THAT'S FOR BABIES

Someone is in a hurry to grow up—until she isn’t.

On Prunella’s birthday she decides that she is “a BIG kid now” and proceeds to reject all manner of items and activities she decides she’s outgrown. “That’s for babies!” Pru repeatedly declares, even discarding “her favorite doll, Talking Sally…in a box of old toys.” The depiction of the doll makes it seem like a sentient, oddly small person, lending a perhaps unintentionally creepy feeling to the story as Pru begins to regret her rejection of Sally when she gets bored after spurning many opportunities for fun, including a tea party that Talking Sally suggests from the toy box. Then nighttime comes, and with it a lightning storm. Frightened Pru retrieves Sally from the box of toys, asking “Sally, are you scared in there?” And then she reassures the doll, “Don’t be scared! I’m here!” Seeking additional reassurance for herself, Pru ends up in her parents’ bed, and then throughout the following day she happily plays with Sally, embracing activities she’d previously eschewed and acknowledging that seeking comfort is both “for babies…and big kids like me!” Pru and her family present white, as does Sally, and all display snub noses that give them a piglike air. While eagerness to grow up is common in children, both text and art fail to create a compelling story around this feeling.

Not for us.