Doll Hospital: Meet Marissa

In Marissa's book, you will find her paper doll. Or, you can download it here. Click an image to download Marissa or a printable outfit for her to wear.
(Be sure that "Fit to Print" or "Shrink to Fit" is NOT selected in the Acrobat Print Menu.)

These files are in PDF format. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 or higher to open them. If you do not have this software, it is available for free download.

Mother stood behind us in the doorway. I could see her in the mirror. She made her upside-down smile.

"What are you doing with my make-up?" asked Mother.

"Just pretending," Jill said in a small voice.

Mother made a mad huff. "Lipstick and eye shadow are expensive. They're not for children." She grabbed the blue sparkle-powder away from Jill and clicked it shut. She closed the lipstick.

Big Sister came in. Her eyes got big when she saw Jill's pretty new face. "You're in for it now," she said.

"That's enough, young lady," Mother told Big Sister. She pointed to the door. "Go to your room."

"I didn't do anything!" said Big Sister. But she went.

"I'm sorry," Jill said to Mother. "But I wasn't the only one trying on make-up—"

"Don't try to shift the blame," said Mother. She wiped the pretty paint off of Jill's face. Then she saw me and her eyes got extra-mad. They looked from me to Jill.

"If you're grown-up enough to wear make-up, you must be too old for dolls," she told Jill. She stepped toward me.

Jill rushed to get between me and Mother. "No! I'm not too old for Marissa!"

From
Saving Marissa

Baby dolls were first made in the early 1900s. Before that, almost all dolls were made to look like grown-ups, and many were made of bisque or china. But baby dolls made from bisque and china broke when a child dropped them. Doll makers began trying to make unbreakable doll. What material would they use?

New kinds of plastic were invented during World War II. Doll makers began to make hard plastic dolls. These dolls didn't break. But wigs had to be glued onto hard plastic dolls' heads. The wigs didn't look like real hair. In the 1950s, a softer plastic called vinyl was invented. Doll hair could be rooted into tiny holes in a vinyl doll's head. Vinyl dolls were made to look and act as much like real babies as possible. Vinyl baby dolls like Marissa could drink, wet, talk, and cry.