Publishing: Simon and Schuster, New York, 1990
Description: Natasha is an impatient little girl who constantly asks her Babushka to do things for her. One day Natasha notices a beautiful doll sitting on a high shelf. Natasha’s babushka says she only played with the doll once as a child, but tells the girl she can play with it while the babushka goes to the market. As soon as her babushka leaves, the doll comes to life and Natasha must cater to her every whim. When the babushka comes back and finds Natasha crying, she tells her she must have had a bad dream and that she can play with the doll anytime she wants. Natasha tells her that once is enough.
Programming: This would be very cool if lumped together in a series about toys or dolls. The class could talk about different toys, or specifically types of dolls, found in different countries and time periods. You could even order your own blank white dolls and allow students to decorate their own with markers or puff paint, as seen here: http://www.lilblueboo.com/2011/09/puffy-paint-dolls-monsters-a-tutorial.html
Boys might be more interested in this if they can decorate them as monsters as the picture shows. Other tie-ins would be the russian word “Babushka” and Natasha’s lesson in patience. Team building activities might reinforce students’ own patience.
The Very Hungry Bookworm 