The Horn Book Guide

PICTURE BOOKS

McClintock, Barbara

Dahlia

32 pp. | Farrar/Foster | August, 2002 | Trade ISBN 0-374-31678-3 $$16.00

(1) K-3 Charlotte, who likes "digging in dirt and climbing trees," is disgruntled to receive a prissy doll from her aunt. When her aunt visits, Charlotte does her best to make herself and Dahlia the doll respectable; though Dahlia "was muddy and torn...her face was softened into a sweet, warm smile." McClintock subtly traces the doll's transformation. The Victorian drawings provide a mischievous contrast to this tale of a liberated lass.

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2002