illustrations add to the enjoyment of the story.

I highly recommend picking up Runaway Clothes.

[Bonnie Rediske- · Rating 4 out of 5]

Runaway clothes is a little story to teach children the importance of respecting the objects they own. We are taken on a journey of Nika who is missing all her clothes. As a result she figures out that if she does not want to lose all her things, she has to take better care of them. It is also a refreshing story for parents to learn that it is important to praise little ones for the good deeds they do. I would see the target age group for this book to be 1-3rd grade level. I give this 4 fangs.

[Kate Larkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A light-hearted lesson in tidiness.
The little girl unwittingly neglects and abuses her clothes and toys, until one day the clothes go missing and their absence makes her heart grow fonder! A useful story for anyone with a child who doesn't respect their belongings. It's fun and non-preachy and might provide some food for thought in a non-confrontational way.

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Runaway Clothes" written by Mrs. D is one readers will enjoy, and possibly learn a lesson from this tale.
Nika's clothes run away after not being put away properly. Her toys too, are in a bit of a dilemma of her untidy ways.
This was a fun, descriptive, and entertaining book to read.

(I was given a copy of this book offered by the author in an exchange for an honest review.)

[Lynda Dickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nika wakes up one morning to find all her clothes missing. Then the grumpy old wooden hanger tells her a few things she doesn't want to hear about how she's been treating her belongings. Will Nika change her lazy ways?

This is a cute story, but the ending is a bit contrived and predictable. I felt like I was being hammered over the head with the lesson the story was so obviously trying to teach. The author's writing style is beautiful, though a bit too old-fashioned for this modern tale. The subject matter would be better served by a simple picture book, with much less text.

I received this book in return for an honest review.

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