This month's book is an early post and a short book, since I have had a plethora of things to do this month, and am heading off tomorrow to Georgia to my friend Lori's, where I'll be celebrating her 60th birthday with her. So, this month our book is "The Scrap Doll", by Liz Rosenberg.
Originally published in 1991, "The Scrap Doll", is a sweet, simple story, with soft, simple illustrations by Robin Ballard. The story concerns a little girl named Lydia, who longs for a doll she has seen on tv, a doll with beautiful yellow hair and shiny blue eyes.
There's no money to buy the doll, but Lydia's mother remembers her own beloved doll Sarah, made for her by father when she was small. She brings the doll down for Lydia, but Sarah has seen better days. Her hair is missing, and her face paint is faded away. Lydia hates the doll and, thinking 'Sarah' is far too pretty a name for such an ugly doll, refers to her as "Ugly Old Thing".
Little by little Lydia makes changes to Ugly Old Thing. As expected, eventually she has made Sarah beautiful again, and when she brings her to breakfast and her mother asks the name of her doll, Lydia replies, "Sarah. I thought you knew."
It's predictable to jaded old people, but kids might not be expecting the turn of events. The book is a brief 32 pages, and is recommended for ages 4 to 8.
Sounds like a good book for teaching kids to fix rather than throw away. Hey, have you ever heard of a book called "The Best-Loved Doll"? It's a short little book, but it has a sweet message. Enjoy your trip and be safe on the road!
ReplyDeleteOh yes. I have that one somewhere. I'll have to post that one some day.
DeleteSounds like a cozy book 😊
ReplyDeleteThat's a good word for it.
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