The Homecoming

 "There she is!" Mariah called from the window. 

Veronika and Mandy were in the upstairs hall when they heard Mariah's voice. "She's home!" they both said at once. 

Then they both went down the stairs as fast as they could, which isn't fast, because they are small and the stairs are as tall as chairs.

All of the dolls rushed out to help Jolena with her things. Veronika and Billy carried her suitcases in for her. 

Emil brought the big bag with the skis and ski poles.

Charlotte brought Jolena's ski helmet and goggles.

While Mariah paid the driver, Mandy walked with Jolena into the house.
It was so good to see Jolena again. She gave each of them a hug, because she likes hugs, and she knows they do, too.

While the other dolls put Jolena's ski equipment away and her laundry into the basket in the laundry room, Mandy and Mariah made some pretend tea, which is very easy and quick to make. When the tea was ready, the dolls all sat down in the living room to enjoy their tea and catch up on everything Jolena had done in Chile.

Jolena talked about seeing her friend Elizabeth and getting to ski with her.

She talked about the dolls who had come from other countries to train in Chile, too, because they didn't have snow in July where they lived.

She told them about all the new tricks she had learned to do on her skis.

Finally, when she had told them all the important things about her trip, she looked around at her sisters and brothers. "Now," she said. "Tell me what you all have done! What did I miss?"

All the other dolls started talking at once. Jolena couldn't make any sense out of it. "Wait!" she cried.

"Let's do this one at a time," Jolena suggested. "We'll just go around the circle, and one person at a time can talk." They thought that was a good idea, so that's what they did.

First Emil said, "I got locked in the dishwasher when Billy and I were cleaning up after cooking dinner!"

"Oh, my!" Jolena exclaimed. "What did you do?"
"I banged on the door," Emil said. He held out his hands to show Jolena how he banged on the door of the dishwasher. 

Then he explained that Billy and Charlotte had let him out.

Jolena thought about that. "I guess," she said, "if I need to teach anyone else how to cook, I will have to tell them to be sure not to climb into the dishwasher...or the oven, or the fridge."

When it was Billy's turn, he said, "Some workmen came last week and replaced all the windows on the back of the house."

 "We got to watch!" Billy added.

Veronika was next. "Mandy and I got new shoes last week," she said, holding up her feet, so Jolena could see.

"Veronika," Mandy said, "That's what I was planning to say." 

"Go on, everyone," Mandy added, "and I'll think of something else that happened while Jolena was gone. You can come back to me."

Charlotte said, "I've been learning a new piece on my violin. It's by Mozart (MO-tsart) and very...um...challenging (CHA-lun-jing). I have had to work hard on it, but I think I can play it for you soon."

Mariah said, "I'm going to be in a play at school at the end of the month. Billy has been helping me learn my lines. They picked me for it because they needed a few dolls who look different from the others."

"My, you all have been busy!" Jolena said. Then she looked at Mandy. "Did you think of anything else, Mandy?" she asked.
"Yes," Mandy said. "Wait until you see the zucchini (zoo-KEEN-ee) plants! They already have blossoms and that means that soon we will have some zucchini to pretend to eat." 

"Let's go look!" Jolena said. "Zucchini is good roasted or in soups and stew."

"I like zucchini on pizza!" Billy put in.

"If you wait too long to pick one," Emil suggested, "It will get very big, and you can use it for a baseball bat."

Mariah laughed. "When you get done playing baseball with it," she said, "you can scoop out the seeds, fill the hole with some yummy filling and bake it, maybe with some cheese or bread crumbs on top."

All the dolls wanted to go look at the zucchini plants, so they did. They were all happy to have Jolena back home again.

Then they turned around, so Jolena could see the new windows on the back of the house.

"Lovely!" Jolena exclaimed.
"Yes, they are very nice," Emil agreed.
"They are something called energy efficient (IN-er-gee ee-FIH-shint)," Billy said. That means they will help keep the house warm in the winter and cooler in the summer. That will save The Writer and her husband money."

"That's wonderful," Jolena agreed, "but I meant it's lovely being home with my brothers and sisters!"
It was lovely to have Jolena home again, too.


Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia

You can follow The Doll's Storybook here.

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.

Do you like our stories? Some of them are available in print:

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.

Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook. Poems included are Valentine's Day, Keeping Pets, Back to School, Victor the Vulture, The Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.

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.

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 Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

Coming soon: Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook.

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. My author's page at Book Baby is here. Scroll down and click on any of the books that interest you. Find my books at Barbara's Bookstore as well, or ask your library to get them.

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.

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19832501/?claim=j3fj3mbb8kt">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Copyright © 2020, 2025 by Peggy Stuart

Being Little

Mariah is new. Her world is new to her, too. She feels little, because everything is so big.

She feels very, very little.

Except for the few doll chairs, the chairs are very big.

Mariah told Charlotte that the chairs are too big to move.

"That's because they're heavy," Charlotte said.
"How do we sit in them?" Mariah asked.
"Sometimes we have to get help from others," Charlotte explained. "Children or grownups can lift us up and put us into the chair, if we want, or we can help each other if they aren't around."

"The refrigerator is very big, too," Mariah observed. "How do you get help getting food?"
"Of course, we don't really need real food, because we're dolls," Charlotte answered, "but if we did we would ask to be picked up, like this."

"Look how big the shoes are," Mariah said. "How can you put them on?"
"These shoes belong to people," Charlotte explained. "To grownups. We don't have to put them on, because they don't fit us. We have special shoes, just for us."

Mariah climbed into a very big, comfy chair to read a book. "Even the words in the books are big," said Mariah to herself. "What is 'b-i-s-c-u-i-t-s'? I can't sound that out to make any sense of it."

Mariah got down from the very big, comfy chair and went off to find Charlotte. She found her in the bedroom on the very big, comfy bed.
"I'm having trouble with this big word, Charlotte," Mariah explained. "I can't sound it out."
Charlotte helped Mariah climb up on the bed, so they could sit and look at the book together.

"It's 'biscuits,' Mariah," Charlotte explained. "See, it makes sense, because a person in the story has dog biscuits for the dog. Biscuits are like cookies."

"I think I see," said Mariah. "You don't just sound out the word. You figure out what makes sense in the story, and then you try to think of a word that fits the letters and the meaning."

"You are one smart cookie, Mariah," Charlotte said.

"A smart biscuit!" exclaimed Mariah.

They stayed on the very big, comfy bed, which was very comfy, and they chatted about other things that they thought were big, or that they needed help with.

When they had mentioned everything they could think of, they decided to get down to search the house for more things that were big and that they would need help with. They had taken off their shoes to get onto the bed, so they needed to put the shoes back on.

"I can put these shoes on all by myself," Mariah told Charlotte. "They are not too big."

"But I will need help from a person to get my shoes on and tied," said Charlotte, "even though my shoes are not too big. Fortunately, there is someone here who can help," she added. "That person is taking the photos."

The girls spent the next hour finding things in the house that were very big and that would take help to be able to use. Like the toilet, which was very big.

It was like a game. Charlotte had so much fun with Mariah that she decided to let her wear her pearl necklace. It looks so nice with Charlotte's black sweater, pants and shoes, which she had also loaned Mariah to wear. Charlotte's pearls were not too big for Mariah. Charlotte's clothes were not too big, either. They were just right.

"I know I'm going to enjoy being a member of this family," Mariah said with a sigh. "Even if most things are very big, and I need help with lots of things, and even if I'm very little."

"I know it's going to be wonderful, because I know I can get help if I need it and I will have clothes and shoes that are just right. I know that because I'm a smart biscuit!"

Cast--

Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend

Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris

You can follow The Doll's Storybook here.

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.

Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook, Emil: Stories from the Doll's Storybook and soon Classic Tales Retold: Stories from the Doll's Storybook are available from BookBaby and other booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Royalties (net proceeds) go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. If you don't get free shipping elsewhere, buy from Book Baby. Half of the price goes to St. Jude. Autographed copies of all three books are available from the author for $20 including shipping. (Multiple books to the same address have a discount on shipping.) To inquire, email thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

Image on Mariah's yellow T-shirt used with permission, from Free To Be Kids, where human-size shirts with this image are available.

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19832501/?claim=j3fj3mbb8kt">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Copyright © 2018, 2023 by Peggy Stuart

The Homecoming

"There she is!" Mariah called from the window. 

Veronika and Mandy were in the upstairs hall when they heard Mariah's voice. "She's home!" they both said at once. 

Then they both went down the stairs as fast as they could, which isn't fast, because they are small and the stairs are as tall as chairs.

All of the dolls rushed out to help Jolena with her things. Veronika and Billy carried her suitcases in for her. 

Emil brought the big bag with the skis and ski poles.

Charlotte brought Jolena's ski helmet and goggles.

While Mariah paid the driver, Mandy walked with Jolena into the house.
It was so good to see Jolena again. She gave each of them a hug, because she likes hugs, and she knows they do, too.

While the other dolls put Jolena's ski equipment away and her laundry into the basket in the laundry room, Mandy and Mariah made some pretend tea, which is very easy and quick to make. When the tea was ready, the dolls all sat down in the living room to enjoy their tea and catch up on everything Jolena had done in Chile.

Jolena talked about seeing her friend Elizabeth and getting to ski with her.

She talked about the dolls who had come from other countries to train in Chile, too, because they didn't have snow in July where they lived.

She told them about all the new tricks she had learned to do on her skis.

Finally, when she had told them all the important things about her trip, she looked around at her sisters and brothers. "Now," she said. "Tell me what you all have done! What did I miss?"

All the other dolls started talking at once. Jolena couldn't make any sense out of it. "Wait!" she cried.

"Let's do this one at a time," Jolena suggested. "We'll just go around the circle, and one person at a time can talk." They thought that was a good idea, so that's what they did.

First Emil said, "I got locked in the dishwasher when Billy and I were cleaning up after cooking dinner!"

"Oh, my!" Jolena exclaimed. "What did you do?"
"I banged on the door," Emil said. He held out his hands to show Jolena how he banged on the door of the dishwasher. 

Then he explained that Billy and Charlotte had let him out.

Each doll had something to say, and Jolena listened to each one and nodded or shook her head or tried to roll her eyes.

When it was Billy's turn, he said, "Some workmen came last week and replaced all the windows on the back of the house."

 "We got to watch!" Billy added.

Veronika was next. "Mandy and I got new shoes last week," she said, holding up her feet, so Jolena could see.

"Veronika," Mandy said, "That's what I was planning to say." 

"Go on, everyone," Mandy added, "and I'll think of something else that happened while Jolena was gone. You can come back to me."

Charlotte said, "I've been learning a new piece on my violin. It's by Mozart (MO-tsart) and very...um...challenging. I have had to work hard on it, but I think I can play it for you soon."

Mariah said, "I'm going to be in a play at school at the end of the month. Billy has been helping me learn my lines. They picked me for it because they needed a few dolls who look different from the others."

"My, you all have been busy!" Jolena said. Then she looked at Mandy. "Did you think of anything else, Mandy?" she asked.
"Yes," Mandy said. "Wait until you see the zucchini (zoo-KEEN-ee) plants! They already have blossoms and that means that soon we will have some zucchini to pretend to eat." 

"Let's go look!" Jolena said. "Zucchini is good roasted or in soups and stew."

"I like zucchini on pizza!" Billy put in.

"If you wait too long to pick one," Emil suggested, "It will get very big, and you can use it for a baseball bat."

Mariah laughed. "When you get done playing baseball with it," she said, "you can scoop out the seeds, fill the hole with some yummy filling and bake it, maybe with some cheese or bread crumbs on top."

All the dolls wanted to go look at the zucchini plants, so they did. They were all happy to have Jolena back home again.

Then they turned around, so Jolena could see the new windows on the back of the house.

"Lovely!" Jolena exclaimed.
"Yes, they are very nice," Emil agreed.
"They are something called energy efficient (IN-er-gee ee-FIH-shint)," Billy said. That means they will help keep the house warm in the winter and cooler in the summer. That will save The Writer and her husband money."

"That's wonderful," Jolena agreed, "but I meant it's lovely being home with my brothers and sisters!"
It was lovely to have Jolena home again, too.


Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia

You can follow The Doll's Storybook here.

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.

Do you like our stories? Some of them are available in print:

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.

Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook. Poems included are Valentine's Day, Keeping Pets, Back to School, Victor the Vulture, The Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.

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.

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 Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

Coming soon: Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook.

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. My author's page at Book Baby is here. Scroll down and click on any of the books that interest you. Find my books at Barbara's Bookstore as well.

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.

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/19832501/?claim=j3fj3mbb8kt">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Copyright © 2020, 2025 by Peggy Stuart