A precious gem in my collection and I hope Dahlia the book, becomes as bedraggled as Dahlia, the doll.

Review from my 9 year old” I liked it and it’s nice how the doll enjoys it though you think she wouldn’t. I think I would enjoy it too! It was fun!”
I collected dolls as a child and happily handed them over to my children so they could have a second chance to live their best Dolly life, getting dirty and rumpled through their adventures with a child.

5/5 of the Very Best mud pies. ( )

This is a delightful tale of a little girl, her bear Bruno, and her new doll Charlotte that her Aunt Esme gave to her. Charlotte is not sure she wants a doll. The reader accompanies the characters on their adventures, climbing trees, wagon races, and making mud pies. By the end of the story Charlotte has become fond of Dahlia and nurses her after she has a fall, Dahlia has become well loved though not perfect anymore. The illustrations in this book are amazing realistic artwork. The pallette is subtle hues of watercolor with ink line emphasis.

Dahlia is about a young girl named Charlotte who receives a doll from her aunt. Reassuring the doll, Dahlia, that there will be no tea parties and lots of mud pie making, she takes Dahlia and Bruno the teddy bear out to play in the yard.

I didn't think I was going to like this because it seemed too girly, but the fact that Charlotte was a tom boy and her room was full of things she had found outside made it more interesting. Both Bruno and Dahlia display life-like attributes in response to their adventures with Charlotte which was adorable. The illustrations were ink and watercolor, very feminine and old fashion.

Charlotte was not the kind of girl who played with dolls. No, she enjoyed making mud cakes with her stuffed teddy-bear, Bruno, climbing trees, and beating the neighborhood boys at wagon-racing. So when her Aunt Edme sends her a delicate doll, with a prim mouth and fancy clothing, Charlotte is less than thrilled. "You'll just have to get used to the way we do things," she informs the newcomer, which means no tea parties, and no being pushed in frilly prams. Luckily, Dahlia - as she is soon christened - for all that she may look prissy, has an adventurous spirit, and takes to Charlotte and Bruno's outdoor activities like a duck to water. A little wear and tear never hurt a doll, if she is loved by her little girl - which Dahlia soon is - but will Aunt Edme see it that way...?

This picture-book is an absolute delight - I understand now why so many of my friends have raved about it! With charming illustrations that perfectly capture the Victorian setting - the ivy-covered house, Charlotte's girlish pinafore - as well as the excitement and fun of the action, and a narrative that features a non-girly-girl who finds she does like some dolls after all, what's not to love? I was reminded of my own girlhood, when I was equally happy racing around the neighborhood and hanging upside-down from trees, and playing with my dolls. It's good to see a story that highlights the fact that girls don't have to choose one or the other! ( )

When Charlotte got a fancy, frilly doll as a present, I don't think dismayed is the right word. It's clear from her room (filled with bird nests and dragonflies) that she's not a doll kind of girl. Still, she makes the best of it, she and her bear... and they realize, eventually, that there's no reason you can't play with a fancy doll in the same way you'd play with any other toy.

The revelation at the end that the doll was bought specifically so she could be played with in mud puddles and tossed out of trees is about as true-to-life as it gets. What else is a doll FOR, anyway? ( )