Bessie's Doll
First sentence: Tommy Puffer, sauntering up the street, stopped to look at Miss Octavia's geraniums. Tommy never could help stopping to look at Miss Octavia's flowers, much as he hated Miss Octavia.
Premise/plot: Tommy Puffer is a young boy who is sadly misjudged by Miss Octavia to be a troublemaker. She judges him because he's dreadfully poor AND a boy. He likes her flowers--loves her flowers--but he's not so fond of her. There is someone he loves dearly--a little girl named Bessie. When the story opens, he is walking by a store thinking of her. He sees a doll. She would love that doll, he thinks, so he brings her to look at it. Neither could ever hope to afford such a doll, such an extravagance of any kind. When the doll is sold, Bessie falls into a deep depression. What is he to do?! And will Miss Octavia prove his savior in the end?!
My thoughts: I liked this one. I did.
Charlotte's Ladies
First sentence: Just as soon as dinner was over at the asylum, Charlotte sped away to the gap in the fence—the northwest corner gap. There was a gap in the southeast corner, too—the asylum fence was in a rather poor condition—but the southeast gap was interesting only after tea, and it was never at any time quite as interesting as the northwest gap.
Premise/plot: Charlotte is an orphan girl with a secret. The winter storms have left a gap in the asylum fence. She can now see out and watch the world beyond. And she likes what she sees. She likes a TALL LADY and a PRETTY LADY. One of the ladies--I don't remember wish--has a HANDSOME CAT. Will Charlotte ever find a forever home?
My thoughts: I really LOVED this story. I like the story because it reminds me of one of my favorite, favorite, favorite children's books, Mandy by Julie Edwards (aka Julie Andrews). Charlotte doesn't leave the asylum and create a happy cottage to play in. But she does enjoy her time outside, and she does make new friends. There's something lovely about this one.
Quotes:
Charlotte felt a wild impulse to slip out and run fast and far down that lovely, sunny, tempting, fenceless road. But that would have been wrong, for it was against the asylum rules, and Charlotte, though she hated most of the asylum rules with all her heart, never disobeyed or broke them. So she subdued the vagrant longing with a sigh and sat down among the daffodils to peer wistfully out of the gap and feast her eyes on this glimpse of a world where there were no brick walls and prim walks and never-varying rules.
Charlotte looked at the cat with all her might and main. She loved cats, but cats were not allowed in an orphan asylum, although Charlotte sometimes wondered if there were no orphan kittens in the world which would be appropriate for such an institution.
Charlotte sighed. "Nobody will ever want to adopt me, because I've mousy hair and freckles," she said. "But somebody may want you some day, Maggie. You have such lovely black hair." "But it isn't curly," said Maggie forlornly. "And the matron won't let me put it up in curl papers at night. I just wish I was Lizzie."
Charlotte shook her head. "I don't. I'd love to be adopted, but I wouldn't really like to be anybody but myself, even if I am homely. It's better to be yourself with mousy hair and freckles than somebody else who is ever so beautiful. But I do envy Lizzie, though the matron says it is wicked to envy anyone."
© 2018 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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