The Chalk Doll

by Charlotte Pomerantz, Frané Lessac (Illustrator)

Rosy's mother remembers the pleasures of her childhood in Jamaica and the very special dolls she used to play with.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

30 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Amy]

Reading Rainbow: My Little Island
Bea says she loved loved this book. (I found it a bit awkward to read aloud but I'm overruled in the stars...) Storywise it is simple and felt real. The illustrations go along with it well nice. We read it to go along with the Reading Rainbow episode "My Little Island" - a book also written/illustrated by Frane Lessac.

[Marissa Elera]

I loved this simple story of childhood ingenuity and honesty as a little girl. It is still precious, like the bedtime stories my father told me about when he was young.

[Deanna]

This is a story about a mother who tells her daughter, Rose, about growing up in Jamaica. Her family never had the money to buy a real chalk doll. So she made her own rag doll. This is a nice memoir of a mother and her daughter.

[Cheryl]

This is a wonderful story and if you can bring yourself to appreciate the art, good for you. I just can't, and it distracts me from appreciating the book, sorry.

[Sarah]

A daughter learns how different her childhood is from her mother’s.

[KhiN’Millie Friesen]

That little girl learned from her mama's stories. I want to make a rag doll. - Khi 3

[June]

This is a book we've had for several years, and I am still a bit baffled at how much my children like it. The story proceeds through a series of small vignettes, the small tales of when-I-was-a-girl which the MC's mom tells her. Unexpected details (e.g. the mother always wanted to drink an entire can of condensed milk someday; her daughter asks, "Did you?" and she stops and thinks--no, she didn't) make this quiet book strangely compelling.

[Mckinley]

A mother tells her duaghter stories about growing up without much in Jamaica.