The Chalk Doll  

By Charlotte Pomerantz 

 Pictures by Frane Lessac

Award: Parents Choice Award

A charming series of small memoirs told and shared through colorful conversation between mother and daughter.

Book talk

Rose is sick with a cold.  As Mother tucks her in and makes her comfortable, Rose begins to ask Mother about life when she was a little girl.  Each of Rose’s questions leads to a telling of a another ‘small moment’ by Mother about her childhood in Jamaica.  With each memoir,  Mother shares a different and fascinating look at her childhood.

Rose learns about Mother’s rag doll, her chalk doll, birthday celebrations, and shoeless days (except for the mango high heels) .

A favorite line from the book as Mother explained to Rose about wearing high heels:

“After we rubbed the mango pits in the tar (on the road), we pressed the sticky pits into the heels of our feet until they stuck. Then we walked home clickety, click, clacking on our mango heels.”

The story ends with Rose feeling better and getting ready to make a rag doll just like the one Mother had when she was a little girl.

Suggested Uses as a Mentor Text:

Book Genre: Realistic Fiction

Reading Workshop strategies: Questioning, Connecting, Inferring

Writing Workshop genres: Narrative Writing, Small Moments, Memoir

Curricular Themes: Families, Diverse Stories / We Need Diverse Books

Charlotte Pomerantz's website:http://charlottepomerantz.com/