Friendship Dolls Series

Ship of Dolls

Book 1 in the "Friendship Dolls" Series

by Shirley Parenteau

It’s 1926, and eleven-year-old Lexie Lewis wants to leave Portland, Oregon, where she has been staying with her strict grandparents, and rejoin her mother, a singer in San Francisco. Lexie’s class has been raising money to ship a doll to the children of Japan in a friendship exchange. When Lexie learns that the girl who writes the best letter will be chosen to go to the farewell ceremony in San Francisco, she knows she just has to be the winner. Inspired by a project in which U.S. children sent more than 12,000 Friendship Dolls to Japan in hopes of avoiding a future war, Shirley Parenteau’s engaging story has sure appeal for readers who enjoy historical fiction and for doll lovers of all ages.

♦

“Tender and funny, this story of friendship and family is reminiscent of Beverly Cleary’s work.” — School Library Journal

Published 8/5/2014 by Candlewick Press

Dolls of Hope

Book 2 in the "Friendship Dolls" Series

by Shirley Parenteau

When eleven-year-old Chiyo Tamura is sent from her home in a small Japanese mountain village to a girls’ school in the city of Tsuchiura, she never imagines that she will soon be in Tokyo helping to welcome more than twelve thousand Friendship Dolls from America—including Emily Grace, a gift to her own school. Nor could she dream that she’d have an important role in the crafting of Miss Tokyo, one of fifty-eight Japanese dolls to be sent to America in return. But when an excited Chiyo is asked to be Emily Grace’s official protector, one jealous classmate will stop at nothing to see her fail. How can Chiyo reveal the truth—and restore her own good name? In another heartwarming historical novel, the author of Ship of Dolls revisits the 1926 Friendship Doll exchange, in which teacher-missionary Sidney Gulick organized American children to send thousands of dolls to Japan in hopes of avoiding a future war.

How daring is Chiyo prepared to be to keep the American Friendship Doll safe? Inspired by a little-known historical event, this engaging companion to Ship of Dolls is told from a Japanese girl’s point of view.

♦

"The cultural differences arising from the Japanese setting will intrigue readers, while Chiyo's personality, emotions and difficulties with Hoshi make her an engaging character." --Booklist Online

Published 9/22/2015 by Candlewick Press

Dolls of War

Book 3 in the "Friendship Dolls" Series

by Shirley Parenteau

In 1941, eleven-year-old Macy James lives with her father, the director of a small museum. Miss Tokyo, one of fifty-eight exquisite friendship dolls given to America by Japan in 1926, is part of the museum’s collection and one of Macy’s most treasured connections to her mother. When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, many of Macy’s neighbors demand that Miss Tokyo be destroyed, and Macy starts having doubts. Does remaining loyal to Miss Tokyo mean being disloyal to America? Shirley Parenteau delivers another thoughtful historical novel inspired by a little-known true event.

♦

“This novel moves along with continuous action and a couple of surprise twists. Readers of the Friendship Dolls series will definitely want to read this addition.” — School Library Journal

Published 11/14/2017 by Candlewick Press