Clothes to Make You Smile: Patrick Kelly Designs His Dreams

Name: Clothes to Make You Smile: Patrick Kelly Designs His Dreams
ISBN: 9781419768866

by Eric Darnell Pritchard, Shannon Wright

National Book · 2026 · Longlist

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Abrams Books for Young ReadersJanuary 13, 2026Children's Biography & Memoir48 pagesISBN 9781419768866

Award History

Award	Year	Status	Citation
National Book Award for Young People's Literature	2026	Longlist

About This Book

A picture-book biography of fashion designer Patrick Kelly, who learned to sew at his grandmother's table in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and filled Paris runways with joy, buttons, and hearts. Written by Eric Darnell Pritchard and illustrated by Shannon Wright. Longlisted for the 2026 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

About the Authors

Eric Darnell PritchardAmerican

Eric Darnell Pritchard is an American educator, scholar, and writer whose work focuses on literacy, fashion, and Black queer culture. Clothes to Make You Smile: Patrick Kelly Designs His Dreams, illustrated by Shannon Wright, is his debut picture book and was longlisted for the 2026 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

Shannon WrightAmerican

Shannon Wright is an American illustrator and cartoonist. She received a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor for Big, written by Vashti Harrison. Clothes to Make You Smile: Patrick Kelly Designs His Dreams, written by Eric Darnell Pritchard, was longlisted for the 2026 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.