The Very Little Princess

The Very Little Princess. Marion Dane Bauer. Illustrated by Elizabeth Sayles. 2010. [February 2010]. 128 pages. Random House.

This is a story about a girl and a doll. A brave girl and a ... well, a doll is just a doll, isn't she? Or at least that's all she was when this story began.

Zoey has never met her grandmother. It's always only been her and her mom. But. One day her mom surprises her with a trip to her grandmother's house. Hazel, the grandmother, is a bit surprised to see her daughter resurface after so many years. And while she's happy to meet her granddaughter, more than happy, she's a bit shocked as well. And that's just the beginning of the surprises in store for this family.

Princess Regina, a small three-inch china doll, has a beautiful doll house all her own. But no "servant" to go with it. She seems to remember in days long gone by that there have been several human children who were her servants. But until Zoey arrives, Princess Regina has been trapped in a way, lonely and friendless. This magical doll is only 'awakened' by tears. Why is Zoey crying? And how can Regina help? Read and see in this very imaginative, very emotional story of a family in crisis.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews