The Last Doll/La Ultima Muneca — Diane Gonzales Bertrand

Toys today can walk and talk, run and jump, boom and vroom, glow and crow. So how is a classy doll in a room full of robots to compete?

The beautiful, but old-fashioned, Sarita sadly watches as her shelf-mates are purchased by eager shoppers and taken home. She looks out through the dust-covered plastic of her box, and she worries that she will be the last one. Every day she preens and puts her best porcelain face forward, but every evening, she remains on the shelf.

Finally one day, a tall man in a black mustache decides that she is perfect, and that she absolutely must be the last doll for his godchild, Teresa, on her quincenera. Sarita's alarm at still being last quickly shifts to pride when she realizes that sometimes people save the best for last.

Together, the heartwarming tale and the lovingly depicted illustrations offer the reader a glimpse into this special day in the life of the young girl Teresa, her godparents, her family, her friends, and, of course, Sarita, her ultima muneca.