Happy Valentine's Day, Dolores

The Dolores Series #7

by Barbara Samuels

A gift book with humor and heart

The one thing Dolores is absolutely NOT supposed to do is touch her big sister Faye's things. But when Faye hides a mysterious heart-shaped box, Dolores can't stop herself from peeking inside. What she discovers is irresistible – a singing froggie Valentine's Day necklace! What would happen if she just "borrows" it for a day? Trouble! For when the necklace disappears, Dolores must go to hilarious extremes to make things right with Faye, even enlisting the help of her long suffering cat, Duncan.

Witty text and droll pictures full of funny details give readers much to laugh at as the irrepressible Dolores learns that in matters of the heart it's important to give as well as take.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor, Fiction, Animals, Holiday, Pets

32 pages, Hardcover

First published December 27, 2005

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Nothing too special--what does Dolores learn from her mistake???--and the cat isn't in it enough! :-(

[Courtney Torrent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this story because I think that most students would be able to relate to/agree with the decisions that Dolores makes. I think that students would be able to understand her reasoning throughout the story. In addition, the illustrations are quite funny. I really liked the "facial expressions" of Duncan the cat. The illustrations definitely support the text and even extend it a little bit. This would be a very fun story to read to students around Valentine's Day. I would like to hear what my students believe is the message of the story after reading it.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delores gets into a little hot water when she 'borrows' a frog necklace from her sister, Faye. Then, she accidentally loses it, and has to find a way to replace it. Delores vows never to 'borrow' any of Faye's things again. Happy Valentine's Day, Delores is story that combines trustworthiness, giving, and the happiness of sharing Valentine's Day with your family and friends.

Used for "Hearts-A-Beating" storytime- February, 2010.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dolores "borrows" a necklace from her sister's draw without Faye knowing about it. When she loses the necklace, Dolores goes on an adventure to try and replace it and get it back into the drawer before Valentine's Day. I read this to a group of 1st graders this week and they seemed to enjoy the story.

[Miri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dolores and Faye are sisters, so they don't always get along. Dolores likes to go through Faye's things, and this time when she does, she finds an awesome frog necklace that sings, she wonders who her sister is giving it to, or if someone gave it to her. She decides to wear it to school and show it off, but then she loses it! What is she going to do?

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun story that has a Valentine's Day theme, but also focuses on sibling relationships. The narrative is entertaining and the illustrations are colorful and cartoonish. We enjoyed reading this book together.

[Amalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The colorful, perky illustrations were more compelling to me than the story. I have not read any of the other Dolores books, but I'm curious to read more.

[David Corleto-Bales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relentlessly cute and enjoyable.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hyperactive, curious, precocious Dolores is at it again. She always finds a way to get into trouble. Cute story & pictures.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute little story where the younger sister learns to not mess with her sister's stuff. I like the silliness that ensues and that it involves a cat.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a mess Dolores makes when she disobeys authority, sneaks around, and never seems to feel a twinge of remorse!

Personally I'm not a fan of that. I really dislike the ending, too.

Dolores causes havoc wherever she goes. Not that she ever offers to pay for the wreckages.

Also: Why is this positioned as a "gift book"? I don't get it.

RATING THIS BOOK

Unless I absolutely love or loathe a book, my policy is to rate it in terms of my imagined response of the intended readers. I don't exactly loathe this one. It's so clearly not for me.

How about the intended readers? They may think it's cute to lie and to "borrow" things that don't belong to them. Dolores might even be a hero to them. On their behalf, FIVE STARS.

What don't these hypothetical readers know? Any more than the author knows it, evidently . . . .

We get karma for everything we say and do. No matter how clever and hilarious our deceptions; no matter if we believe that other people's rules will never-ever have to apply to us.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have a sister, I think you'll relate to this book - which has a conflict of one sister borrowing things from her older sister without asking. That was me. My older sister always had the best stuff. I definitely connected with her and apologized yet again, after reading this book, for that horrid trait I had when I was younger. This book gives us a chance to bring up how hurtful it is when people borrow our things without asking first.

I love that this book brings up that the sister's didn't talk for 3 days because of it. This gives us the chance to bring up how hurtful it is when people purposely estrange people by purposely not talking to them. It gives us the chance to talk about if we'd want someone doing that to us. And what we could do instead.

I love the conflict resolution in this book of gift giving on special days. It give us a chance to open the conversation on how we can help solve conflicts as well.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really hoped this book would be about the cat on the cover, but it really wasn't. I judged the book by the cover, I know! But I did like the story. The story is about two sisters (where are the parents?! we never see them!) where the younger sister is always borrowing the older sister's things without her permission and this time it involves something to do with Valentine's Day. In some spots of the book, there is a lot of text with smaller multiple pictures in which I wish the pictures were just bigger like the rest of them. It's easier for the kids to see what is going on in the picture if it's bigger. Therefore, for that reason, I chose not to read this book to my class. I was worried the kids in the back row wouldn't be able to see those pictures that well.

[Amanda Walz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute sister story

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a marvelous book for kids and adults! It held my interest, with the exciting plot. I enjoyed the surprise ending!

[kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

seemed very 80's to me, surprised it's from 2006. I think I liked it for the nastolgic feel

[Sim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another walk down memory lane, I love how it focuses on the sisters :)

[Taryn McCollum · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you grew up with Reading Rainbow, you are never to old for a Duncan and Dolores story!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

She wasn't supposed to touch her sister's stuff, but she couldn't help herself. Then she's in a bind to fix what she did in time for the holiday.

[Camilla]

Similar to Ramona the Pest, this younger sister gets herself into trouble by taking a frog necklace from her sister’s drawer. Much foolishness ensues. Cute story.

[Ashley Aolani Salisbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very cute.

[Micah B · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I have no objections to a character making bad choices in a picture book (in this case, lying, stealing "borrowing", breaking family rules and going on a city outing without permission, I was confused by how she NEVER apologizes or seems to face the negative consequence we normally associate with dishonest people: a loss of trust. Dolores misleads and lies her way through this story, right up to the end. Her reasoning is a bit Machivellian in that all of her infractions are justified by her own agenda. Yes, people do this all the time. However, this is a level of moral reasoning that seems pretty subtle for the young reader. In the end, when Dolores is able to save face by pretending that she intended the extra necklace as a gift for her sister, it looks like all has worked out perfectly. The reader is left feeling like her inability to respect her sister's stuff and lie about it is completely ok because she was able to divert her sister's anger or frustration. I think that this is a book that sends a confusing message wrapped up in adorable illustrations, an interesting plot, and an appealing holiday.

[Skylar Burris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Duncan the cat salvages this story about a younger sister who borrows (without permission) and lies.

[Edna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dolores finds a froggy necklace in her sister's bedroom and decides to wear it to school. She loses it by accident and has to replace it before her sister finds out.

[Ami · Rating 2 out of 5]

This author-illustrated story (my favorite way to go, really) features a cat named Duncan and some Valentine's Day related hijinx between sisters. Cute enough.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little predictable, but sweet.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting story, fun pictures.