The Doll Book of the Month Club: The Best Loved Doll

   This month's Doll Book of the Month Club entry was a recent suggestion from our reader, RagingMoon1987. It's a book I read to my kids when they were little. This month's book is "The Best Loved Doll", by Rebecca Caudill.

  The book concerns a little girl named Betsy, who is invited to a party at her friend Susan's house. The invitation says each guest should bring a doll. At the party there will be prizes given for the Oldest Doll, the Best Dressed Doll, and the doll who can do the most things. Betsy debates which doll to take. She has a beautiful bride doll, in a gown that might win best dressed. She has a mechanical doll that can sew, who might win the prize for the doll who can do the most things. She even has her great grandmother's doll, who might win oldest doll. And then there is her doll, Jennifer. Jennifer is well loved and well worn. Her face is damaged, she has lost a shoe, and her dress is ragged. Betsy considers which doll to take, and ultimately decides to take Jennifer, knowing she won't win a prize. 

"You aren't my oldest doll, Jennifer," said Betsy. "Your dress is a fright. And you can't do a single thing. But I do love you, dear Jennifer."

  At the party all the girls have brought their dolls. The girls play games while the dolls watch from the couch. 

  The girls and the dolls enjoy cupcakes, and later, Susan's mother awards the prizes. 

  It's a surprise when she decides to award an extra prize to Jennifer, as, you guessed it, 'The Best Loved Doll'. It's a wonderful lesson about valuing love and friendship over appearances. 

  I remember reading this book to my daughter Emma, whose favourite doll was a very worn, bald doll, who was given all the best doll stuff Emma had, and who Emma took everywhere.    

Here she is getting off the plane after a 'trip' to Doll Paris.

  It's a sweet, old fashioned story. I might also add that not everyone at the party wins a prize, and they're all okay with that. Not like these days when everyone gets a prize, so no one feels left out or cheated. It used to annoy me senseless when my kids were little, and everyone always got a prize at school events. On 'Fun Day' there were games of chance, but there was no chance anybody was going to go home without a prize. It was supposed to be so that none of the kids got upset that somebody won and they didn't. I thought that taught a bad lesson. Nobody had to earn anything, and in life, sometimes you don't win. You aren't always going to win. Did those kids grow up expecting everything to be handed to them, whether they deserved it or not? I also thought it devalued the effort some kids put in. Why bother if even the kids who don't try or care win anyway? Sorry. Rant over.

  Apparently "The Best Loved Doll" was based on something that actually happened to Rebecca Caudill's own daughter.

  The book is illustrated with simple drawings by Elliot Gilbert, coloured only in a couple of colours. It might be bland to kids these days, when everything has to be neon and sparkly, but it's quietly and calmly beautiful. Gilbert wanted the illustrations to 'reflect the timelessness of the story', and while they may look a bit dated art-wise, I think they are perfect for the story, which is, itself a bit old fashioned these days. Not that that's a bad thing.

  The book was originally published in 1962, an excellent year, which also produced me. I think it's still in print, or, at least, was not many years ago. It is a thin book, of only 64 pages, and is recommended for ages 5 to 8, grades Kindergarten through third grade. It's also recommended by me.

  That's it for this month's book. My shoulder has kept me from typing much lately, but hang in there. I'm still around, with more to show you.