Dahlia by Barbara McClintock

McClintock, Barbara. Dahlia. New York: Fances Foster Books, 2002.

Charlotte, who prefers to play in the mud and climb trees, receives a beautiful doll from her Aunt Edme. The doll, Dahlia, is dressed in beautiful attire, but do not fit into Charlotte and her toy bear Bruno's lifestyle. Charlotte excepting Dahlia begins her adventures of climbing trees and making mud pies and the looks of Dahlia begins to show this. Soon the doll falls out of the tree, and Charlotte is worried so she rushes to clean her and make her better. Aunt Edme soon arrives and wants to see the precious Dahlia. As she is looking at the doll, readers are waiting for her to become upset over this, but her response is totally different. She states, “She needed to be out in the sunshine, and played with, and loved.” The story line and the writing is just one part of this extraordinary book, the illustrations throughout are very detailed, precise, and has a wonderful Victorian appeal to it. The colors are muted, but grabbing to the eye. This book will capture the hearts of all its readers.