ann and i

I have a sister, and her name is Ann.

We were best friends and always had a plan

Of great things to do each and every day

Once our housework was done, then we could play.

We had no Barbie’s, they didn’t exist

It was paper dolls we couldn’t resist.

We loved paper dolls with all of our hearts

Our passion for them went right off the charts!

The Ben Franklin Dime Store was where we went

To buy paper dolls, where our funds were spent.

We were always excited to find new,

And with our dolls, on our bikes home we flew.

Any new book that came out, we bought more

Like George Montgomery and wife, Dinah Shore.

We bought them all: wedding dolls and babies,

Handsome men dolls and beautiful ladies.

Gisele Makenzie we called Giz-a-lee

We figured that was right, just Ann and me.

The doll beautifully printed on cardboard.

The edges all perforated and scored.

We’d carefully punch them out of their frame

Tenderly removing each one the same.

Inside the book were pages of doll clothes

We never could get quite enough of those.

We would trace round the dolls and make ourselves more.

Colored with crayons we would add to our store,

To fill our dolls’ closets with more to wear

Together we worked, Ann and I, a pair.

The clothes had no perforations at all.

We used sharp shears to cut clothes for each doll.

The tabs on the clothes were a crucial part,

Folded over to hold the clothes real smart.

At last we were done and ready to play

Paper Dolls, our own particular way.

The room called the den is where we would go

To get started on our paper doll show.

Mom would look in the room, just roll her eyes,

She knew the mess would be huge, no surprise!

We would take every pillow from each bed

Making them walls for our dolls’ house instead.

Their closets were huge, clothes laid side by side.

Dressing our dolls beautifully was our pride.

We would ransack our drawers of things we wore.

Only special things came out of the drawer.

A curved sofa was a rolled undershirt.

We had a knack to easily convert

All that we chose to make the house fitting!

Doll’s house had to be perfect, no quitting!

When our fantastical paper doll den

Was finally setup, then the fun began!

Our dolls went to lunches, parks, and shopping

Played tennis, swam, and golfed without stopping.

We let them sleep in their nice cushy beds

Covered warmly with cute handkerchief spreads.

Then, up for a new day, going once more!

They had adventures each day to explore!

Those dolls of ours laughed and chatted and sang!

And answered the door when the doorbell rang.

They had visitors and friends, lots to do!

Our paper dolls were the best, this we knew!

Our imaginations kept us going

And the fun of it all kept us glowing!

Play comes to an end, and it’s time to clean,

Not happy to end our paper doll scene

Not that keen about putting it away

But we knew we’d be back another day!

We’d have more to buy and more dolls to see.

Paper dolls were our thing, just Ann and me.

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