Big Susan

After six weeks of neglect, a family of dolls comes to life on Christmas Eve wondering if they will have a tree or gifts this year from the girl who normally takes such good care of them.

When Elizabeth Orton Jones was a child living in Highland Park, Illinois, her mother bought her a big second-hand dollhouse. Her grandmother made some of the rugs and furniture for it. Elizabeth grew up to be a famous artist and children's book author. She won the Caldecott Medal in 1945, at age 35, for her book Prayer for a Child. Two years later, she wrote Big Susan, featuring her dollhouse and dolls that inhabited it. The dolls, their furnishings and a replica dollhouse can be seen at the Highland Park Historical Society. For the last fifty years, Elizabeth's friends have called her by her nickname "Twig", after her book of the same name. She has written more than twenty books for children, and now lives in New Hampshire