The Blue Day

by René Guillot, Margery Gill (Illustrator), Gwen Marsh (Translator)

Once a year, in the blueness of early morning, before the sun has risen, all the dolls come to life and have adventures. Translated by Gwen Marsh, illustrated by Margery Gill.

44 pages, hardcover

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

René Paul Guillot (1900-1969) was an author who lived, worked and traveled in French Africa and wrote primarily for children. His works have been translated to many languages and have been included in school required reading in many countries.

After studying science, René Guillot moved to Senegal to work as a teacher, spending over 20 years in Africa. Most of the material for his many books comes from this time.

In 1964, he received the "Hans Christian Andersen Award" for the novel, Fodai and the Leopard-Men. Three of his books have been adapted to film, while a live-action version of Little Dog Lost featuring a Welsh Corgi, was made for the "Disneyland" show and was broadcast in 1963.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Blue Day is a holiday for abandoned dolls. A fairy gives them wishes, but only for the day. Mieke, our attic-dwelling protagonist, wishes to spend the day playing with a Real Live Baby, and does.

That's about it. There are some other details, birds talk to her, the baby is for some reason in an Arabian-Nights-ish palace in a faraway land with camels. Then she goes home and is sad some more.

I've never really understood the point of this sentient-toys subgenre where the main point is the loneliness of no-longer-loved objects. Toys have no feelings, so what's the point of making kids feel badly about not wanting to play with them?

Sentient toys was never a favorite theme of mine, even as a kid, but I vastly prefer ones where there is plot or action to descriptions of the sadness. The Return of the Twelves was pretty fun, for instance.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book enchanted me when I was little. I just loved the idea of a day when the dolls came to life, and, after I read the book, that early pre-sunrise blueness always held an air of mystery and magic to me. Highly recommended!

[Catherine Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated children’s story book.