Bibliographic Information
Martin, A. M. & Godwin L. (2000). The doll people. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.
Summary
Annabelle and the rest of the Doll family live in an antique dollhouse in eight-year-old Kate's room. When Kate and the rest of her family aren't around, Annabelle's family come to life, moving and talking just like real people. They pass their days in the dollhouse, trying to avoid Kate's little sister, Nora, and the family cat. Annabelle, however, longs for some adventure outside the dollhouse, but her parents warn her to stay put so that she doesn't disappear like her long-lost Aunt Sarah.
The Funcrafts arrive on the scene on Nora's birthday. They are a new plastic doll family with their own modern, plastic dollhouse. It has amenity's that Annabelle and the rest of the Doll family have never heard of- a barbeque grill, microwave, and even a computer. The Doll family is not only perplexed by the Funcrafts' house but also by their attitudes. They seem to live for fun and adventure and ignore the "Doll Code of Honor." Annabelle, drawn by her adventurous nature, begins a friendship with Tiffany Funcraft.
Tiffany encourages Annabelle to follow her instincts and leave the dollhouse to search for Aunt Sarah. Using clues from Aunt Sarah's journal, the two girls travel all the way downstairs, hoping to find her. Along the way they run into trouble a few times, but they finally succeed in rescuing Aunt Sarah and returning her to the rest of the Doll family.
Impressions
This book is a very enjoyable story with enough elements of both adventure and humor that it will entertain many types of readers. The plot is appealing- the idea of dolls and other toys coming to life has been used successfully in several books and movies because it is such an intriguing thought to children. I think the addition of the Funcraft family adds a fun side-story to the disappearance of Aunt Sarah, and the humorous antics caused by Nora and the family cat give it a light-hearted feel. The illustrations are a great addition to the story. They help the reader visualize the many differences between the Doll and Funcraft families. This is a good introduction to the fantasy genre.
Review
A lighthearted touch and a dash of drama make this a satisfying read. When Annabelle Doll finds her Aunt Sarah's journal, she hopes it offers a clue to the whereabouts of her aunt, who has been missing for 45 years. Annabelle is forever eight years old-the same age as Kate, the current owner of the Victorian dollhouse in which she and her family have lived for the past century. Their new neighbors, the all-plastic Funcrafts, who arrive for Kate's younger sister's birthday, are modern and brashly confident. Their pink plastic house has a barbecue, a computer, and a VCR. Tiffany, the Funcraft doll-girl, is just the right age to be a first real friend for Annabelle, and her daring spirit inspires the child's quest for her aunt. Determined and brave, she persuades her cautious parents to let her venture out of the dollhouse in search of her relative. Along with the usual perils of moving about in the real world, there is the risk of being seen by a human and succumbing to "doll state" or even worse, "permanent doll state." Selznick's illustrations are perfectly suited to the innocent charm of the dolls and do much to draw readers into their world. The delightful endpapers, which resemble pages from toy catalogs past and present, tell their own tale about the characters. A light and uncomplicated fantasy/adventure in the tradition of Rumer Godden's doll stories or even Pam Conrad's The Tub People (HarperCollins, 1989).
Review Reference
Meizner, K. (2000, November). [Review of The Doll People, by A. M. Martin & L.
Godwin]. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.
unt.edu:2114/ehost/detail/detail?sid=31d5a8e5-6884-481d-
8d89-9ddeb948641f%40sessionmgr4001&vid=28&hid=4113&bdata=
JnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3d#db=lls&AN=3746985
Library Use
~ I think this book would be a good tool to introduce the Fantasy genre to second or third graders. It would be a good read aloud over several visits to the library because it is lighthearted, funny, and doesn't have content that might be considered questionable.
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