The Mary Frances Housekeeper — Jane Eayre Fryer

This is a black & white activity book containing paper dolls & paper furniture to hand-color with colored pencils. If your paper dolls have adventures when adults leave the room, then this book is for you. The Mary Frances Housekeeper 100th Anniversary Edition is third in the Mary Frances series of story-instruction books designed to teach the domestic arts to children.

Includes:

• Paper Dolls to cut out and color with colored pencils
• Paper Furniture to cut out and color with colored pencils
• Plans to build a Doll House from cardboard
• Words and music for 7 Housekeeping Songs
• Bonus patterns to sew a child's Apron and Dust Cap

Part One tells the story of The Doll Family of Sandpile Village, a homeless family of paper dolls in the world of Mary Frances' imagination. The family meets with good fortune when their mistress provides them with a magnificent cardboard dollhouse and beautiful furniture in the Arts and Crafts style of the time.

Filled with joy and pride over their new home, Mrs. Doll sets out to teach her children how to care for it well. Her lessons include how to set a table, sweep, select paint colors, make a bed, wash windows, do laundry, and dust furniture. She also gives instructions in the social graces of a good hostess, host and guest.

In this lovable, lively household with six children and one spunky maid, antics abound. Readers will get a glimpse at early 1900s America and learn good housekeeping principles in pages bursting with delightful black and white illustrations and a charming cast of characters.

Part Two introduces the Kitchen-Garden method, a popular system for teaching household skills to children in the early twentieth century. The curriculum was designed to make housework feel like play and includes a variety of housekeeping songs to sing while the work is done.This book taps into the childlike instinct to play house, and shines in its ability to entertain while learning.

Part Three contains paper dolls to cut out and color, fold-up three dimensional craftsman-style furniture, and plans to make a beautiful two-story doll house from cardboard.

Sing along with the Housekeeping Songs! Lyrics and piano music for the Mary Frances Housekeeping Songs have been posted on YouTube to accompany this book. Just search on the name of the song. To sing along with The Bed Making Song, go to: youtu.be/qQw-7xJBqb8 (copy and paste the link into your web browser)

The Mary Frances Housekeeper 100th Anniversary Edition has been lovingly restored, updated, and expanded to include a new introduction, larger format, enhanced graphics, improved doll house, and bonus patterns to make a child's dust cap and apron like the ones Mary Frances wore.

Scroll down to Customer Images to see samples of the Paper Dolls & Furniture that have been colored with colored pencils; a photo of a completed Doll House; and an Apron & Dust Cap made from patterns in the book.

Note: Color dolls & furniture are available from the publisher.