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Ship of Dolls Audiobook
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It's 1926, and the one thing eleven-year-old Lexie Lewis wants more than anything is to leave Portland, Oregon, where she has been staying with her strict grandparents, and rejoin her mother, a carefree singer in San Fransisco's speakeasies. But Mama's new husband doesn't think a little girl should live with parents who work all night and sleep all day.
Meanwhile, Lexie's class has been raising money to ship a doll to the children of Japan in a friendship exchange, and when Lexie learns that the girl who writes the best letter to acccompany the doll will be sent to the farewell ceremony in San Fransisco, she knows she just has to be the winner. But what if a jealous classmate and Lexie's own small lies to her grandmother manage to derail her plans?
Inspired by a project organized by teacher-missionary Sidney Gulick, in which US children sent more than 12,000 Friendship Dolls to Japan in hopes of avoiding a future war, Shirley Parenteau's engaging story has sure appeal for young listeners who enjoy historical fiction, and for doll lovers of all ages.
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“Parenteau deftly incorporates the 1926 Friendship Dolls project—in which American children collected and sent more than twelve thousand dolls to Japanese children as a gesture of friendship—into the story of eleven-year-old Lexie Lewis, who has been sent to live with her strict paternal grandparents in Portland, Or.…Well-conceived…Parenteau weaves in information about the Friendship Dolls so subtly that it never overshadows Lexie’s story.”
— Publishers Weekly
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“Tender and funny, this story of friendship and family is reminiscent of Beverly Cleary’s work.”
— Library Journal -
“Set in 1926, this moving description of a child’s coming to terms with a new family arrangement includes a real event: an exchange of dolls between Japanese and US schoolchildren conceived as a message of peace. Period details abound, but what rings most historically true is the eleven-year-old’s relationship with dolls: Emily Grace, who will carry goodwill messages to Japan; and Annie, recipient of confidences and not a few tears.”
— Booklist -
“Period details from the actual 1926 exchange of friendship dolls provide fascinating context for this old-fashioned heroine’s journey of personal growth. Historically inclined readers will enjoy this heartwarming story and its feisty heroine.”
— Kirkus Reviews
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About Shirley Parenteau
Shirley Parenteau is the author of many books for young people, including the picture books Bears on Chairs, Bears in Beds, and Bears in the Bath. She lives with her husband in Elk Grove, California.
About Kate Reinders
Kate Reinders has won three AudioFile Earphones Awards for her audiobook narrations. She is an American musical-theater actress who has performed as lead and understudy in several Broadway shows and is best known for her performance as Glinda in the Broadway production Wicked.