CELEBRATE WORLD DOLL DAY ON JUNE 10, 2023 BY GIVING A DOLL TO SOMEONE SPECIAL
This was the invitation Mildred Seeley extended when she started World Doll Day on the second Saturday in June in 1986. She was a doll collector and writer. She felt the common doll could be an instrument of world understanding.Dolls have been a part of human civilisation for thousands of years, with archaeological evidence indicating that dolls are the oldest known toy. Archeologists found the oldest dolls in Egyptian tombs from 2000BC, but they didn’t clearly determine what they were used for. Children likely played with dolls as toys dating back to 200 BC.
Dolls have been made of wood, soapstone, cornhusks, dried apples, paper, in fact whatever was easily found at the time they were made. Wooden dolls were found in Egyptian tombs. Clay dolls were found in the graves of Ancient Greek and Roman children as well. Like children today, Roman, Greek and Egyptian children dressed their dolls according to the latest fashions.
Ragdolls are traditionally home-made from spare scraps of cloth material. Ragdolls dating back to the 5th century AD have been found in Great Britain.
In modern times, Mattel’s Barbie has become one of the world’s most popular dolls. First created in 1959, the Barbie doll has continuously strived to adapt to the ever-changing markets.
Whichever kind of doll you prefer, find a doll or some dolls and read to them. What will you read? A story about a doll of course.
Ragdolls
Perhaps you have an old book about Raggedy Ann and Andy, but a 100th Year Anniversary edition was published in 2015 with five stories illustrated by Jan Palmer.
• Sophie and Rose by Kathryn Lasky
In the attic, Sophie discovers an old doll that once belonged to her mother and grandmother. She loves her and names her Rose. As time goes on the doll becomes more battered and gruuby, but Sophie's attachment is unwavering. This is the story of a special relationship between a girl and her doll.
• Lili and Pickle: Lili's Wish by Emma Thomson
Lili the rag doll would love to have a birthday party, but she doesn't even know how old she is! Lili's best friend, Pickle, is determined to find the answer and make Lili's birthday wish come true . . .
• Babushka's Doll by Patricia Polacco
When Natasha plays with the her grandmother's doll while Babushka goes to the store for groceries, she discovers why once is enough with Babushka's doll...
• Fanny and Fanny and Annabelle by Hollie Hobbie
Fanny asks for a Connie doll like those of her friends, and when her mother says no, Fanny tries to make one for herself. In the second book, Fanny decides to make her very own picture book, starring her homemade doll, Annabelle.
Nesting dolls
• The Littlest Matryoshka by Corinne Demas
Nina, the smallest of a group of Russian nesting dolls, is separated from her sisters and swept along on a dangerous journey that eventually brings her back home.
• The Magic Nesting Doll by Jacqueline Ogburn and Laurel Long
Katya's grandmother took a little matryoshka, a nesting doll, out of a small box. "If your need is great, open the doll and help will come. But you may only do so three times. After that the magic will be gone."
Japanese dolls
Anna is a Japanese-American girl whose grandparents live in Japan. They have been sending her kokeshi dolls made of painted wood each year for her birthday since she was very small. The dolls, like people, are all different - and beautiful.
• Aoki and Yumi by Annelore Parot
Aoki and Yumi are kokeshi dolls from Japan. They have a book each.
• Yuko-chan and the Daruma Doll by Sunny Seki
Seki, takes readers on a journey into ancient Japan and the story behind the famous Daruma Doll.
Other doll books
• The Paper Dolls by Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb
• Little One by Jane Godwin and Gabriel Evans
Pippi loves her special Little One: she's soft like mist and always warm, and she's there for Pippi through night and day, but one day, Little One goes missing.
• Elizabeti's Doll by Christy Hale and Stephanie Steve-Bodeen
When a young Tanzanian girl gets a new baby brother, she finds a rock, which she names Eva, and makes it her baby doll.
• Penny and her Doll by Kevin Henkes
Penny instantly loves the doll her grandmother sends her, but finding the perfect name for her is a challenge.
One evening, Pearlie the park fairy finds a lost doll sitting under a bush. What can Pearlie do?
Charlotte has a talent for anything technological, so when she receives a doll as a present, she upgrades it with a few spare parts and some code to create a new and improved friend.
• The Doll Hospital by Kallie George and Sara Gillingham
When toys need a little TLC, they head to the Doll Hospital where Dr. Pegs will have them feeling better in no time!
• Hazel's Amazing Mother by Rosemary Wells
Hazel is out for a walk with her beloved doll Eleanor. But when she makes a wrong turn, she encounters some kids who are up to no good.
These are good as conversations about gender and who can play with dolls:
• William's Doll by Charlotte Zolotow and William Pine Du Bois
More than anything, William wants a doll. “Don’t be a creep,” says his brother. “Sissy, sissy,” chants the boy next door. Then one day someone really understands William’s wish...
A mum goes to great lengths to rescue her son’s favorite doll in this delightful tribute to treasured toys—and mothers.
• Want to Play Trucks? by Ann Stott and Bob Graham
Jack and Alex meet almost every morning in the sandbox at the playground. Jack likes trucks — big ones, the kind that can wreck things. Alex likes dolls — pink ones, with sparkles. And tutus.
• Dolls and Trucks are for Everyone by Robb Pearlman and Eda Kaban
Dolls and trucks are for boys and girls and everyone, as are fabric and wood, flutes and drums, hockey and figure skating, and many more.
Rumer Godden wrote many short chapter books which feature dolls. My favourite is The Story of Holly and Ivy. Our library has an illustrated picture book version by Barbara Cooney.
Ivy, Holly, and Mr. and Mrs. Jones all have one Christmas wish. Ivy, an orphan, wishes for a real home and sets out in search of the grandmother she's sure she can find. Holly, a doll, wishes for a child to bring her to life. And the Joneses wish more than anything for a son or daughter to share their holiday. Can all three wishes come true?
Natalie Jane Prior has also written a series of four chapter books called The Dolls. The Dolls series features a household of fashionable dolls and their friends and deals with classic female themes of friendship, jealousy, fashion, fun, love and, of course, drama.
And coming in October
• Nesting Dolls by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
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