Doll Baby

Title: Doll Baby

Author: Eve Bunting

Genre: Non-fiction, informational, diversity, biography

Summary: When Ellie was little, she had a doll named Daisy, who she dressed and gave a bottle too. One day, her aunt Jenny asked her where’s the doll’s daddy was. Ellie told her he had gone away. Now, Ellie goes to Grant High and she has a real baby, who she gives a bottle to and dresses. Her name is Angelica. Aunt Jenny never asked who this baby’s daddy was, but Ellie’s parents did. The day she told them she was pregnant was scary. When she told them, her mom asked how she knew and put her hands over her face. Ellie said she went to the free clinic, who told her that her baby was nine weeks along. Her dad held her mom, but nobody held her. Since Ellie’s mom and dad met and got married, she had felt sort of alone. Ellie told Charlie, the father, at school one day by the lockers. He asked how she knew it was his. Charlie had told Ellie he loved her and this hurt. Ellie’s mom told her she couldn’t keep it, but Ellie insisted that she was going to keep it and love it. Charlie did not want to keep it. Ellie told her mom, but she still wanted to keep it. At times, Ellie missed school because she didn’t feel well. She missed a lot of things, and day by day, she got fatter and fatter. Ellie’s mom’s friend, Cynthia, sent Ellie a stroller and some baby clothes that her daughter had used for her baby, since everything was so expensive. Charlie was sent to live with his grandmother in Sacramento. No more daddy for Ellie’s baby. Ellie dreamed about having Angelica and holding her, and finally her dream was real. She gave birth. Ellie realized that taking care or Ellie isn’t like taking care of her doll, Daisy. She couldn’t stay after school anymore or play on the softball team. It was a lot harder. The boys would sometimes laugh at her, but Brady McGinnis was nice and he sat with Ellie at lunch sometimes. Charlie Hendrix came back from Sacramento because he was getting in trouble there. Ellie saw him on line at the movies with another girl, Cassie, and Charlie asked Ellie how everything was going. He didn’t even want to look at the baby. At home, Ellie’s mom worked night shifts so she could be with Angelica during the day, and Ellie’s dad helped out at night. Two other girls at Grant High were pregnant and there was word that they might start a childcare program at school, which would be somewhat helpful. Ellie felt alone and just wanted to go on a first date again and have fun. At night, Ellie takes care of herself and Angelica. She wonders if she was right to keep her and to want her. She thinks about how easy it was to take care of her doll, and not Angelica.

Characters: Ellie, Ellie’s mom and dad, Angelica, Daisy, Brady, Charlie, Cassie

Theme: pregnancy, biography of Ellie

Setting: Ellie’s school and home

Plot: Ellie is pregnant and the baby’s father doesn’t want anything to do with the pregnancy. Should Ellie go with her gut and keep the baby, even though it might cause tension at home?

Opinion: I thought this book was interesting. I definitely wasn’t expecting Ellie to actually be pregnant, but it’s a real life situation that definitely needs to be spoken about