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The Very Little Princess
Regina is only 3-1/4 inches tall, but she knows from the moment she wakes up in her dollhouse bed that she is a princess. Why else would she have such a lovely pink gown? Why else would she have such golden hair and flawless skin? And why else would she have a four-foot, curly-haired human creature to wait on her? Meanwhile Zoey, that four-foot, curly-haired creature, has always dreamed that someday one of her dolls would come alive. But in her dreams, the doll never ordered her around. The doll didn’t call her a servant. And the doll was a whole lot nicer!
In a classic storyteller’s voice, Marion Dane Bauer tells an exquisite tale of friendship, family, and loss, laced with humor and joy.
In a classic storyteller’s voice, Marion Dane Bauer tells an exquisite tale of friendship, family, and loss, laced with humor and joy.
122 pages, Hardcover
First published February 23, 2010
11 people are currently reading
237 people want to read
About the author
Marion Dane Bauer
170 books186 followersMarion Dane Bauer is the author of more than one hundred books for young people, ranging from novelty and picture books through early readers, both fiction and nonfiction, books on writing, and middle-grade and young-adult novels. She has won numerous awards, including several Minnesota Book Awards, a Jane Addams Peace Association Award for RAIN OF FIRE, an American Library Association Newbery Honor Award for ON MY HONOR, a number of state children's choice awards and the Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota for the body of her work.
She is also the editor of and a contributor to the ground-breaking collection of gay and lesbian short stories, Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence.
Marion was one of the founding faculty and the first Faculty Chair for the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her writing guide, the American Library Association Notable WHAT'S YOUR STORY? A YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO WRITING FICTION, is used by writers of all ages. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen different languages.
She has six grandchildren and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with her partner and a cavalier King Charles spaniel, Dawn.
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INTERVIEW WITH MARION DANE BAUER
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Q. What brought you to a career as a writer?
A. I seem to have been born with my head full of stories. For almost as far back as I can remember, I used most of my unoccupied moments--even in school when I was supposed to be doing other "more important" things--to make up stories in my head. I sometimes got a notation on my report card that said, "Marion dreams." It was not a compliment. But while the stories I wove occupied my mind in a very satisfying way, they were so complex that I never thought of trying to write them down. I wouldn't have known where to begin. So though I did all kinds of writing through my teen and early adult years--letters, journals, essays, poetry--I didn't begin to gather the craft I needed to write stories until I was in my early thirties. That was also when my last excuse for not taking the time to sit down to do the writing I'd so long wanted to do started first grade.
Q. And why write for young people?
A. Because I get my creative energy in examining young lives, young issues. Most people, when they enter adulthood, leave childhood behind, by which I mean that they forget most of what they know about themselves as children. Of course, the ghosts of childhood still inhabit them, but they deal with them in other forms--problems with parental authority turn into problems with bosses, for instance--and don't keep reaching back to the original source to try to fix it, to make everything come out differently than it did the first time. Most children's writers, I suspect, are fixers. We return, again and again, usually under the cover of made-up characters, to work things through. I don't know that our childhoods are necessarily more painful than most. Every childhood has pain it, because life has pain in it at every stage. The difference is that we are compelled to keep returning to the source.
Q. You write for a wide range of ages. Do you write from a different place in writing for preschoolers than for young adolescents?
A. In a picture book or board book, I'm always writing from the womb of the family, a place that--while it might be intruded upon by fears, for instance--is still, ultimately, safe and nurturing. That's what my own early childhood was like, so it's easy for me to return to those feelings and to recreate them.
When I write for older readers, I'm writing from a very different experience. My early adolescence, especially, was a time of deep alienation, mostly from my peers but in some ways from my family as well. And so I write my older stories out of that pain, that longing for connection. A story has to have a problem at its core. No struggle
She is also the editor of and a contributor to the ground-breaking collection of gay and lesbian short stories, Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence.
Marion was one of the founding faculty and the first Faculty Chair for the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her writing guide, the American Library Association Notable WHAT'S YOUR STORY? A YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO WRITING FICTION, is used by writers of all ages. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen different languages.
She has six grandchildren and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with her partner and a cavalier King Charles spaniel, Dawn.
-------------------------------------
INTERVIEW WITH MARION DANE BAUER
-------------------------------------
Q. What brought you to a career as a writer?
A. I seem to have been born with my head full of stories. For almost as far back as I can remember, I used most of my unoccupied moments--even in school when I was supposed to be doing other "more important" things--to make up stories in my head. I sometimes got a notation on my report card that said, "Marion dreams." It was not a compliment. But while the stories I wove occupied my mind in a very satisfying way, they were so complex that I never thought of trying to write them down. I wouldn't have known where to begin. So though I did all kinds of writing through my teen and early adult years--letters, journals, essays, poetry--I didn't begin to gather the craft I needed to write stories until I was in my early thirties. That was also when my last excuse for not taking the time to sit down to do the writing I'd so long wanted to do started first grade.
Q. And why write for young people?
A. Because I get my creative energy in examining young lives, young issues. Most people, when they enter adulthood, leave childhood behind, by which I mean that they forget most of what they know about themselves as children. Of course, the ghosts of childhood still inhabit them, but they deal with them in other forms--problems with parental authority turn into problems with bosses, for instance--and don't keep reaching back to the original source to try to fix it, to make everything come out differently than it did the first time. Most children's writers, I suspect, are fixers. We return, again and again, usually under the cover of made-up characters, to work things through. I don't know that our childhoods are necessarily more painful than most. Every childhood has pain it, because life has pain in it at every stage. The difference is that we are compelled to keep returning to the source.
Q. You write for a wide range of ages. Do you write from a different place in writing for preschoolers than for young adolescents?
A. In a picture book or board book, I'm always writing from the womb of the family, a place that--while it might be intruded upon by fears, for instance--is still, ultimately, safe and nurturing. That's what my own early childhood was like, so it's easy for me to return to those feelings and to recreate them.
When I write for older readers, I'm writing from a very different experience. My early adolescence, especially, was a time of deep alienation, mostly from my peers but in some ways from my family as well. And so I write my older stories out of that pain, that longing for connection. A story has to have a problem at its core. No struggle
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
December 9, 2017
I thought that this is a children's book until I came to the part where Zoey's mother, Rose, just left her at her grandmother's house without bothering to tell her. Rose is obviously in a state of depression based on what Zoey told Princess Regina.
Young readers are not yet ready for this kind of story with parent's abandonement of children and depression. As they cannot fully comprehend it without someone who will explain it to them, they will just be confused and might also scared them especially with the abandonment issue.
As for an adult reader like me, I really enjoyed the story notably the end where Zoey and Princess Regina found a friend at each other.
Young readers are not yet ready for this kind of story with parent's abandonement of children and depression. As they cannot fully comprehend it without someone who will explain it to them, they will just be confused and might also scared them especially with the abandonment issue.
As for an adult reader like me, I really enjoyed the story notably the end where Zoey and Princess Regina found a friend at each other.
August 26, 2016
This book was a bit depressing. A children's early reader book is not the place to try and tackle mental health issues. This book starts off light and fluffy and in the last 20 pages the mother up and leaves her 10 year old daughter with no warning, nothing.
why does she leave her? She is bipolar. Apparently she neglected her daughter for 10 years and would leave her crying and with no food.
Given thereally was no warning about this and the topic is just half thrown out there I felt it was horrible.
why does she leave her? She is bipolar. Apparently she neglected her daughter for 10 years and would leave her crying and with no food.
Given thereally was no warning about this and the topic is just half thrown out there I felt it was horrible.
November 28, 2019
Great children's book.... about a long lost Grandmother and a special doll that has affected many generations of girls in this quaint story.. really enjoyed it!
September 17, 2013
The jury in my head is still out on this one. It's a very modern fairy tale. Yes, it's rooted in the doll stories of Rumer Godden and Frances Hodgson Burnett, whose heroines believed that dolls can talk (by thinking or "wishing") and possibly move about when humans aren't around. But this is a new take on how dolls and people think, communicate, and feel--or learn to feel.
Zoey visits the grandmother she never knew she had, and finds her mother's old bedroom, complete with the perfect princess dollhouse--and the perfect princess doll to inhabit it. But the doll, like all perfect princesses, doesn't know she isn't perfect, and isn't a real princess. At least not yet. The key to her reality is learning to be real--which implies a certain risk.
The modern fairy tale takes an unexpected twist, half-revealing a dark family secret, and leaving many things unresolved--it is, after all, the first in a series of children's books. Sigh
I remember the good old days when authors knew how to present a rounded, finished story in each volume that left the young reader feeling satisfied when they turned the final page--even if they didn't want the story to end. It made you eager to find the next book. The 21st century authors of book series seem to have forgotten the importance of a satisfactory end, giving the child reader a sense of stability. The outside world is unstable enough. I finished the book feeling dissatisfied and not sure whether I wanted to read the second volume or not. Children will probably feel let down as well, since they are not fools, just shorter and younger than adult readers.
Zoey visits the grandmother she never knew she had, and finds her mother's old bedroom, complete with the perfect princess dollhouse--and the perfect princess doll to inhabit it. But the doll, like all perfect princesses, doesn't know she isn't perfect, and isn't a real princess. At least not yet. The key to her reality is learning to be real--which implies a certain risk.
The modern fairy tale takes an unexpected twist, half-revealing a dark family secret, and leaving many things unresolved--it is, after all, the first in a series of children's books. Sigh
I remember the good old days when authors knew how to present a rounded, finished story in each volume that left the young reader feeling satisfied when they turned the final page--even if they didn't want the story to end. It made you eager to find the next book. The 21st century authors of book series seem to have forgotten the importance of a satisfactory end, giving the child reader a sense of stability. The outside world is unstable enough. I finished the book feeling dissatisfied and not sure whether I wanted to read the second volume or not. Children will probably feel let down as well, since they are not fools, just shorter and younger than adult readers.
January 16, 2013
I am currently reading the book The Very Little Princess By : Marion Dane Bauer. This book is about a girl named Zoey and the minute she woke up they knew she was a princess, but not a very big princess, in fact she was only three and one quarter inches tall. They knew she was a princess because why else would she be wearing a pink gown? Her eyes were blue and her hair was spun gold. Zoey lived with only her mother. She had no family at all just her and her mom, well that is what she thought and that is what her mom told her. One day her mom said go pack your bag Zoey and she said "why" and her mom said "because we are going to your grandmother's house." So Zoey ran upstairs, got her suitcase out and packed everything she could possibly pack. When they arrived at her grandmother's house, her grandmother invited them in. Her mom hadn't seen Zoey's grandmother in 10 years and lets just say they don't get along very well. While her mom and grandmother where talking she went and tried to find her moms room from when she was a little kid. She knew from what her mom told her that it was pink so she looked for the one that was pink. After she found the room she walked in and saw a sheet on top of a really tall thing. If you want to know what is under the sheet you will just have to read the book. This book relates to me because when I was two or three years old I thought that I was a princess and had a princess bed kind of similar to Zoey's. I can't wait to see what is going to happen and what is under the sheet.
February 13, 2014
This is horrendous. It is short, but digs deep and finds a way to drag anyway. And...what trumps the pace problem immeasurably...the girl is abandoned by her mother with no warning. I, as an adult, did not even see it coming. The mom is great, the mom is fun, the mom is affectionate, and then BANGO! we're leaving you with Grandma forever. My daughter cried actual tears when the sh*t went down. I can't imagine why the publishing company did not leave a little cookie mention of that in the synopsis, because you think you're signing on for a toy-comes-to-life story, and instead you get maternal abandonment. And you know what, the toy-comes-to-life story was not all that cool anyway. Stick to Indian in the Cupboard and The Borrowers if you're after tiny, fun people.
March 21, 2011
This book is amazing. My favorite part about it was when Princess Regina and Zoey found Princess Regina's throne room. It was really green and the only thing in that room was a throne. Nothing else. I think this book would be good to recommend to girls who like The Great Turkey Walk. It's like The Great Turkey walk because Zoey was trying to figure out who her grandmother really was. To here more don't come to me. Read the BOOK!!!
February 18, 2016
Some serious subjects addressed in a very young voice. Kids of strange but probably good (unfortunately) for younger children dealing with neglect and abandonment. The main message was that being alive means that sometimes we hurt but there are many glorious things to experience as well. I'd recommend for the adult to read this first before sharing with a child to make sure it is appropriate subject matter for the child. (It's short enough to read in less than an hour- it took me 1/2 hour.)
January 3, 2012
Ok, if you are thinking that this is a cute story about a girl and a tiny princess, it is. However, it is more about a 10 year old girl meeting her estranged grandmother for the first time, and then being abandoned there by her manic depressive mother. Um, EEEEK!?! So, glad I read it first before recommending it to my 9 year old niece.
February 10, 2010
I won this from Firstreads. It's a lovely story of a young girl and a three inch doll who comes to life, something most little girls dream about and believe in.
March 17, 2013
A short chapter book with a powerful story
July 14, 2018
I liked the way the story ended with the doll, but this book was sadder than Rose's story (the prequel) was. My son read the book as well, and I had to explain a little bit of it to him. He didn't understand why Zoey's mother acted the way that she did.
February 16, 2020
I liked this book it kinda reminded me of a little princess retelling but the best part was that she turned alive like Toy Story so I hope you enjoy the book oh and by the way something happens at the end ( I suggest you have tissues at the near of the end of the book)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 7, 2022
My 7 year old picked this up at the library and I read it first to make sure it was age appropriate. While I think it was a little heavy and not age appropriate for a seven year old, I thought it did a good job of introducing the hard subject of depression to an older child.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 17, 2020
The nostalgia! This was a favorite of mine in 3rd grade, forgot how heavy the subject matter was.
February 20, 2022
Short chapter book for early elementary.
February 17, 2023
My daughter read this first and then insisted that I read it too. It was a cute story that had me loving the tiny character.
July 13, 2019
The Very Little Princess is a slight book, and looks simple enough from the outside, but in truth deals with some pretty tough issues. Marion Dane Bauer is one of the best I've ever seen at writing about these kinds of family troubles (see her Newbery Honor-winning On My Honor as exhibit A), and The Very Little Princess doesn't shy away from facing its characters' problems in a direct and unglamorized fashion.
Zoey, a fairly normal girl who lives with only her mother in an existence that can generally be described as happy, has that relatively pleasant existence thrown into flux one day when her mother announces out of the blue that the two of them are going to go visit Zoey's grandmother. Zoey didn't even know that she had a grandmother! So mother and daughter pack up some belongings and hit the road for a long drive that concludes at the driveway of the long-lost grandparent, and everything goes smoothly from there.
Or, not so much. For whatever reason that Zoey's mother has kept her in the dark about her grandmother (she hasn't yet even come clean to Zoey about her reasons for the longstanding lie of omission), it's obviously not just an issue from the past. From the moment that the fractured family is reintroduced, Zoey's mother and grandmother begin to argue, so heatedly that Zoey is repelled from the scene that should have been a happy reunion, and quietly retreats upstairs without being noticed to a bedroom clearly designed for a girl her age. Assuming this to be her mother's former bedroom, Zoey walks in and takes a look around.
Fascinated by the beautiful antique dollhouse in the room, Zoey grabs hold of the lovely china doll inside, and is shocked when the tiny figurine comes to life in her hands and commences speaking with her. It would seem that not all of the secrets of Zoey's mother's past are as natural as a hidden grandmother. The doll that Zoey has in her grasp, called by the name Princess Regina, is as conscious and alive as Zoey, and she has a complex past of her own that I would think has to have intersected in many ways with the childhoods of Zoey's mother and grandmother. I'm sure that we'll find out more about that in the next book.
The Very Little Princess is open-ended, allowing room for a number of subsequent books to possibly be written. An entire series, even, would be conceivable. I don't know how many volumes will ultimately follow this one, but I'm interested in seeing how the rest of the story goes. This is a book of surprising emotional honesty, perfect for grade-school readers and anyone else who likes a short book that contains a few ideas worth pondering.
I would consider giving two and a half stars to The Very Little Princess.
Zoey, a fairly normal girl who lives with only her mother in an existence that can generally be described as happy, has that relatively pleasant existence thrown into flux one day when her mother announces out of the blue that the two of them are going to go visit Zoey's grandmother. Zoey didn't even know that she had a grandmother! So mother and daughter pack up some belongings and hit the road for a long drive that concludes at the driveway of the long-lost grandparent, and everything goes smoothly from there.
Or, not so much. For whatever reason that Zoey's mother has kept her in the dark about her grandmother (she hasn't yet even come clean to Zoey about her reasons for the longstanding lie of omission), it's obviously not just an issue from the past. From the moment that the fractured family is reintroduced, Zoey's mother and grandmother begin to argue, so heatedly that Zoey is repelled from the scene that should have been a happy reunion, and quietly retreats upstairs without being noticed to a bedroom clearly designed for a girl her age. Assuming this to be her mother's former bedroom, Zoey walks in and takes a look around.
Fascinated by the beautiful antique dollhouse in the room, Zoey grabs hold of the lovely china doll inside, and is shocked when the tiny figurine comes to life in her hands and commences speaking with her. It would seem that not all of the secrets of Zoey's mother's past are as natural as a hidden grandmother. The doll that Zoey has in her grasp, called by the name Princess Regina, is as conscious and alive as Zoey, and she has a complex past of her own that I would think has to have intersected in many ways with the childhoods of Zoey's mother and grandmother. I'm sure that we'll find out more about that in the next book.
The Very Little Princess is open-ended, allowing room for a number of subsequent books to possibly be written. An entire series, even, would be conceivable. I don't know how many volumes will ultimately follow this one, but I'm interested in seeing how the rest of the story goes. This is a book of surprising emotional honesty, perfect for grade-school readers and anyone else who likes a short book that contains a few ideas worth pondering.
I would consider giving two and a half stars to The Very Little Princess.
August 24, 2025
I feel sort of conflicted about this book. I'm not of the opinion that children's books can't tackle heavy subjects, or that there is a minimum age a kid has to reach before they can learn about bad things that can happen. But I don't think this book handled it the right way.
First, it's not really advertised as a book about *checks notes* being abandoned by your mother. Sure, the Goodreads synopsis mentions the word "loss," but that could mean anything. I can't recall anything on the back of the book indicating that it was about the young protagonist being left at her estranged grandma's house. And the "Stepping Stone" branding calls to mind the Step Into Reading books, giving the impression that it's a simple story to serve as an introduction into longer and more mature chapter books. Nothing about it tells either parents or children that the subject matter is going to be a lot more than they bargained for.
Secondly, the change in tone is just so abrupt. The first solid half--maybe more--of the book is a cute story about a girl who finds a little princess doll that comes to life. The princess is a brat, but they play and hang out together, and it's all good. And suddenly, her mom just leaves, forcing Zoey to stay with a grandmother that she JUST met. She doesn't talk to her about it, except for when Zoey runs out to ask why she is leaving her. There is a little bit of foreshadowing, mentioning how tired the mother usually is, and talking about the mother and grandmother arguing, but a child who thinks this is just a fun story about a living princess doll has no reason to assume that is going to lead to abandonment. It's not explained well or resolved in any satisfactory way--the book ends with the doll coming to life permanently and Zoey accepting that this new living situation is the way things are now. It doesn't handle her mother's mental health issues in any healthy or productive way, which doesn't do much to help kids who may be in a similar situation.
I did like the book as a kid, even though I got whiplash from the change in tone. A lot of the lighter parts of the story were charming, like when Zoey found a "throne room" in the yard for the doll. I don't think it's inappropriate for kids, but I would err on the side of caution if you would prefer a lighter story that doesn't end in indefinite abandonment of a child. Maybe if the subject matter was made a little more clear before actually reading the book, it would be more palatable.
First, it's not really advertised as a book about *checks notes* being abandoned by your mother. Sure, the Goodreads synopsis mentions the word "loss," but that could mean anything. I can't recall anything on the back of the book indicating that it was about the young protagonist being left at her estranged grandma's house. And the "Stepping Stone" branding calls to mind the Step Into Reading books, giving the impression that it's a simple story to serve as an introduction into longer and more mature chapter books. Nothing about it tells either parents or children that the subject matter is going to be a lot more than they bargained for.
Secondly, the change in tone is just so abrupt. The first solid half--maybe more--of the book is a cute story about a girl who finds a little princess doll that comes to life. The princess is a brat, but they play and hang out together, and it's all good. And suddenly, her mom just leaves, forcing Zoey to stay with a grandmother that she JUST met. She doesn't talk to her about it, except for when Zoey runs out to ask why she is leaving her. There is a little bit of foreshadowing, mentioning how tired the mother usually is, and talking about the mother and grandmother arguing, but a child who thinks this is just a fun story about a living princess doll has no reason to assume that is going to lead to abandonment. It's not explained well or resolved in any satisfactory way--the book ends with the doll coming to life permanently and Zoey accepting that this new living situation is the way things are now. It doesn't handle her mother's mental health issues in any healthy or productive way, which doesn't do much to help kids who may be in a similar situation.
I did like the book as a kid, even though I got whiplash from the change in tone. A lot of the lighter parts of the story were charming, like when Zoey found a "throne room" in the yard for the doll. I don't think it's inappropriate for kids, but I would err on the side of caution if you would prefer a lighter story that doesn't end in indefinite abandonment of a child. Maybe if the subject matter was made a little more clear before actually reading the book, it would be more palatable.
May 11, 2010
This is a quick, simple read for young readers. Finished it within an hour on a train ride.
It's a cute concept which deals with the theme of loniless and friendship. However, I found it a tad harsh for young readers. It was very jarring, to me, that Zoey's mother simply leaves her at her grandmother's house. I wish more had been explained about the background between the mother and grandmother and also the reason as to why her mother was leaving Zoey with her grandmother. I think this might upset young readers as the thought of being abandoned with no resolution or explaination may be a very scary thought. I do think the use of the interaction between the doll and Zoey is a good way to showcase and understand lonliness, but more work needed to be done to the interaction with the family members.
One other thing I didn't care for was the author's tone when addressing the readers. It felt like she was tooting her own horn when she writes things like "Most stories would do this... but this isn't just another one of those stories". She does this several times and it really ruffled my feathers because it felt like the author was prasing herself and gloating to her reader, which is something I find to be very distracting and annoying. And personally, I did not find the writing amazing enough to warrant such an ego. There is certainly nothing gripping or outstanding about the writing nor the story. It is a bit plain, thought the idea itself is cute.
There are certainly some kids whom I think could appreciate this book, but I don't think it's for everyone. Children who have dealt with divorce, adoption or abandonment might find it to their liking as a way to cope with their own lonilness, but that's about it.
It's a cute concept which deals with the theme of loniless and friendship. However, I found it a tad harsh for young readers. It was very jarring, to me, that Zoey's mother simply leaves her at her grandmother's house. I wish more had been explained about the background between the mother and grandmother and also the reason as to why her mother was leaving Zoey with her grandmother. I think this might upset young readers as the thought of being abandoned with no resolution or explaination may be a very scary thought. I do think the use of the interaction between the doll and Zoey is a good way to showcase and understand lonliness, but more work needed to be done to the interaction with the family members.
One other thing I didn't care for was the author's tone when addressing the readers. It felt like she was tooting her own horn when she writes things like "Most stories would do this... but this isn't just another one of those stories". She does this several times and it really ruffled my feathers because it felt like the author was prasing herself and gloating to her reader, which is something I find to be very distracting and annoying. And personally, I did not find the writing amazing enough to warrant such an ego. There is certainly nothing gripping or outstanding about the writing nor the story. It is a bit plain, thought the idea itself is cute.
There are certainly some kids whom I think could appreciate this book, but I don't think it's for everyone. Children who have dealt with divorce, adoption or abandonment might find it to their liking as a way to cope with their own lonilness, but that's about it.
June 5, 2010
I read this book too quickly, so I don't know if I really felt complete at the end. It's a bit of a disturbing story, in which a little girl's mother surprises her one day by taking her to visit her grandmother. This is surprising, because Zoey didn't know she had a grandmother. As the novel continues, the reader understands that Zoey's mother is a bit off, and not in a cute kids book way. She sometimes goes to bed for days and just doesn't take care of Zoey.
But I haven't even mentioned the most interesting part--the talking princess doll! When Zoey gets to her grandmother's house, she discovers a doll that sneezes when Zoey picks her up and soon starts bossing Zoey around. The whole story takes place in one day, but Zoey's and the princess doll's memories fill in large parts of the past. The story arc is strange, but I like it for its oddity. And I think if I had read it more slowly, it would have moved me more, because it's quite sad in bits.
Like I said, the ending is also odd, but I appreciate its unpredictability and choose not to think too much about the parallels between Zoey's relationship with her mom and the doll's relationship with her "owners." I think readers will be drawn in by the doll-coming-to-life plot and the lovely writing style. Whether they will like the ending is something I look forward to finding out.
But I haven't even mentioned the most interesting part--the talking princess doll! When Zoey gets to her grandmother's house, she discovers a doll that sneezes when Zoey picks her up and soon starts bossing Zoey around. The whole story takes place in one day, but Zoey's and the princess doll's memories fill in large parts of the past. The story arc is strange, but I like it for its oddity. And I think if I had read it more slowly, it would have moved me more, because it's quite sad in bits.
Like I said, the ending is also odd, but I appreciate its unpredictability and choose not to think too much about the parallels between Zoey's relationship with her mom and the doll's relationship with her "owners." I think readers will be drawn in by the doll-coming-to-life plot and the lovely writing style. Whether they will like the ending is something I look forward to finding out.
February 23, 2012
I have very mixed feelings about this. Basic premise: little girl's tiny toy doll comes alive. This doll has also been her mother's toy, and her grandmother's. Zoey is meeting her grandmother for the first time in this book. And her mother hasn't seen her grandmother for 10 years. Grandma Hazel is understandably ... let's go with stunned ... when her daughter shows up at her door with Zoey in tow. So ma and grandma are arguing, but this is mostly backgrounded, and Zoey is getting to know her talking toy doll. And the talking toy doll is really kind of creepy and autocratic and she's like a 2 inch tall sociopath. And then we get totally unexpectedly gut-punched when
Except it's maybe a tiny bit understandable because Zoey's mother Rose is clearly depressed or something. So to an adult this is maybe understandable, but at the same time, Rose handled it in the worst possible way, so it's hard not to assume malice. Zoey's 7 or something and that is just not how you should treat your kid. This is not at all the comfortable fairy story that the cover leads one to expect. It's an interesting story but not a feel-good one.
Except it's maybe a tiny bit understandable because Zoey's mother Rose is clearly depressed or something. So to an adult this is maybe understandable, but at the same time, Rose handled it in the worst possible way, so it's hard not to assume malice. Zoey's 7 or something and that is just not how you should treat your kid. This is not at all the comfortable fairy story that the cover leads one to expect. It's an interesting story but not a feel-good one.
October 17, 2012
This is no ordinary fairy tale princess story. I cannot remember last when a children's book touched me so deeply. I read this at the same time as my precocious 7 year-old daughter, who read independently at night while I read ahead during the day.. We read the last 3 chapters together out loud except for in places where my own emotional response made it too difficult to read it aloud... To her, and then she read it to me. My tears elicited a heartfelt showing of sympathy from my daughter, an exchange not too often seen at this age even from the sweetest kids, that ended in the best ever hug.
I'm not going to post spoilers. It's a story of a girl and a found doll who comes to life, and they share a short tumultuous relationship until the two girl and doll find common ground and common need for love, security, and belonging.
This is not a book to set a sensitive child on to read alone without offering a discussion. I believe that my daughter could read it again next year with a new layer of understanding, and every year thereafter with equal new insight. It's an incredible vehicle to open hard to start discussions about bravery, trust, loss, and healing through living each day for the most simple and pleasing elements: delight, discovery, love.
I'm not going to post spoilers. It's a story of a girl and a found doll who comes to life, and they share a short tumultuous relationship until the two girl and doll find common ground and common need for love, security, and belonging.
This is not a book to set a sensitive child on to read alone without offering a discussion. I believe that my daughter could read it again next year with a new layer of understanding, and every year thereafter with equal new insight. It's an incredible vehicle to open hard to start discussions about bravery, trust, loss, and healing through living each day for the most simple and pleasing elements: delight, discovery, love.
September 13, 2016
No awards were given to this book. This is a chapter. This is about a girl who just recently discovered she had a grandmother. Her mother doesn't want to take care of Zoey anymore so the grandmother is introduced in the story. Zoey lives with grandmother and stays in the room where her mother grew up in. Little did Zoey know that the room had a particular doll that was able to talk. The doll was quiet the bossy one and referred Zoey as a servant. Throughout the chapter these two discover more about each other and Zoey slowly starts to understand where her mother comes from. This book is a chapter book with a slice of fantasy. Questions to ask are, " How do you think Zoey feels? What kind of character does the doll portray? on page .... what do these words mean?" I want to introduce the kids to some vocabulary words that they will see throughout the book such as thrown, slam, judging, command, shuddered. etc. This will be for those who want to start reading chapter books and like fantasy.
February 4, 2016
This story about a china doll that comes to life is not all cuteness and light. There's a dark edge to it that acknowledges Zoey being affected by her mother's depression. The depression is not explicitly described other than "she gets so tired, she stays in bed." Zoey also visits for the first time the grandmother she never knew she had, only to realize her mother is leaving her there. Princess Regina is the doll that Zoey discovers at her grandmother's house, a doll that's been played with by generations of girls in the family. The doll comes alive when touched by tears, and freezes when left alone for a long time. It turns out Zoey's mother was the last girl who played with the doll. And now Princess Regina and Zoey understand each other's loneliness and become the good friends they need.
July 8, 2014
A good quick read. Brings up some dark issues like depression and abandonment and family ties. Not just a story about a little girl and a princess doll. By the description I was unprepared as I was reading it out loud to my five year old daughter. I would probably have waited a year or so had I known. So far it has turned out okay but I expect more questions down the road. The writing style is cute and whimsical and the premise is sweet on the surface. My daughter loved it until it began to go deeper and she was a little confused. Still a good read and a sweet book.
April 22, 2014
Marion is a master. The story can be read on two levels, one light and one serious. She doesn't allow sentimentality to distort truth and weaves the threads of the story so subtly. Just wonderful. The Horn Book writes: "The direct address of the reader by the narrator adds an imtimacy that young readers will enjoy and helps insure that the serious undertone does not overwhelm the story". The Horn Book reviewer understood what Marion accomplished with the use of direct address.
August 8, 2010
This is a cute little book that attempts to deal with weighty issues in a very small space. Because of the short space, this book seems to have too much tell and not enough show. I like the story about the doll and the girl, but felt that the parts with her mother and grandmother were too big and too complex to fit with the rest of the tale. I think it would work for a 2nd or 1st grade read aloud if not for the parts about the mother leaving her daughter.
July 25, 2012
Unanswered questions I had while reading the book:
What makes the doll come to life?
Why would Hazel give the doll to Sam?
What ever happened between Sam and his friend?
Why wouldn’t Regina wake up again for Sam or Rose? Was it because she had fulfilled her purpose of making them friends?
Did Hazel have an adventure with this doll?
How many generations has Ragina been around for?
Is the author foreshadowing an up and coming book about Zoey’s adventures with Regina?
What makes the doll come to life?
Why would Hazel give the doll to Sam?
What ever happened between Sam and his friend?
Why wouldn’t Regina wake up again for Sam or Rose? Was it because she had fulfilled her purpose of making them friends?
Did Hazel have an adventure with this doll?
How many generations has Ragina been around for?
Is the author foreshadowing an up and coming book about Zoey’s adventures with Regina?
July 27, 2012
Considering this story is written for a younger crowd (6-9?), I wondered why it was necessary to add in such mature family issues. Juxtaposed with a princess doll coming to life (could be cool),I found that a bit jarring. So I agree with another reviewer who thinks it would be well-suited to a reader experiencing difficulties in life. It's definitely a little more than many would bargain for based on the title.
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