I would like to dedicate this post to my Strawberry Shortcake dolls and to Kimberly and Cindy Lou whom you see to the left. These dolls were a major part of my childhood. There was nothing quite so wonderful as transforming my bedroom into their world and delving deep into my imagination. I could get lost in that place for hours and hours. It was a safe place where I controlled the plots and I created the happy endings and everyone depended on "mommy" me to care for them. It was a world I loved.
When not in Strawberry
Shortcake World or playing with Cindy Lou or Kimberly, I could often be found reading books and falling deeply into the world the authors created with their words. One of the first series I got lost in was the Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace. I would check those books out from Alexandria Public Library over and over again. They were old, worn-out hard cover books and I delighted in the oldness of them because I felt closer to the characters from long ago. Betsy was a delightful character who loved to sing duets with her sister at the piano, loved to write stories by the
lake, loved to have picnics with her friends, and later traveled the world and then married her best friend, Joe. I wanted to be just like her. On one of my shelves at home I have these books displayed along with a Madame Alexander doll that Grandma and Grandpa Iverson purchased long ago. She reminds me of Betsy on her wedding day. Just looking at them makes me happy.
Next you see the books "Jo's Boys" and "Little Men," both by Louisa May Alcott. Her books have always delighted me as they transported me into another time period. You see here my dolls Nat and Nan (she used to be named Ellie after one of my
students who had the same hair). but, Nat and Nan are mentioned in these classic books by Alcott.
Next you'll see Maggie, Carrie Ann, Darby, Rachelle, and Cindy-Emily-Sara (my doll with 3 names because I couldn't pick just one) near my "Little Women" book and a copy of "Freckles" and a copy of "Girl of the Limberlost" - two books that belonged to my Grandma Iverson. I love old books! These dolls represent all the good that can be found in these old books - good morals, innocent fun, and an appreciation for people and nature around them. You'll see Cindy-
Emily-Sara in the next picture too with one of my Anne dolls named after "Anne of Green Gables." They are sitting beside "Old Fashioned Girl," also by Lousia May Alcott and beside "Pollyanna" by Eleanor H. Porter and by an old Bible that belonged to my Grandpa Iverson. The Pollyanna book is the one I have done a blog entry about. It belonged to my Grandpa's Aunt Mary who traveled the world telling Pollyanna's story and spreading her "gladness" attitude to others. I have always been inspired by Pollyanna. I strive to look on the bright side like she does.
My cousin Kia has a matching doll to my Cindy-Emily-Sara doll. Our grandparents gave them to us. We loved to change their clothes as Grandma and Grandpa had 6 - 8 dresses made for each of our dolls. Mine even had a yellow dress that was made from the same material as the dress I wore for my aunt's wedding! I loved having a matching dress!
Next you'll see my Samantha doll from the American Girl Collection. Oh, how I wanted that doll! And, Kia wanted the Kirsten doll. One happy year we were both given our dream dolls! These dolls are based
on characters from a book series. Each character comes from a different time period. Samantha came from 1904 (my favorite time period). Kirsten was a Swedish Immigrant girl from 1854. Then there was Molly from 1944. Now there are probably 12 characters with books by American Girl, but at the time those three were it. I continue to keep America's history straight in a timeline in my head by referring to these books and what time period they are from. I highly recommend them! You'll see that my Samantha has a violin to play. That came from my third grade team as a gift at the end of my year teaching with them. I love it!
The next doll is dressed very warmly and is named Mountie after the sweet little girl in the "Christy" book by Catherine Marshall. Mountie is a frightened little girl with a coat missing a button and at a key moment in the book, Christy, her teacher sews the button back on and Mountie speaks for the first time and begins trying to learn to read. It all takes place in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. I like to imagine I can have an impact on my
students the way Christy had on Mountie. Mountie is in our home placed next to an old dog named "Whee" and lamp that were Todd's when he was a boy.
I taught in Mountain Lake for three years and at the end of my time there a group of friends gave me this doll - Callie as a gift. I adore her! She makes me happy just to look at her. I feel loved. I actually named her Tacy from the before-mentioned "Betsy-Tacy" books by Maud Hart Lovelace. I admire how Tacy is such a good friend to Betsy. I appreciate my friends and I strive to be a good friend to others. This doll represents friendship. She is placed next to a ceramic dog that Todd painted with his mom. Todd and his mom had a very special relationship when he was growing up.
The next picture is of a baby doll that belonged to Todd's mom. They called it the Ernie doll and next to that is a baby doll that belonged to my Dad when he was a boy! Grandpa and Grandma Iverson had Dad's doll restored and repainted because it was falling apart. I was always very careful with him and just liked to
look at him and imagine my Dad young enough that he played with dolls!
I've mentioned how most of my dolls are named after books that I adore. Well, the next doll is no different. "Anne of Green Gables" by Lucy Maud Montgomery has always been a favorite of mine. After reading the books and watching the movies I was a true Anne fan! No turning back! When having to do something new I would remember Anne's bravery and try to be brave. When having to take a big test, I would pretend I was Anne taking the entrance exam to Queens. I know so many quotes from those
books, they are part of my vocabulary. One of my favorites? "Right now I feel pretty nearly perfectly happy!" I went to Prince Edward Island in Canada with two dear friends, Amy and Jessica and bought this doll. That trip was a dream come true! We took three years to plan our three week trip! We did everything "Anne" that there was to do. We sat beside "The Lake of Shining Waters" and strolled down "Lover's Lane" and tiptoed through "The Haunted Wood." We took pictures beside the original "Green Gables" and tasted Raspberry Cordial before sitting on
the white sandy beaches by the 40 foot cliffs. Lucy Maud Montgomery definitely captured the island well in her books.
I do not have any dolls representing Laura Ingalls Wilder, but I would be doing her a dis-service to not mention how her books have also impacted me. I adored the "Little House On the Prairie" books as a girl. My mom and I took road trips to many of the locations where Laura actually lived. I always felt like Laura was a friend of mine. The books fascinated me. Perhaps someday I'll get a little doll wearing a sunbonnet (or maybe the sunbonnet should be hanging around her neck as Laura hated to wear her sunbonnet!). I may not have a doll reminding me of Laura, but I do have the yellow set of books from my childhood. My older sisters Patty and Kim also read these books. In fact, when Patty was nine, our mom was going to have another baby. Patty wrote on the top of our Little House set "Patty, Kim, Jennifer, and Pamela" because she was so sure Mom would have another girl. Pamela was later erased when David was born! I love that story!
May this post remind you of books that meant a lot to you when you were a child and perhaps inspire you to go out and re-read some of those classics. Enjoy!
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