Babushka's Doll

Written by Patricia Polacco

Narrated by Barbara Caruso

When Babushka was a girl, she had a special doll that she played with only once. Now it's her granddaughter's turn to learn a valuable lesson about consideration for others. Young readers will be delighted with this highly-acclaimed author's original variation on a theme: the childhood fantasy of toys coming to life. Barbara Caruso's lively narration will charm not only young children, but aging ones as well.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 25, 2012
• ISBN: 9781436188562

Reviews for Babushka's Doll

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm not a huge fan of Polacco, actually, and the doll coming to life did weird me out a bit. But still, this is cute enough - and I see that some other reviewers have had success sharing it with children.

[casiebelaire · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Natasha, a very demanding young girl, always insists that her grandmother stops what she is doing to tend to her needs. While her grandmother does household duties Natasha is only worried about what she wants. She demands to be pushed on the swing, ride in her goat cart, and have lunch made for her. When Babushka finally made Natasha lunch, the young girl noticed a doll on the shelf and wanted to play with it. Babushka went to the store and gave the doll to Natasha to play with while she was out. Natasha was in for a big surprise. The doll came to life and was demanding her around like she did her grandmother. It was horrible for Natasha, the doll ran her ragged. Demanding more than Natasha could handle, she learned her lesson by the time Babushka got back and she was exhausted from trying to meet the demands of the doll. As in all of children's books, Polacco illustrates, designs, and writes a phenomenal story about her Russian background. Many of Polacco's books have a Russian theme. This book just like all of Polacco's other books shows her true talent as not just a writer, but as a beautiful illustrator as well.

[cvarela-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Babushka's Doll is a wonderful book about a little girl who doesn't know how to be patient. She has a loving grandmother who dedicates time to Natasha. However, Natasha doesn't know how to be appreciative and she is very demanding. Her clever grandmother gives her a doll to play with and it comes to life. The doll makes Natasha do all kinds of things and Natasha realizes that it is not fun to be bossed around. Natasha learns a valuable lesson about patent and being considerate to others. Patricia Polacco does a wonderful job in this story than can be used to teach children all ages.

[marabie-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In this wonderful book by Patricia Polacco, a big lesson is learned. Natasha, the little girl, is very demanding and impatient. She keeps asking her grandmother for things while her grandma is busy. Finally the grandma asks to play with a doll on her grandma's shelf. The grandmother tells Natasha that she only played with it once when she was little. The grandmother lets Natasha play with the doll while she leaves the house. Once Natasha is alone with the doll, the doll comes to life. She starts bossing Natasha around. She eventually wears Natasha out with all of her demands. Natasha is upset and cries that she is just a little girl. When the grandmother arrives and hears Natasha's story, she tells Natasha she must have had a bad dream.She goes to sleep and the grandmother tells the doll that she heard she had a busy day, the doll then winks.This teaches a lesson that patience is a virtue. It would be a good lesson in a classroom when teaching children manners.

[vharsh1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book, “Babushka’s Doll”, was an awesome read. The first thing I liked about this book was how the author developed the characters. The grandmother was in traditional Russian garments from head to toe. She was portrayed as a wise but patient old woman. The main character was the little girl, Natasha. Natasha was presented much like how a little girl thinks the world revolves around them. At a young age, I believe that is true. Patricia Polacco made the characters seem very realistic. The second characteristic I liked about this book was the illustrations. The brightly color setting and clothes drew my eyes in and held my focus. The author used a light blue to paint the house and bright green to illustrate the soft grass. The main idea of this story was to teach a very important lesson to not take advantage of anyone and be aware of other peoples’ feelings. The main character, Natasha learned to be less demanding of her grandmother and be more conscious of the requests she asks for.

[jjones58 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

 Patricia Polacco is my favorite author of all time. My grammy was a second grade teacher for thirty years and owns almost every single one of her books, so I became a fan of Patricia's work from a very young age. Babushka's Doll is one of my favorites. It is about a little girl who gives her grandmother a hard time. It is her way or no way. I think it is a very relatable story to young children because I feel as though children are becoming less and less fearful of authority and more convinced that they are the boss. When Natasha's grandmother leaves for the grocery store, Natasha finds a doll who then comes to life and gives her a taste of her own medicine! The main idea of this story is treat others how you would like to be treated. The doll starts treating Natasha how she treats her grandmother and she realizes how awful it really feels. I also love how this book allows the reader to use many different character voices (if you're reading it out loud to your classroom).

[whisper1_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Impatient, bratty and impulsive Natasha notices a doll high up on the shelf in her grandmother's house. Asking to play with the doll, her grandmother mentions that she only ever played with this item once.After leaving the house, leaving Natasha with the doll, a great lesson is learned. The doll, a mirror image of behavior of Natasha demands rudely to hurry, hurry, hurry to flit from one thing to another. When Natasha is tired from the demands, she places the doll back on the shelf. Increasingly, I find joy in the books of this author. The illustrations, the stories, and the importance of role models create wonderful reading.

[aloupe-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Babushka's Doll is a book about an impatient girl named Natasha. Natasha wants everything and wants it now, so when her Babushka (grandmother) goes out for a bit Natasha plays with a doll that Babushka had when she was a little girl. This doll becomes impatient and acts just like Natasha. This is a cute book and might be good to teach about putting yourself in other people's shoes and to treat others the way you want to be treated. I would read this to pre-k through 3rd grade.

[mozella1970 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Genre: Fantasy "Spare the rod, spoil the child"... "Or do unto others as you would have them do unto you"...The Bible This book "Babushka's Doll shares a great lesson on selfishness, disrespect, rudeness, being inpatient and being kind to the elderly. The illustrations are of great inference; the facial expressions of little spoiled Natasha sets the mood of the text.. The message also is you can't always get what you want when you want it. There are words called "wait", "not now", and "respect". A message needed for today's society of children.

[akitso1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really liked this book. I can definitely see this book being related to spoiled children in today's society. I appreciate that this book was not told from a typical American family's perspective, but rather, that of a Russian family. It made me feel like spoiled children are not only a problem in our country but in all countries. That being said, I think that the overall message of this book is to show children how much that the adults in their life do for them and that they need to be more appreciative. I also think it sends a message about growing up.

[bphill5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The main idea of this story is to treat others how you would like to be treated. I like this picture book because of its meaning. I also like this picture book because Polacco writes Natasha's voice much like that of a young child: wanting everything "now, now now!" I also like this book because of Polacco's amazing, detailed illustrations. Each of her pictures contains amazing facial expressions that show obvious emotions. Although the emotion may not always be spelled out in the text, the illustrations add that emotion and therefore add meaning to the text.

[dannien-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This multicultural tale by Patricia Polacco teaches a great lesson to reader. The Russian grandmother, Babushka, and her granddaughter, Natasha are spending the day together when Natasha starts acting out. Natasha becomes demanding, impatient, and selfish with her grandmother. Babushka leaves Natasha alone for the afternoon with a doll that comes to life mimicking the same misbehaviors that Natasha was being like. Natasha quickly learns that the tasks the doll is demanding is just too much. When the grandmother returns, Natasha changes her actions towards her grandmother. This story will teach all children about being patient, being kind, and respecting your elders. The way Polacco is able to teach this lesson through a doll that comes to life will have children engaged throughout the whole story. As I was reading, I was imagining myself reading this aloud to my students, easily being able to convey the demanding tone of Natasha's words to her grandmother. As children see the illustrations of the doll misbehaving, they will be amused as well as be able to pick up on what the doll is trying to teach Natasha.

[brittany_leimer-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book would be great for teaching kids that they need to appreciate the adults in their life and all that they do for them on a daily basis. I think that the children seeing how hard it would be for them to do all of that for someone is going to make them appreciate who is in their lives.

[raizel_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Although the cover of this Scholastic reprint is shiny, the paper inside isn't and the pictures feel washed out and dull. They are also too hurried for my taste. But my primary complaint is with the blatant lesson that Natasha learns when a doll comes to life and behaves the way Natasha has. I don't mind subtle measure for measure, but I ended up feeling sorry for Natasha and I don't think I was supposed to.

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well this was a surprise! I don't think I've ever encountered a Patricia Polacco title with such an overtly didactic purpose before, and I've now read thirty-five of her books! The story of an impatient little girl named Natasha, who never understood why her Babushka couldn't drop everything, and do just what she (Natasha) wanted her to, Babushka's Doll is a picture-book exploration of the theme of getting a taste of one's own medicine, as Natasha becomes the beleaguered one, when her grandmother's unusual doll comes to life.I had mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, I think young readers might enjoy the madcap sense of humor in Natash'a adventures, as she chases after Babushka's doll. On the other hand, while I do approve of the message - that sometimes we can't have what we want right away, and that it isn't very considerate to make a pest of ourselves - somehow the very presence of a "moral" in a Polacco book was jarring to me.

[caitlin.wester · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Babushka's Doll showcases the day a young girl goes through with a doll. Natasha is sometimes rude to her Grandmother constantly asking her to do things for her and to drop everything she is doing to play with her. Her Grandmother than lets her play with a doll while she is out. The doll comes to life and in return becomes demanding and rude to Natasha making her cry. It's as if she is getting a taste of her own medicine. This story is a great eye opener for children to teach them about their own behavior. In the end you treat others the way you would like to be treated.

[ydraughon_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Natash is a spoiled brat. Her grandmother is tired and leaves her home with a special doll. The doll comes to life and gives Natasha a taste of her own medicine. She becomes nice after learning a lesson. Grades K - 3.

[emleonard · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Natasha is a little girl that is very demanding to her Babushka. She wants things done right then and there and doesn't want to wait. But, then when she see's Babushka's doll she wants to play with it. So, Babushka gives Natasha the doll and Babushka leaves to go to the grocery store. The doll comes to life and demands things from Natasha just like she did to Babushka. What a great story to read at home or in school about not to be so demanding and to be nice.

[alyssabuzbee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Natasha is a headstrong girl who wants what she wants when she wants it. Through her grandmother's doll, she learns that it is not good to be so demanding.

[mmwrigh3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Natasha is very demanding of her Babushka. She wants her Babushka to do want she wants to do and when she wants to do it. Natasha isn't nice about it either, no please and no thank you. Natasha learns her lesson the hard way and soon understands where her grandmother is coming from. I always love Polacco's books, from the stories to the illustrations, this is an incredible book.

[klsulliv · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Who would have thought a doll could come to life? In this story Natasha is a very active girl who wants her grandmother to play with her. She wants her grandmother to do what she wants to do when she wants her grandmother to do it. What Natasha does not know is that her grandmother has a doll she only played with once when she was a child like Natasha. When Natasha spots the doll, she immediately wants to hold it. The grandmother tells her she can play with the doll until she gets back. Natasha soon gets a dose of her own medicine with all of the demanding and selfishness from the doll. Natasha soon realizes that it is not good to hound anyone because she does not like it, and now knows how it feels. This story has a lesson that teaches children everyone needs rest, so with patience will come good things. Patience is a virtue!

[brittneydufrene · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really like Patricia Ploacco books. They are all heart warming and have meaning to them. This is a story about a little girl who plays with her grandmothers doll. The little doll came to life and the doll was mean to the little girl, Natasha. It taught Natasha that she had to be patient and considerate to others, and to treat people like you would want to be treated. A great lesson and book for children to read.

[jill5barrington · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A young girl is quite rude and impatient to her Babushka, or grandmother. Her Babushka gives her a doll to play with while she leaves to run to the store. When the girl's Babushka leaves, the doll comes to life and behaves just as badly, if not, worse than they girl behaved. The girl definitely learned her lesson by the time her Babushka returned.The book would be a wonderful way to talk about thinking of others and being selfless.

[szanes_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A sweet story of a child who learns manners from a very special doll of her grandmother's. It might be important to note to parents and teachers that there is a strong fantasy element with the doll, that can be interpreted as a dream. A good old-fashioned type of story with a moral and beautiful cultural images throughout.

[rebecca401 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Natasha is an impatient child. She wants her babushka to play with her right now, even when she is busy. Her babushka tells her not to be selfish. Babushka gives her her doll to play with--the doll she herself played with only once. The doll is even more selfish than Natasha! She makes continual demands on Natasha to do all kinds of things for her. She wears Natasha out, and Natasha realizes that being selfish isn't that fun after all.

[mrsarey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a cute little story about what happens when a little girl's doll teaches her a lesson.

[wendyfincher · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Natasha has a very hard life lesson to learn. She is a little girl who wants her way immediately. Her grandmother lets her play with a special doll. When the grandmother leaves the doll comes to life and works Natasha until she is exhausted. Natasha learns that treating people that way is not nice at all. She learns her lesson and becomes nicer.

[anita1west · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Babushka’s Doll is a modern fantasy story about a naughty little girl named Natasha. Natasha is very bossy and demanding. She constantly barks orders at her Babushka (which means grandmother is Russian.) Natasha wants what she wants and she wants it now! One day Natasha discovers a doll sitting up on a shelf, a doll she had never noticed before. She asks her Babushka if she can play with the doll and her Babushka decides that it would be all right. In fact the time was just right for Natasha to play with the doll. Upon holding doll, the doll came to life. The doll was a reflection of Natasha and perhaps was even more bossy and more demanding than Natasha had ever been. The naughty attitude of the doll was more than Natasha could handle. Natasha told her Babushka about her horrible experience and remarked that she never wanted to play with the doll again. In the end, the doll taught Natasha about being patient and Natasha turned out to be a good little girl after all.This is one of the first stories I had read that was written by Patricia Polacco. Since reading this story, I have been introduced to several of her other books and just love the way she writes. I thought this was a very neat story and perhaps one that I might decide to use as a teaching story should the need arise – that is, if I come across a Natasha one day. This little girl reminds me of Nellie Olsen from Little House on the Prairie.I would definitely use this book in the classroom as part of an author study on Patricia Polacco. I would also use this book as part of a teaching/learning unit about character. I would want to find good and bad examples of what being a good citizen/character means and would incorporate this book in with that lesson.