Fanny by Holly Hobbie

today’s children storybook summary is

Fanny

By Holly Hobbie

The takeaway

This book is about not taking “no” for an answer. If you believe in something, you can do it. Just like little Fanny. When her mother said “no”, she didn’t give up (which, to be realistic, should just be the exception from the rule, not the norm). When her friends say “no,” she also perseveres until they change their minds.

Storyline

Fanny’s birthday is coming soon and all she wants is a Connie doll, a wish she had made for last birthday and Christmas as well. Her two friends have Connie dolls that they bring with anywhere they go. But her mother doesn’t seem to go along with her daughter’s idea. Why? Simply because she doesn’t like the way that doll looks.

Faced with this answer, what’s Fanny going to do? Go in her room and cry? No. She can do more than that. She will make her dream come alive. So, she sets up to make her own Connie doll.

In her room, with the door closed, she starts sewing the body of a doll, the head, the legs, and arms from the cuts out of a pink pajama. She stuffs them with cotton. She uses a bunch of yellow yarn for the hair and draws a big smile on her new doll’s head.

When all is done, she looks at her new doll and realizes that it doesn’t look like Connie. For once, her doll has a child body while Connie is long and skinny, with woman-like shapes; her doll has a genuine smile while Connie’s is mature, seductive, and glamorous; her doll wears a pink pajama while the Connie dolls wear elaborate mini dresses.

Faced with these rather big differences, Fanny thinks of another name for her creation: Annabelle would be perfect. Funny is happy and loves her new doll, especially because she has made it.

Pretty pleased with herself, when her birthday party starts, Fanny brings Annabelle along and shows her to her best friends. But the friends are not impressed, and they go on playing with their own Connies. Heartbroken, Fanny doesn’t want to see Annabelle ever again, so she stuffs her into a dresser drawer. And more, for her birthday present, she gets a sewing machine. Instead of being pleased, Fanny feels totally embarrassed. It seems a total disaster.

But not for long. After all, Fanny knows better. At night, when she couldn’t fall asleep, she got Annabelle out of the drawer and into her bed. She realizes that, despite what her friends might do, she cannot give up her doll.

The next day, when the three girls play together again with their dolls, Annabelle is the vet doctor while the Connies are the cute nurses. At night, Fanny gets back to sewing in her room. Not long after, she makes Annabelle new clothes and a little doll of her own, which she calls Connie.

Characters

Fanny, a girl about 6-7 years old with reddish short hair, wearing a tutu skirt; Fanny’s mother; Tiffany, a friend; Coco, a friend; Annabelle, the doll

Illustration

Holly Hobbie is also the illustrator of this book. The use of the color pink, which is present in huge quantities throughout the book, stands out. The artwork is simple, appealing, and complements the text. The characters are likable and diverse, a big plus for the author. The way the Connie doll is constructed resembles a modern Barbie doll very much.

Recommended Age

4 to 8

Reading Time

8 minutes

Things to Learn

How to make your own doll from scratch.

(a certain edition of this book comes with a paper doll cut-out model.)

 

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