The Doll People
The Doll Peopleby Ann M. Martin
Annabelle Doll is 8 years old--and has been for over 100 years. Nothing much has changed in the dollhouse during that time, except for the fact that 45 years ago, Annabelle's Auntie Sarah disappeared from the dollhouse without a trace. After all this time, restless Annabelle is becoming more and more curious about her aunt's fate. And when she discovers Auntie Sarah's old diary, she becomes positively driven. Her cautious family tries to discourage her, but Annabelle won't be stopped, even though she risks Permanent Doll State, in which she could turn into a regular, nonliving doll. And when the "Real Pink Plastic" Funcraft family moves in next door, the Doll family's world is turned upside down--in more ways than one! (goodreads.com)
About a year ago, The Doll People book showed up mysteriously in my sister's mailbox. No name. No note. Nothing. She at first assumed it was her best friend who happened to work at a bookstore, but no. It wasn't our parents, her in-laws, her sister in-law. It wasn't me. It wasn't friends of our parents or her in-laws. The book had just shown up all by itself.When my sister called me to ask if I knew about The Doll People I thought it was weird, because just a week or so before I had discovered these books in the MG section of Chapigo and had snapped a photo on my cell phone (which I no longer have, but I kept it for so long! Gah!) My sister and my 4-year old niece (who is a bookworm like me!) finished the book long ago and passed it on to me in the fall. I'm only now getting to it.Why? Well, mostly because I dreamed that I read the book and didn't realize that I hadn't actually read it in real life. Only when my sister told me last month that she discovered who left the book that I recalled I hadn't read it. (Turns out it was a neighbour a few houses down who happens to work in a school library and occasionally brings books over for my niece. However normally those books have some sort of library identification on them, this one had nothing. :))I picked up the book Friday evening and was finished in under two hours. This book is charming. It has art on almost every page and it's just an adorable story of 100 year old porcelain dolls who meet new neighbours - a plastic doll family that was recently bought. There is mystery (what happened to Auntie Sarah 45 years ago?) and friendship and danger (The Captain - a cat that likes to much on dolls!) and even a family quarrel.This book is just perfect for the younger half of the middle grade level, maybe a little older? The story telling is charming and the mystery is enough to keep even an adult guessing (where the heck IS Auntie Sarah!?).This neighbour of my sister's brought her the second Doll People book this year, which is how my sister found out where the first one came from. She's already offered to lend it to me and I am quite looking forward to it. I want to know what other sort of mischief Annabelle Doll and Tiffany Funcraft get into!Another awesome thing about this book is that Ann M. Martin is a co-author. I wasn't the biggest Babysitter's Club fan (my sister was) but I did enjoy them. It's sort of nice to know another generation of kids will also remember her name.Doll People
- The Doll People
- The Meanest Doll in the World
- The Runaway Dolls