Find me any parent in the UK who hasn’t come across a Julia Donaldson story – The Gruffao and Room on the Broom for example are synonymous with toddlers and story time…
A somewhat different approach to story-telling from the author’s more well-known stories, touches me every time I read it. It sparks Harriet’s imagination and leaves her questioning the outcome. It has a very clever way of approaching loss and the joy of memories. Be warned it could be a tear-jerker. But a good one I promise.
The Paper Dolls is by no means only a book about loss, though that is a part of it. It is an imaginative story about a little girl and the adventures she has with her string of paper dolls. The rhyming verse is delightful and somewhat odd – with “Ticky and Tacky, and Jackie the Backie, and Jim with two noses, and Jo with the bow….” – though that’s what Harriet likes the most. Julia Donaldson really does know how to write for children! I often find Harriet singing the verse to herself throughout the day.
I don’t want to tell you too much of the story, but I can’t recommend enough – the illustrations are spot on and again, simply magical. It is a great pairing between Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb. Just watch out for the dinosaurs, tigers and crocodiles!
We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Katie and Georgie
