Mr. Frank “had been measuring, cutting, stitching, sewing, mending and pressing clothes for many years.” One day, Mr. Frank receives an order for a special outfit. He knows it will have to be better than anything he’s ever made before. More finely fitted than uniforms he made during wartime sixty years ago; more playful than the dresses he made more than forty years ago; more comfortable than the jeans he once patched; and more special than the tutus he made more recently. A warm, playful picture book takes a brief tour across the decades of fashion before revealing Mr. Frank’s most important client ever: his grandchild. It turns out superhero capes and other costumes aren’t just the stuff from which dreams are made, they’re also an expression of love. The striking mixed media illustrations incorporate photographs and other detail elements. (Ages 4–7)

Mr. Frank is a tailor who has spent his whole life making all sorts of clothing for all sorts of people. Mr. Frank has sewn wonderous clothing items through the decades. He has made special items in just about every style you can think of uniforms, suits, dresses, colorful casual, dancewear etc. Yet, on the last day of his career before retirement and after decades of creating he makes the most amazing outfit of all for a very special someone.

2015 USBBY Outstanding International Books List, 2015 Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices.

Author lives in Canada.

English. Originally published in Canada as Mr. Frank by Groundwood Books, House of Anansi Press in 2014. Published in the United States by Groundwood Books, House of Anansi Press in 2014.

On his last day before retirement, Mr. Frank is sewing the most wonderful outfit of his long career. Who could it be for?

In all his years working as a tailor, Mr. Frank has made all kinds of clothes. From the practical uniforms of the 1940s to the wild and weird designs of the 1960s and 1970s, he has seen (and sewn) just about everything. But today’s project is especially close to Mr. Frank’s heart.

With its use of textiles and sensitive period detail, Irene Luxbacher’s artwork is the perfect complement to her understated text. The result is a story that children and grandparents can share with equal delight.