Insomnia–A Poem

Jolena has insomnia (in-SAWM-nee-ah),

Her eyes can never close.

This means the girl can’t sleep at night.

Not even can she doze.

Jolena can’t sleep. She’s very tired. She has tried everything she has heard for how a person can sleep at night:

Getting out in the fresh air every day.

Pretending to drink a nice cup of warm milk at bedtime.

Turning off the TV and all other devices (dee-VEYS-ez) at least 30 minutes before going to bed.

Taking a nice, warm bath at bedtime.

Counting sheep.

Reading a very boring book in bed.

Nothing has worked.

Finally, Jolena asked Mandy why she seems so rested when she gets out of bed in the morning.

“It’s very important to get a good night’s sleep,” Mandy told her.

“But I can’t sleep at all!” Jolena cried. “I just stare at the ceiling all night.

Mandy looked puzzled. “How can you stare at the ceiling all night if you’re wearing your sleep mask?” she asked.

“Sleep mask?” Jolena asked. “What’s a sleep mask?”

Mandy looked around  in the girls’ clothes basket and pulled out a soft piece of blue fabric with lace all around the edges. “This,” she said, “is a sleep mask. We each have one.”

“Children can’t sleep if they don’t close their eyes,” Mandy went on. “Dolls can’t sleep if they can see,” she explained. “Many dolls have eyes that close when they lie down. That can be a problem if they want to read in bed…

…or watch the clouds up in the sky.”

“Our eyes are always open, so we can see to do those things,” Mandy went on. “It’s why you can do somersaults in the air on your skis and see where to land. You will need a sleep mask to sleep, though.” Mandy dug around again in the clothes basket. 

She found another sleep mask, so they each had one.

Jolena had insomnia,

Her eyes would never close.

This meant the girl could never sleep.

Not even could she doze.

But fashion has a cure for this!

A sleep mask for her eyes.

This means she now can sleep at night.

So rested she can rise.

Just a peek to say, “Thanks Mandy!”

Now Jolena can get a good night’s rest each night and wake up each morning ready for the day’s adventures.

Goodnight, Jolena! Sleep well!

Cast--

Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen

Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015

This story is included in Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook, available from booksellers or your local library.

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 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.

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

Copyright © 2018, 2026 by Peggy Stuart

The Last of Summer

The days are getting shorter, and the dolls know that it will soon be cold again. There are some games they would like to play while it's still warm outside. 
"Let's go play outside," said Charlotte. Soon all the dolls were outside in the sunshine.

The first thing Charlotte and Billy did was to play catch with the tennis ball.

Jolena and Mariah decided to ride bicycles. They are happy to have a place to ride where there are no cars.

Later, Billy showed everyone how he had learned to ride a skateboard. He didn't do any fancy tricks, because he didn't have his helmet, and his knee and elbow pads. He just showed them how to balance and make the skateboard roll.

Each of the girls tried Billy's skateboard, while he gave them tips on keeping their balance. It was nice to have a place to use the skateboard where there were no cars. Billy thought it was fun to teach his sisters how to use the skateboard.

Some of the dolls climbed up to play on the backyard play set.
"Watch this!" Billy cried. "I can swing on the monkey rings like a circus act!" He began to climb up the other end of the play set.
The monkey rings are very high up. Billy was not wearing a helmet. I was not wearing elbow and knee pads.
"Be careful, Billy," Veronika cried. "It would be a lot of trouble to have to replace your head!"
Jolena, Mariah and Veronika watched anxiously.

Billy climbed the rope to get up to the monkey rings.

When he reached the monkey rings, he swung from the first ring to the second and hung upside-down from it. His hat fell down to the ground, but he didn't care. He was having fun. He did not fall. He did not break his head. We did not have to replace it.

After he was across to the girls, Billy climbed down and picked up his hat. The other dolls were so relieved that Billy was safe that they each went down the slide, yelling, "Wheeeee!"

Mandy went for a walk on the trail to enjoy the birds and animals. She saw some jaybirds and squirrels. The trail is a safe place where there are always plenty of real people around. Some of them seemed surprised to see a doll walking alone on the trail. Mandy didn't mind.

Mariah and Charlotte spent some time throwing the frisbee in the backyard. They can't throw it very far yet, but their form is good, and they thought it was fun.

While they were doing that, Jolena and Veronika sat in the chairs on the deck. As they sat there, some geese flew over, making honking noises. The big birds flew in a pattern that looked like a big V, with one bird in the front.

When Mandy came back, the dolls all played hide-and-seek together for a while. Each one had a turn being 'it' while the others hid. Each one had a turn counting to 100 before looking for the others.

"What should we do now?" Mariah asked while Mandy, Veronika and Charlotte went to pretend to use the bathroom.
"How about jump rope?" Jolena suggested.
"Or maybe we could play hopscotch," Mariah said.

"I thought jump rope and hopscotch were games for girls," Billy said.

"There are no games just for girls or just for boys," Jolena said. "If girls can play football, boys can play jump rope and hopscotch."

"Girls play football?" Billy asked.
"Some girls do," Mariah said. "It can be dangerous, like some other games," but boys and girls can do it. They just have to learn how to be careful."

"Then I want to learn jump rope and hopscotch," Billy said. "I'm the only boy, and it's more fun to play together than all alone."

When the other dolls came back outside, they all played jump rope. Billy learned how. He thought it was fun. He was glad boys can play jump rope.

Then they played hopscotch. They drew some squares on the pavement with sidewalk chalk. Then they wrote a number in each square. The girls explained the game to Billy. Billy decided that hopscotch is fun, too. He learned that he was good at it.

Soon it was suppertime, so the dolls all went into the house.
"While we pretend to eat supper," Veronika suggested to Mandy, "let's talk with the others about all the fun things we did today."

"Our mouths don't open when we talk," Mandy said, "and they don't open when we pretend to eat. We should be able to eat and talk at the same time."

So the dolls went into the dining room to pretend to eat supper and talk about all the fun things they had done during the day.

Can you remember all the things the dolls did without looking back at the story? See how many you can name. What do you like to do outdoors?



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

There are lots of ways to play hopscotch. Here are some suggestions, if you don't know how.

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, Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook are available from BookBaby and other booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

Author's page on Amazon. 

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 charity (specific information available upon request). Autographed copies of all three books are available from the author. (Multiple books to the same address have a discount on shipping.) To inquire, email thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

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Copyright © 2019, 2024 by Peggy Stuart

Insomnia

Jolena has insomnia (in-SAWM-nee-ah),

Her eyes can never close.

This means the girl can’t sleep at night.

Not even can she doze.

Jolena can’t sleep. She’s very tired. She has tried everything she has heard for how a person can sleep at night.

Getting out in the fresh air every day.

Drinking a nice cup of warm milk at bedtime.

Turning off the TV and all other devices at least 30 minutes before going to bed.

Taking a nice, warm bath at bedtime.

Counting sheep.

Reading a very boring book in bed.

Nothing has worked.

Finally, Jolena asked Mandy why she seems so rested when she gets out of bed in the morning.

“It’s very important to get a good night’s sleep,” Mandy told her.

“But I can’t sleep at all!” Jolena cried. “I just stare at the ceiling all night.

Mandy looked puzzled. “How can you stare at the ceiling all night if you’re wearing your sleep mask?” she asked.

“Sleep mask?” Jolena asked. “What’s a sleep mask?”

Mandy looked around  in the girls’ clothes basket and pulled out a soft piece of blue fabric with lace all around the edges. “This,” she said, “is a sleep mask. We each have one.”

“Children can’t sleep if they don’t close their eyes,” Mandy went on. “Dolls can’t sleep if they can see,” she explained. “Many dolls have eyes that close when they lie down. That can be a problem if they want to read in bed…

…or watch the clouds up in the sky.”

“Our eyes are always open, so we can see to do those things,” Mandy went on. “It’s why you can do somersaults in the air on your skis and see where to land. You will need a sleep mask to sleep, though.” Mandy dug around again in the clothes basket. 

She found another sleep mask, so they each had one.

Jolena had insomnia,

Her eyes would never close.

This meant the girl could never sleep.

Not even could she doze.

But fashion has a cure for this!

A sleep mask for her eyes.

This means she now can sleep at night.

So rested she can rise.

Just a peek to say, “Thanks Mandy!”

Now Jolena can get a good night’s rest each night and wake up each morning ready for the day’s adventures.

Goodnight, Jolena! Sleep well!

Cast--

Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen

Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015

This story is included in Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook, available from booksellers or your local library.

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 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.

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

Copyright © 2018, 2026 by Peggy Stuart