The Paper Dolls

'The Paper Dolls' by Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb

This is a moving story that explores the idea of loss and memory for young children.

In the story, the little girl makes some paper dolls with her mother.

They have lots of adventures together, until they are finally snipped up by a little boy and are gone forever. However, the pieces of the paper join back together and live on in the little girl’s memory, in which there are other good things. 

As the little girl grows up and becomes a mother herself, she holds this memory in her mind and shares it with her own daughter.

It is possible to use the book to talk to children about how sad we can feel when things are lost and gone, but there is a way of holding onto them in our minds that can live on. It is also a way of exploring and thinking about an idea of a good internal world, which can be full of good experiences.

This year, this may be particularly relevant for many children who have experienced losses in many different ways.