"Historically inclined readers will enjoy this heartwarming story and its feisty heroine.”

—Kirkus Review

“ ...Parenteau weavs in information about the Friendship Dolls so subtly that it never overshadows Lexie’s story.”

—Publishers Weekly

"Ship of Dolls" as one of LitPic.com's "Top Choices".

--LitPic.com "The latest in preteen and teen literature reviewed by a global community of students"

Teaching Guide
Available!
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It's 1926, and the one thing eleven-year-old Lexie Lewis wants more then anything is to leave Portland, Oregon, where she has been staying with her strict grandparents, and rejoin her mother, a carefree singer in San Francisco.  Lexie's class has been raising money to ship a doll to the children of Japan in a friendship exchange, and when Lexie learns that the girl who writes the best letter to accompany the doll will be sent to the farewell ceremony in San Francisco, she knows she just has to be the winner.  But what if a jealous classmate and Lexie's own small lies manage to derail her plans?  Inspired by a project organized by teacher-missionary Sidney Gulick, in which U.S. children sent more then 12,000 Friendship Dolls to Japan in hopes of avoiding a future war, Shirley Parenteau's engaging story has sure appeal for young readers who enjoy historical fiction, and for doll lovers of all ages.

Continue the adventure with the sequel, "Dolls of Hope".

Currently available in multiple formats in English and Japanese.

Awards & Special Recognition:

ISBN: 978-0763670030
Candlewick, 2014

Hardback, English

ISBN: 978-1491502570
Brilliance Audio, 2014

Audiobook MP3/CD, English

ISBN:
Candlewick, 2014

eBook, English