MY FIRST...

Disappointed with her birthday present, a little girl pretends she got what she wanted. Convinced her parents are giving her a doll, Alice even has a baby carriage and embroidered socks ready for the toy bambino. She fights back tears when she discovers her present isn’t the doll she wanted. Although her mother assures her the gift is “much better than a doll” because it’s alive and tells stories, Alice isn’t convinced, but makes the best of things by wrapping the present in blankets and pretending it’s a doll. Her friends April and Judy believe her at first, but soon suspect there’s something’s strange about Alice’s doll. Meanwhile, Alice starts to like her present because it entertains her for hours with bedtime stories. When Alice’s pals trick her into revealing her “doll” is really a book, Alice feels stupid—until she realizes April and Judy like a good story, too. Surreal acrylic, oil and pencil illustrations place Alice in a dreamlike landscape of twisted architecture, warped perspective and fantastical creatures as she explores the relative merits of book versus doll as the perfect present. (Picture book. 4-8)