Author: Patricia Polacco
Genre: Family / Manners / Toys
Year Published: 1990
Year Read: 2010
Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Source: Library
Content Rating: Ages 4+ (Some Mischievous Behavior)
Buy on: Amazon // Book Depository
Oh my! Patricia Polacco certainly knows how to bring about a lesson in life in an extremely interesting way! Patricia Polacco has done an excellent job at both illustrating and writing this book about the importance of being patient with other people (especially when the other person has to do work!) I love the way that Patricia Polacco writes this story in an extremely creative way as she takes a cautionary tale about the importance of being patient and turns it into a fairy tale inspired tale that involves a doll coming to life and teaching an impatient girl a lesson she will never forget and I just loved the surreal approach about a doll coming to life since it made this story extremely interesting to read, especially since I imagined that Babushka’s doll would make anyone who has possession of it just go crazy (the doll definitely drove me crazy because it whined so much!) I also love the way that Patricia Polacco teaches children about the importance of being patient and I think that many children will relate to Natasha’s woes in dealing with an extremely impatient doll as impatient children will see that dealing with another person who is much more impatient than that child can open their eyes to the importance of being patient. Another aspect of the story that I really enjoyed in this book are the illustrations by Patricia Polacco herself! The illustrations are just to die for as they beautiful and realistic, especially of the image of Babushka herself as her face portrays many wrinkles, but it also details how wise she is as she seems to secretly know about the doll’s motives before she gives it to Natasha. The image of Natasha on the other hand, is that she is shown as a young girl with brown hair that is wrapped up in a bun attached to a large white ribbon and she is seen wearing a red rose dotted blue dress and to top it all off, she has a scowl on her face which makes her look like a child who is used to getting everything she wants!
Overall, “Babushka’s Doll” is truly a great tale for children who enjoy reading Russian tales and who want to learn about the consequences of being impatient in the form of a doll! This book is definitely one of Patricia Polacco’s finest works in tales that have a folkloric theme! I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book, unless children might get annoyed at Babushka’s doll!
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