Little Kim's Doll [Hardcover]

Kim Yarashevskaya (Author), Luc Melanson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 1999 | Age Level: 3 and up

When four-year-old Kim walks past a toy store window and sees a very special porcelain doll, she wants her more than anything. But Kim's parents worry that a girl who plays with dolls won't grow up to be strong and brave. This delightful story tells how the little Russian girl's strength of conviction and inventiveness persuade her mother that, in this case, giving someone what she wants is the best thing to do. Full color.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this strangely propagandistic tale set in 1930s Moscow, a girl's wish for a doll is subsumed by her mother's revolutionary ideals. Kim longs to own the "perfect" doll in the toy shop window, yet her parents, "like many parents in Russia those days, believed that little girls who played with dolls would never learn to be brave and strong." In a poignant spread that may put readers in mind of Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen's splendid Elizabeti's Doll (1998), the resourceful child fashions a doll from a spoon and kerchief and names it Natasha. But the point of view abruptly shifts from Kim's wish for a doll to her mother's driving desire for a "brave and strong" girl. When her mother sees Kim with Natasha, she is "very upset. She lectured and she scolded." When the mother gives Kim a toy rifle "very much like the ones the soldiers carried as they marched in... the great Red Square," the girl cradles even that, "wrapped in a cuddly blanket." The woman then suddenly and inexplicably decides (after another fit of fury) that Kim's determination demonstrates exemplary strength and courage, and she presents Kim with the doll of her dreams on her birthday. Melanson's expertly stylized paintings in muted tones of green, brown and red effectively skew perspectives and convey a period flavor while capturing the Moscow skyline. But the political overtones of the text prompt ominous imagery in the artwork as well: toy marching soldiers encroach on the prized doll in the window; images of goose-stepping soldiers in the background endow the toy rifle gift with an air of eerie reality. This disturbing volume will bring on many more questions from kids than it answers. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-A remarkable picture book that effectively uses 1930s Communist Russia as a backdrop for a deceptively simple story. More than anything, Kim wants a doll, but her parents, "...like many parents in Russia those days, believed that little girls who played with dolls would never learn to be brave and strong." So Kim creates a doll out of an ordinary soup spoon. Upset that the child won't give it up, her parents tempt her with a toy rifle "like the ones the soldiers carried." After watching Kim rocking her rifle to sleep, her mother realizes that her daughter's refusal to give up playing with dolls demonstrates courage and strength. And so, for her fifth birthday, Kim receives a doll: "And there wasn't a happier little girl in the whole world!" Yaroshevskaya's economical and evocative text has the power of folklore. Melanson's double-page illustrations reinforce this folkloric quality by blending elements of realism with abstraction. Utilizing what appears to be chalk pastel and colored pencil, the artist creates a world in which the commonplace concerns of a family exist amid cathedrals, marching soldiers, and defiant statutes. Like all remarkable books, this one operates on several levels. It can be read as a story of a girl wanting a doll, a subtle critique of Communist ideology, or a great discussion starter about Russian culture in the not-so-distant past. And while it is appropriate for independent reading, the marvelous text and powerful pictures cry out to be shared aloud.
Denise Anton Wright, Alliance Library System, Bloomington, IL
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: Groundwood Books (March 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0888993536
• ISBN-13: 978-0888993533
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,390,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)