The Real True Dulcie Campbell

by Cynthia DeFelice
Pictures by R.W. Alley
© 2002

A Note from the Author

Children often fantasize about what it would be like to be someone else. Dulcie, who lives on a farm and has the job of mucking out the chicken coop, can’t believe that this is the life she was born for. Surely she is truly a princess. Her real mother must be an elegant queen, her real father a stately king. The boy running around with her underpants on his head can’t possibly be her real brother, and the dog that just rolled in a dead opossum can’t be her real dog, can it?

R.W. Alley’s warm, funny illustrations are everything I could have hoped for!

Reviews

“DeFelice hits the mark with this tale of wishful identity, amiably chronicled in Alley’s warm portrait of a hardworking family. A smartly told story with a gentle moral.” – Publishers Weekly, July 15, 2002

“The story radiates good humor as well as sympathy for the imaginative Dulcie. In Alley’s lively, appealing watercolor paintings, the many nuances of facial expression and body language underscore the wit and humanity of the text. Fun for reading aloud.” – Booklist, August 2002

“A search for identity and a dose of reality come in a pleasing package. Alley’s illustrations in summer colors do justice to the down-home aspects of the family farm and kitchen as well as Dulcie’s silken-and-gilt royal musings and some pretty neat ogres.” – Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2002