Books like The Most Wonderful Doll in the World
By Phyllis McGinley
For the kid who builds up a memory or a missing toy into something almost magical, Dulcy's story of longing and finding will feel instantly familiar. Wistful, gentle, and quietly funny, with the particular ache of childhood daydreaming.
A middle child inventor, unappreciated at home, runs away to build a meadow of one-of-a-kind houses for other overlooked kids — until the whole town comes looking for them.
A young cartographer leaves behind hand-drawn maps of his old neighborhood — the school, the chicken coop, the best skylight spot for a bed — as a gift for the next child moving into his house.
A rich king who prizes gold above all else is granted his wish that everything he touches turns to gold — until he accidentally touches his own daughter.
A young girl with skin the color of midnight longs to be lighter like her mother and sister, until a shooting star's story about the sisters Night and Day changes how she sees herself.
A fish and his best friend, a tadpole, grow up together in a pond until the tadpole becomes a frog and hops off to explore dry land, leaving the fish desperate to follow.
A lion named Dandelion gets a fancy party invitation and dresses himself up so lavishly that when he arrives, even the hostess doesn't recognize him.
A friendly ghost named Leo loves drawing and making snacks, but when a new family misunderstands his attempts to help, he leaves home to find where he truly belongs.
When the Primm family moves into their new apartment on East 88th Street, they find a crocodile named Lyle living in the bathtub — and slowly, surprisingly, come to love him.
A lonely old man sets out to find one pretty cat but can't choose among the millions, billions, and trillions he finds on a hillside — so he brings them all home.
On a distant planet, a red Smed and a blue Smoo fall in love despite their families' rule that Smeds and Smoos never mix, sending both sides on a journey that tests old prejudices.
After spotting three dazzling mermaids on the subway, a boy transforms his home into a lagoon of imagination, fashioning his own mermaid costume from a curtain and some ferns.
A young girl in Ukraine refuses to eat borsch, no matter how hard the grandmothers of Kiev try to persuade her — but after immigrating to America, she finds herself missing the very soup she once despised.
