In Defense of 30 Dolls

After Donald Trump’s comment that it wouldn’t hurt American children to have “two dolls instead of 30 dolls” in defense of his tariffs leading to fewer toys, I had a stunning realization. When my granddaughters come to visit, they have their pick of 32 dolls.

These include vintage Barbies dressed in iconic costumes such as Solo in the Spotlight and Enchanted Evening. Another collection includes Lottie dolls, which look like ordinary kids dressed for birthday parties and walks in the park. Then, there are the Madame Alexander dolls that fill a cabinet in the family room.

These dolls are far more than playthings. They are springboards for discussions about some of the great books of childhood, family lore, and even history lessons. 

“Why is this doll dressed in white and holding a book?” Eleanor asked as she studied one of my favorite Madame Alexanders from the 1980s.

“Oh, that’s Emily Dickinson,” I tell her. “She lived in New England, wrote lots of poetry, and loved to dress in white. Want to hear one of her poems?”

I’m Nobody! Who are you?

Are you – Nobody – too?

Then there’s a pair of us!

Don’t tell! they’d banish us – you know!

We laugh.

The storybook dolls, from Pollyanna to The Secret Garden’s Mary Lennox, spark curiosity about literature. 

The Miss Pittypat Hamilton doll, Scarlett O’Hara’s aunt in Gone with the Wind, is a natural way to begin the conversation about the Civil War and fashions from that era.

A tiny doll in a straw hat rides an old-fashioned tractor. The girls call him “Grandpa Bob,” a reference to their great-grandpa who grew up in Nebraska in the Great Depression. He provides a natural way to link them to family history and the past.

The Mother Superior doll from The Sound of Music introduces them to movies and music.

Dolls are everywhere, even in my home office. The girls are fascinated by the Fern doll, complete with Wilbur the pig and Charlotte A. Cavatica, the spider, from Charlotte’s Web. It’s my dream that Fern will lead them to E.B. White, the book’s author, and one of the greats in American literature.

Limit them to just two dolls, Mr. President? Never.