The Lonely Doll

We like many other families found this book at the library and fell in love with the Lonely Doll and her family Mr. Bear and Baby Bear. Our library like probably yours carries all kinds of books, new & current books and books from long ago.... like from 1957's and older. If you take in mind when this book was orignally published SPANKING was a common way of child rearing, go ahead think back to your parents telling how they where raised. I'm not saying spanking is acceptable for todays children, in our home we don't spank we have time outs instead. To our family this story is about a little lonely doll named Edith who lives alone in a home, maybe her owner has grown up and has gone away to college or is no longer there and Edith is all a lone and longs for a family. After wishing for a family one day her doorbell rings and there at the door is Mr. Bear and baby bear and they become a forever family. Yes, you might see some of Edith's bloomers but it's not like we are seeing a t-back.... we are looking at bloomers for heavens sake! Spanking is not socially acceptable now and when my daughter and I read these books the story lends and becomes a conversion about how children where raised a long time ago and how in our family that we don't spank. Mr. Bear is the father figure in this book and family and sometimes parents don't do want we want them to do or make us do homework, stay safe and discipline us, and little bear is your typical little brother or sibling. Someone to be friends with, have fun with, get into trouble with, tease and the love/dislike you have for your sibling. The book was made using Edith AKA the Lonely Doll who is a felt Lenci Doll from the 1920s which belonged to Dare as a child. She sewed Edith's outfits for the books and changed her eye color to blue, resembling the author's looks. Mr. Bear was a teddy bear made by Schuco, and Little Bear was a special edition Steiff "Jackie Bear." [...] When you or your child find a book at the library take a moment and check the book out before you take it home and if there is something you find questionable... spanking and possible bloomers being shown look at when the book was published. And if there is a book that looks really good, but there might be something that is questionable look at the book and see if there is a something that you can talk to your child and make it into a learning experiance.

Honestly, I have read all of the criticisms of this wonderful book with astonishment! I was one of the many lucky kids who discovered these books about the doll with my favorite name (mine!) at the library. I returned them only reluctantly and of course, overdue! To the criticisms: my parents raised me with the idea that I would be an independent and discerning kid. They encouraged me to make up my own mind about things. As a 6 year old, I recognized that this story was about a LONELY DOLL, not a well-adjusted, independent PC doll. She had issues and she did the best she could with them; but more than that, she turned her little doll life into something adventurous and magical. The breathtakingly imaginative and exquisitely staged black and white photographs by Dare Wright (imho, a creative genius) opened my eyes to the creative side of life in ways I am still discovering as a crusty 46 year old. You would be doing your child a disservice to deprive him or her of these works for the sake of unattainable pc perfection by overlooking their real theme: imagination, the beauty of mystery and transformation. I bought each of my nieces a copy. Edie

What a pity that such a charming, aesthetically pleasing story as The Lonely Doll has become cannon fodder for overly zealous parents who are hellbent on political correctness. Previous reviewers have noted that the author, Dare Wright, was abused as a child and that the shadows of this abuse are present in the text itself. I submit that this is a bunch of baloney. By reading a nonexistent adult subtext into this sweet, simple book, many adults are depriving their children of a great classic. I adored it as a child, and my six-year-old daughter adores it too.

I had vaguely remembered these from childhood, when my little girl and I stumbled upon it at the library. To those of you who see this as absuive and sending a negative message--please consider: A) It was written when spanking children was considered perfectly acceptable (and no, I don't condone that, my daughter has NEVER been spanked) and B)my kid found the spanking thing quite amusing and smacked the picture of Mr. Bear to punish him back. In other words: It's a pretty book, with lovely photographs and THAT's what the children enjoy.Oh, yeah, my daughter ADORES the books and her Edith doll that goes with.

I first discovered this book when I was six and attending a saturday story time at our school library. So enchanted was I by Edith and the bears that I never noticed the lights going out in the library or the click of the lock as I was being locked in. I was found a short time later and left happily with this delightful book. Edith is such a lovely doll and the bears so cute that even a preschooler will enjoy the photographic illustrations. The story is well written and the mischievous Edith is sure to make you smile. This is a true favorite from my childhood and now a favorite of my own kids.