Essays in the The Prettier Doll focus on the same local controversy: in 2001, a third-grade girl in Colorado submitted an experiment to the school science fair. She asked 30 adults and 30 fifth-graders which of two Barbie dolls was prettier. One doll was black, the other white, and each wore a different colored dress. All of the adults picked the Barbie in the purple dress, while nearly all of the fifth graders picked the white Barbie. When the student s experiment was banned an uproar resulted that spread to the national media. School board meetings and other public exchanges...