Shortly after Mariah came to join The Doll's Storybook cast, Jolena was showing her new sister around. Jolena loves to be outdoors, no matter what the weather is like. She wanted to share her enjoyment with Mariah.
The two dolls took a towel out to the backyard, so they could lie down on the grass, which was slightly damp.
"I love that we can lie on the ground and look at the sky," Jolena told Mariah. "Did you know that some dolls can't keep their eyes open when they lie down?"
"Yes," Mariah answered. "They made dolls like that in the factory where I was made. They call that 'sleeping eyes.' I'm glad we can see the sky, too. I don't mind so much that we have to wear a sleep mask at night to be able to sleep," Mariah continued. "Please show me where the stars are, Jolena."
Jolena looked at the sky a long time. "Stars are bright, twinkly things in the sky, right?" she asked. "I don't see anything like that. We should ask Mandy where they are and how to see them. Mandy knows all kinds of things about how the world works."
Jolena could see Mandy in her mind. She imagined Mandy in a special school that teaches you everything about how things work in the world. In her mind, that must have been long, long ago, because Mandy had already been out of her box for nearly two years! Jolena thought perhaps Mandy might even have been a teacher at that school.
"Let's go find Mandy and ask her," Mariah suggested.
The girls got up from the grass and went to find the sister who knows so much. They found her sitting on the bed, reading a book.
"Mandy," Jolena began. "Aren't there supposed to be stars in the sky? Mariah and I were lying in the grass, looking up at the sky, and we couldn't see anything bright and twinkly."
"Yes! I really want to see the stars," Mariah added. "Where are they?"
"The stars are there, Mariah," Mandy answered. "We will just have to wait until it gets dark to see them."
"No," said Mandy. "They are on all the time. We just can't see them."
"Where do they go?" Mariah wanted to know.
"They don't go anywhere," Mandy began. Then she stopped and thought. "Well, actually they are moving all the time, and so are we, we all move together, sort of, so we can find each one in close to the same place in the sky every night at the same time of night. You just can't see them in the daytime, except for our own star, the sun."
"The sun is a star?" asked Mariah.
"Yes, but the sun is much closer and the other stars are far, far away. Our star, the sun, is one reason we can't see the stars in the daytime," Mandy explained. "Because the sun is so much closer, we get a lot more light from it."
"The blanket of air that covers the earth is the other reason we can't see the stars," Mandy continued.
Mandy looked in the dog toy box for a ball. "Let me try to show you how it works," she said.
Mandy handed Jolena a flashlight.
She told her to hold the flashlight so it shone on the ball. "Pretend the ball is the Earth," she said. Then Mandy turned the ball slowly. "As the earth turns, the sun shining on it makes daytime where the sun is shining and nighttime where the light can't reach." The dolls could all see one dark side and one bright side of the ball.
"Now, this is where the air that surrounds the Earth comes in," Mandy explained. "The blanket of air is very big. It goes from down here on the surface of the earth, where we are, to way up in the sky, and when the sun shines on it, it lights up like the inside of a light bulb, from the top of the blanket of air all the way to the ground. We call this blanket of air the atmosphere (AT-mus-feer).
"In the daytime, you can look up in the sky and see clouds, birds and airplanes," Mandy said.
"And the sun!" said Jolena.
"Yes, but human people...children and adults...should never look directly at the sun, even with sunglasses on, because their eyes could be damaged," Mandy said. "Sometimes you can see the moon in the daytime, but it's safe to look at the moon, because it doesn't have light of its own. You can see everything in the sky that's near enough and over the place on the earth where you are, but you can't see the stars."
"And the sun!" said Jolena.
"Yes, but human people...children and adults...should never look directly at the sun, even with sunglasses on, because their eyes could be damaged," Mandy said. "Sometimes you can see the moon in the daytime, but it's safe to look at the moon, because it doesn't have light of its own. You can see everything in the sky that's near enough and over the place on the earth where you are, but you can't see the stars."
"When it gets dark, like on the back of the ball," Mandy explained, "when it's dark on the back of the Earth...then we can see the stars, because the blanket of air isn't lit up by the sun."
When it became dark outside, the three dolls went out and looked at the stars, which were now twinkling in the sky, along with the glowing moon.
"On the moon," Mandy said, "there is no blanket of air. Astronauts stood on the moon long ago. Even when the sun was shining on them, they could still see the stars in the sky."
When it became dark outside, the three dolls went out and looked at the stars, which were now twinkling in the sky, along with the glowing moon.
"Isn't that interesting!" Exclaimed Mariah.
Then Mandy went back into the house to continue reading, because that's one reason she knows so much.
Jolena and Mariah went back to the towel on the grass and lay down. The dolls looked at each star and imagined how it was a big sun, but a long way away.
Jolena and Mariah went back to the towel on the grass and lay down. The dolls looked at each star and imagined how it was a big sun, but a long way away.
"I'm so glad we're the kind of dolls who can look up at the stars, without having our eyes close," sighed Jolena.
"We're very lucky dolls," agreed Mariah.
The two dolls lay there on the towel and watched the stars wink at them.
"We're very lucky dolls," agreed Mariah.
The two dolls lay there on the towel and watched the stars wink at them.
"I wonder why the stars twinkle," Mariah said then. They would have to ask Mandy.
Cast--
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Image of the atmosphere: Quizlet at quizlet.com
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Do you have questions or comments for us? Would you like to order an autographed copy of one of our books? You can email us at thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.
Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz, Classic Kidz or Little Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or any organization that supports pediatric cancer research and treatment. We are not affiliated with St. Jude in any way other than these donations.
"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time.
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"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time.
Do you like our stories? Some of them are available in print:
The stories in Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Being Little, Besties and Distraction.
The stories in Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Best Buds, Getting What You Want and The Boys Cook Dinner.
The stories in Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.
Our book of poems, Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook includes Valentine's Day, Keeping Pets, Back to School, Victor the Vulture, The Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.
The stories in More Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Welcoming a Stranger, The Rescue, Unmasked, Fuzzy Town––A Play and Sky Blue.
Available now from BookBaby and other booksellers: Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook. The Stories in Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Talking About Boys, Changes, Shhhhh!, Staying After and Money in a Jar.
If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less, because the vendor gets a cut. The Writer's author's page at Book Baby is here. Scroll down and click on any of the books that interest you. Find our books at Barbara's Bookstore as well, or ask your library to get them for you.
Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.
Copyright © 2018, 2023, 2026 by Peggy Stuart
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