Miss Hickory, Hitty, and all of the other wonderful dolls on library shelves - ladies - we would like to introduce you to Ivy. You don't know her yet but you're about to meet her and find out she has tender feelings, loves new outfits, needs to belong to a special person and is brave enough to try new things.
This is also the story of a young girl named Fern who is a little bit lost too. Her parents live in two different houses now and her father has a new stepfamily. Fern needs space for herself...her own space. Fern is trying to figure out her feelings and trying to find her way to make a place where she can have time with her father - just the two of them - so she'll know she still has him in her life. Fern has memories of her family just as Ivy has memories. Fern needs to belong just as Ivy needs to belong.
We begin with Ivy. Ivy's first memory is the birthday party. A little girl named Anne opened the box Ivy was wrapped in, took Ivy out, and named her Ivy right then and there. Ivy is a doll. She holds wonderful memories of all the belts and sweaters and shirts that her girl, Anne, sewed for her. Ivy remembers going outside to play and getting muddy. But, Ivy also remembers being put away in a box in the attic where she feel asleep and dreamed all of her memories. Being stored in a box in the attic hurt Ivy's feelings.
Then, the day comes when Anne, a grown up now, comes back to the attic and gets Ivy out of her box. Anne and Ivy go to the library where Anne does the story time. Turns out Anne has a shelf of Book Buddies - toys - that children can check out for two weeks. Ivy isn't sure she wants to be a Book Buddy - she would much rather be the special doll belonging to one special person.
You know how life goes - sometimes the thing you are afraid of turns out to be the best thing that can happen to you. Ivy is about to become a Book Buddy and she's about to find herself on an unexpected adventure.
This is the story of being found. This is the story of needing time with others to feel loved. This is the story where the mom and dad don't live together any more.
A lovely, nearly homespun tale of a doll, a girl who needs her, and a full shelf of wonderful new friends to meet rings with wonderful memories of dolls of the past at the same time it widens the circle to include the truths and challenges of families in the 21st century. Turns out change can be amazing.
80 pages 978-1536213546 Ages 6-9
Keywords: dolls, change, belonging, divorce, stepfamily, feelings, emotions, library, librarian, part of a series, fathers/daughters, adventure, friends, 6 year old, 7 year old, 8 year old, 9 year old, 10 year old, If You Liked Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
Also in this series: Marco Polo Brave Explorer
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A lonely doll helps a child adjust to a blended family in the first of a charming series about library toys and the children who borrow them, written by Newbery Honoree Cynthia Lord.
Ivy was Anne the librarian’s doll when she was a young girl. But now she has moved to Anne’s library to be its newest Book Buddy—a toy that can be checked out just like a book. Ivy isn’t sure she wants to be borrowed, though. She’d rather go back to just being Anne’s favorite toy. Fern, a child who visits the library with her stepfamily, also wishes things could go back to the way they were, when Fern had her dad all to herself. When Fern takes Ivy home, an unexpected outdoor adventure helps both of them find confidence and belonging in their changing worlds. This heartwarming story by Cynthia Lord, with a classic feel and gentle illustrations by Stephanie Graegin, is the first in a chapter-book series that pairs friendly toys with child characters who need them.---from the publisher
