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Doll People #1
The Doll People
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! Fans of The Borrowers and Stuart Little will love this exciting story of adventure and mystery. The relationship between the two doll families, one antique, one modern, is hilariously, wonderfully drawn. The Funcrafts are reckless and raucous, with fearlessness born of their unbreakable plastic parts. The Doll family is reserved and somewhat prim, even though they occasionally break into '60s tunes like "Respect" in their sing-alongs. Annabelle is a heroine with integrity and gumption. Ann Martin (The Babysitters Club series) and Laura Godwin create a witty, intriguing tale, illustrated with humor and a clever eye for detail by Brian Selznick. (Ages 7 to 11) --Emilie Coulter
288 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2000
About the author
Ann M. Martin
944 books2,888 followersAnn Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,542 reviews
August 10, 2012
Aww, I wish my kids liked this more than they did. I mean they did like it, definitely, but they didn’t like like it, you know? And this review is going to have to reflect their reaction to it, not mine, because personally I think this book is cute. But evidently they have different tastes than I do, and who am I to judge? (Just for the record, though, those little jerks wouldn’t know a good book if it bit ’em in the ass.)
The Doll People is the story of a bunch of anthropomorphic dolls who’ve lived with the same real-people family for several generations. The premise of this is adorable—for freaking real, if it were my house those dolls would have been put to curbside the minute my kids had outgrown them. Who the hell keeps dolls around that long?? So the dolls have taken a sort of oath to keep secret the fact that they are alive, and if they fail in that endeavor then they enter a frozen state of lifelessness called, appropriately, Doll State. The main doll character Annabelle has to solve the mystery of her aunt’s disappearance without getting caught in Doll State, or without being discovered and carried off by the household cat.
I think what ruined it for my kids, though, was my boring monotonous voice. If I could have put a little life into the reading it might have been improved for them, but I don’t enjoy reading aloud and I couldn’t always muster the vocal enthusiasm. I’m sorry kids but it’s all about me. This has been a miserably hot summer and Daddy is a little bitch when he overheats. Anyway, they can read it again when they get older if they want to. They are 5 and 7 now, and this book is probably targeted at a 7 to 9 year-old reading level. It is 250 pages intermittently dispersed with small black-and-white sketches, so most of the page is text, but it is of a large enough font that it should not be too intimidating for this age group. Personally, I wouldn’t take the advice of my kids. See what yours think.
The Doll People is the story of a bunch of anthropomorphic dolls who’ve lived with the same real-people family for several generations. The premise of this is adorable—for freaking real, if it were my house those dolls would have been put to curbside the minute my kids had outgrown them. Who the hell keeps dolls around that long?? So the dolls have taken a sort of oath to keep secret the fact that they are alive, and if they fail in that endeavor then they enter a frozen state of lifelessness called, appropriately, Doll State. The main doll character Annabelle has to solve the mystery of her aunt’s disappearance without getting caught in Doll State, or without being discovered and carried off by the household cat.
I think what ruined it for my kids, though, was my boring monotonous voice. If I could have put a little life into the reading it might have been improved for them, but I don’t enjoy reading aloud and I couldn’t always muster the vocal enthusiasm. I’m sorry kids but it’s all about me. This has been a miserably hot summer and Daddy is a little bitch when he overheats. Anyway, they can read it again when they get older if they want to. They are 5 and 7 now, and this book is probably targeted at a 7 to 9 year-old reading level. It is 250 pages intermittently dispersed with small black-and-white sketches, so most of the page is text, but it is of a large enough font that it should not be too intimidating for this age group. Personally, I wouldn’t take the advice of my kids. See what yours think.
July 6, 2021
as someone who spent a significant part of her childhood wanting to live in my dollhouse (it was rad as hell - it had, like, a piano that actually played and a modern kitchen and a minivan AND convertible. benefit of having 2 sisters: everyone buys little girls dollhouse furniture), this book about dolls really WORKED.
it's like toy story but girly. and i am not ashamed of liking girly things.
part of a series i'm doing where i review books i read a long time ago and then want to reread all of them, even though i already reread way too often.
it's like toy story but girly. and i am not ashamed of liking girly things.
part of a series i'm doing where i review books i read a long time ago and then want to reread all of them, even though i already reread way too often.
June 9, 2021
This is a middle grade book with a little mystery, and this is the first book in the Doll People series. This story is told by Annabelle Doll who is a young doll girl who is part of a 100 year old doll set. Annabelle wants to find her Auntie Sarah who disappeared from the dollhouse without a trace over 40 year ago. I love all the characters, and they where so fun and developed. I love this storyline was very fun to read, and I enjoyed reading this book. The small mystery parts was fun. This book made me think of the movie "Toy Story" a little bit.
January 19, 2013
If you are looking for a story that you can share with your chapter reader that doesn't include first loves, cliques or mean girls than this is the story for you. This was a sweet, delightful and clever story about adventure, friendship and mystery.
Annabelle is part of a doll set that is over one hundred years old. The set has been passed down from grandmother to daughter to granddaughter. Annabelle is curious about what happened to her Auntie Sarah who disappeared from the doll set over 50 years ago. No one in her family seems to remember what happened or is willing to talk about it. When a new doll family moves into the humans house (to appease the human's younger sister who's always playing her older sister's doll set), Annabelle is excited learn the new dolls have a young daughter, too, named Tiffany. Annabelle and Tiffany both team up to solve the mystery of what happened to Auntie Sarah.
[WARNING SPOILERS]. I loved the premise of bringing in a new doll family to keep the sisters from fighting over the current doll set. I liked that the new doll set was plastic, which enabled Tiffany to do more dangerous tasks on their adventure than Annabelle, who is made out of china and may break. I loved that Auntie Sarah was a Jane Goodall type character who disappearance happened because she was chronicling the wonders of the outside world: spiders, dust bunnies, etc. I loved that once Sarah was found safe and sound the dolls had to figure out how to let her be discovered by the family, so her reappearance wouldn't raise any suspicion. I loved the ever-present danger of The Captain, the humans cat, who would abscond with a doll at a moments notice, taking them to who knows where. Ann Martin and Laura Godwin weave all these elements together seamlessly to create a fantastic tale. Brian Selznicks drawings bring visual interest to the story and life to the characters. Very deserving of every single star.
Annabelle is part of a doll set that is over one hundred years old. The set has been passed down from grandmother to daughter to granddaughter. Annabelle is curious about what happened to her Auntie Sarah who disappeared from the doll set over 50 years ago. No one in her family seems to remember what happened or is willing to talk about it. When a new doll family moves into the humans house (to appease the human's younger sister who's always playing her older sister's doll set), Annabelle is excited learn the new dolls have a young daughter, too, named Tiffany. Annabelle and Tiffany both team up to solve the mystery of what happened to Auntie Sarah.
[WARNING SPOILERS]. I loved the premise of bringing in a new doll family to keep the sisters from fighting over the current doll set. I liked that the new doll set was plastic, which enabled Tiffany to do more dangerous tasks on their adventure than Annabelle, who is made out of china and may break. I loved that Auntie Sarah was a Jane Goodall type character who disappearance happened because she was chronicling the wonders of the outside world: spiders, dust bunnies, etc. I loved that once Sarah was found safe and sound the dolls had to figure out how to let her be discovered by the family, so her reappearance wouldn't raise any suspicion. I loved the ever-present danger of The Captain, the humans cat, who would abscond with a doll at a moments notice, taking them to who knows where. Ann Martin and Laura Godwin weave all these elements together seamlessly to create a fantastic tale. Brian Selznicks drawings bring visual interest to the story and life to the characters. Very deserving of every single star.
December 19, 2012
This is the first book in the Doll People series, but I unknowingly read them out of order, starting with the third book which is the only one my library had on audiobook. I loved it so much that I asked for the first one for my birthday ;-) I loved it, too.
Here is the story of Annabelle Doll and her family. Created over 100 years ago in England, the Doll family came to live with a little girl in America and has been passed down from mother to daughter over the years. Annabelle and her family now belong to eight-year-old Kate, whom Annabelle loves. They are also occasionally played with by little sister Nora, who has a special fondness for playing Rancher Family and bringing all sorts of dirty farm animals into the Doll's lovely home. Oh, the horror! ;-> Fortunately, Nora gets a new doll family for her birthday (the non-breakable, plastic, ultra-modern FunCraft family). This alleviates some of the Nora-stress for the Doll family and also provides them with some new doll acquaintances (I chuckled so much over the proper Doll family visiting the 21st century FunCrafts in their plastic overwhelmingly pink home!)
Still, all is not quite well in doll land as Auntie Sarah, Annabelle's aunt, has been missing for 45 years!!!! When Annabelle discovers Auntie Sarah's diary, she gains a new appreciation for the brave, adventuresome woman Auntie Sarah was (always sneaking off to explore new parts of the human's home, or to find a new species of spider to study) and a profound desire to set out to find her, much to the chagrin of her family who would much prefer to stay safely ensconced in the doll house, and for Annabelle to do the same.
Here, the story takes on an unexpected complexity as the family argues and tries to come to terms with what to do about the Auntie Sarah situation. Mama and Papa Doll want to protect Annabelle. Uncle Doll is confronted with his own feelings of cowardice as he was too afraid to look for his wife before. It's the first time Annabelle has ever seen adults disagree, and the first time she has felt truly compelled to do something independent of her family's wishes. Their fears are compounded by the looming threat not only of The Captain (the human's cat) but of *Permanent Doll State* if they break too many rules of dollkind. Annabelle has been in Doll State before--slipping into an immobile condition for a day if one of the humans sees her move--but PDS is much more serious, causing the doll to lose her freewill forever! This raises lots of great conversation points if parents read this with their children. What obligation do we have to rescue others if it puts our own lives in danger? What if the person left willingly, knowing the danger, versus was lost in an accident? To what extent should adults protect their children versus allowing their children the freedom to explore? Etc. Etc.
Despite the occasionally weightier issues, the story is quite breezy and fun on the whole with a wonderful sense of adventure and excitement, as well as cozier moments. The audiobook narration by Lynne Redgrave is absolutely wonderful--like ones very own (British and immensely talented) grandma reading you a bedtime story. I highly recommend these stories to children who enjoy dolls and cherish the possibility that their dolls might be real, as well as to adults who have never quite outgrown their love of dollhouses and the wonderful world of make-believe.
Here is the story of Annabelle Doll and her family. Created over 100 years ago in England, the Doll family came to live with a little girl in America and has been passed down from mother to daughter over the years. Annabelle and her family now belong to eight-year-old Kate, whom Annabelle loves. They are also occasionally played with by little sister Nora, who has a special fondness for playing Rancher Family and bringing all sorts of dirty farm animals into the Doll's lovely home. Oh, the horror! ;-> Fortunately, Nora gets a new doll family for her birthday (the non-breakable, plastic, ultra-modern FunCraft family). This alleviates some of the Nora-stress for the Doll family and also provides them with some new doll acquaintances (I chuckled so much over the proper Doll family visiting the 21st century FunCrafts in their plastic overwhelmingly pink home!)
Still, all is not quite well in doll land as Auntie Sarah, Annabelle's aunt, has been missing for 45 years!!!! When Annabelle discovers Auntie Sarah's diary, she gains a new appreciation for the brave, adventuresome woman Auntie Sarah was (always sneaking off to explore new parts of the human's home, or to find a new species of spider to study) and a profound desire to set out to find her, much to the chagrin of her family who would much prefer to stay safely ensconced in the doll house, and for Annabelle to do the same.
Here, the story takes on an unexpected complexity as the family argues and tries to come to terms with what to do about the Auntie Sarah situation. Mama and Papa Doll want to protect Annabelle. Uncle Doll is confronted with his own feelings of cowardice as he was too afraid to look for his wife before. It's the first time Annabelle has ever seen adults disagree, and the first time she has felt truly compelled to do something independent of her family's wishes. Their fears are compounded by the looming threat not only of The Captain (the human's cat) but of *Permanent Doll State* if they break too many rules of dollkind. Annabelle has been in Doll State before--slipping into an immobile condition for a day if one of the humans sees her move--but PDS is much more serious, causing the doll to lose her freewill forever! This raises lots of great conversation points if parents read this with their children. What obligation do we have to rescue others if it puts our own lives in danger? What if the person left willingly, knowing the danger, versus was lost in an accident? To what extent should adults protect their children versus allowing their children the freedom to explore? Etc. Etc.
Despite the occasionally weightier issues, the story is quite breezy and fun on the whole with a wonderful sense of adventure and excitement, as well as cozier moments. The audiobook narration by Lynne Redgrave is absolutely wonderful--like ones very own (British and immensely talented) grandma reading you a bedtime story. I highly recommend these stories to children who enjoy dolls and cherish the possibility that their dolls might be real, as well as to adults who have never quite outgrown their love of dollhouses and the wonderful world of make-believe.
Read
April 24, 2021urgh I love this book so much. "The Doll People" was one of the first chapter books I ever read while in 2'nd grade, and it helped spark my love for reading. this novel is so nostalgic for me, and I wish that my library had the ebook version of this and not the audiobook, but I mean I'll live. let me just be grateful that I get to relive this experience again even though I have other books to read we'll read this again for the nostalgia because that makes sense. I'm seriously considering buying this just so my sister can have the opportunity to enjoy this as much as I did. I'll rate this once I read this again so I can have a clear idea of what this book is about.
December 25, 2010
OMG BEST BOOK IN THE WORLD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 8, 2021
YAAAAAAAAAA..
What do you mean for ages 7 to 11?
This was a great book, family saga, missing relatives, death-defying feats, animal predators, new neighbors, adventure, family secrets, and the list goes on and on! I think I am going to coin a new genre.. the Grandma genre.
I loved sweet little Annabell, who despite being 8 years old has been for 0ver 100 years! She lives in a small neighborhood on a shelf with her family, but longs to answer her dreams of adventure. How much she wants to have an adventure, something new and exciting! But there really isn't much when you live in a dollhouse because you are a doll. I always knew that dolls are alive when you aren't looking so the story intrigued me and flirted with my inner, inner child.
The cast of characters is so adorable, Mamma Doll and Mom Funcraft so very different but so much alike. Mamma Doll is made of china and Mom Funcraft snap-together plastic and owns a microwave! The difference between the two is told so cutely. R E S P E C T..... give it to me!
A delightful book for children and adults... it was a 5 star read for me!
5 stars
Happy Reading!
What do you mean for ages 7 to 11?
This was a great book, family saga, missing relatives, death-defying feats, animal predators, new neighbors, adventure, family secrets, and the list goes on and on! I think I am going to coin a new genre.. the Grandma genre.
I loved sweet little Annabell, who despite being 8 years old has been for 0ver 100 years! She lives in a small neighborhood on a shelf with her family, but longs to answer her dreams of adventure. How much she wants to have an adventure, something new and exciting! But there really isn't much when you live in a dollhouse because you are a doll. I always knew that dolls are alive when you aren't looking so the story intrigued me and flirted with my inner, inner child.
The cast of characters is so adorable, Mamma Doll and Mom Funcraft so very different but so much alike. Mamma Doll is made of china and Mom Funcraft snap-together plastic and owns a microwave! The difference between the two is told so cutely. R E S P E C T..... give it to me!
A delightful book for children and adults... it was a 5 star read for me!
5 stars
Happy Reading!
December 15, 2009
Although this book is a favorite on my bookshelves, many of my eighth grade girls seems reluctant to pick it up (by fourteen, you apparently should be over dolls, in the eyes of my students) and enthralled within the first few pages. The story about is about an old porcelain doll family who is bombarded with the arrival of a new plastic doll family, who do not respect their "dated" ways of life and The Doll Code of Honor.
This brought to my mind memories of my mom forcing her old Chrissy doll (I think her name was) on me. I hated the way her eyes were painted on and the funny yarn-looking hair she had. I found myself sidetracked often thinking about my doll days and how much imaginative energy goes into playing with these toys.
Like so many other personified toy stories, I feel that one of the reasons this book appealed to me so much was my constant connection back to creating interactions with my own dolls. Our textbook relates this idea to the concept that if we are making our toys talk like people, as readers, we are interested in seeing these toys talk on their own (without our direction). I compare it to the curiosity we all have about what our toys our doing when we are not around; a theme also present in books like Corduroy and Toy Story.
I also frequently found myself lost in Brian Selznick's illustrations. The creative perspectives of the dolls in action keep the reader moving throughout the story and are very appealing to interested eyes. I must say that the illustrations make the text far less intimidating to struggling readers, without compromising the quality of the story in the book.
This brought to my mind memories of my mom forcing her old Chrissy doll (I think her name was) on me. I hated the way her eyes were painted on and the funny yarn-looking hair she had. I found myself sidetracked often thinking about my doll days and how much imaginative energy goes into playing with these toys.
Like so many other personified toy stories, I feel that one of the reasons this book appealed to me so much was my constant connection back to creating interactions with my own dolls. Our textbook relates this idea to the concept that if we are making our toys talk like people, as readers, we are interested in seeing these toys talk on their own (without our direction). I compare it to the curiosity we all have about what our toys our doing when we are not around; a theme also present in books like Corduroy and Toy Story.
I also frequently found myself lost in Brian Selznick's illustrations. The creative perspectives of the dolls in action keep the reader moving throughout the story and are very appealing to interested eyes. I must say that the illustrations make the text far less intimidating to struggling readers, without compromising the quality of the story in the book.
February 27, 2012
If you are looking for something in depth and intellectual, this isn't the book for you, but if you are weary, tired and simply wanting something smooth, delightfully creative, imaginative and unique, then by all means, take a journey through doll land where magic occurs.
A porcelain family of dolls have inhabited an antique doll house for four generations. They come alive during the day when the house is empty and at night when the house is quiet.
There are funny adventures, both inside the doll house where the 100 year old family bangs away at a old fashioned wooden piano singing Aretha Franklin's Respect sockittome. sockitome, sockitome and outside the doll house where they hesitantly wander down the dark halls, sneaking under the sofa, hiding from the family cat who is ever lurking to catch them.
The book is uniquely illustrated by Brian Selznick and would not be as wondrous without the stunning creative art work.
When the young daughter of the real life people family receives a gift, the 100 year old doll family meet a brand new, modern, adventurous plastic bunch of characters who are not as rigid, up tight or breakable.
The author delightfully intertwines the personalities and the cultural differences of the older and modern doll family members.
I liked this book for many reasons, primarily for the imaginative wonderment of it all.
A porcelain family of dolls have inhabited an antique doll house for four generations. They come alive during the day when the house is empty and at night when the house is quiet.
There are funny adventures, both inside the doll house where the 100 year old family bangs away at a old fashioned wooden piano singing Aretha Franklin's Respect sockittome. sockitome, sockitome and outside the doll house where they hesitantly wander down the dark halls, sneaking under the sofa, hiding from the family cat who is ever lurking to catch them.
The book is uniquely illustrated by Brian Selznick and would not be as wondrous without the stunning creative art work.
When the young daughter of the real life people family receives a gift, the 100 year old doll family meet a brand new, modern, adventurous plastic bunch of characters who are not as rigid, up tight or breakable.
The author delightfully intertwines the personalities and the cultural differences of the older and modern doll family members.
I liked this book for many reasons, primarily for the imaginative wonderment of it all.
March 30, 2016
Love, love, loved this book when I was a bit younger. Would quickly recommend it to anyone asking. :)
March 6, 2022
I so enjoyed revisiting this book that I loved as a child! It’s stood the test of time well.
April 1, 2020
"What surprised me was when Kate said, "Do you ever think dolls are alive?"" -Cadee, age 7
December 2, 2012
This book is one of my favorites from when I was younger. I love the mystery of trying to find Auntie Sarah and all of the adventures that Annabell goes on to find her aunt and get around the house. Annabell is a doll, who has been passed down in the same family for generations. Fifty years ago, Auntie Sarah disappeared and Annabell's doll family has never found out where she disappeared to. When another doll family moves in, Annabell befriends the daughter and they decide that Annabell needs to solve the mystery of her aunt's disappearance.
This book is great for grades 3-5. It has a lot of different elements to it, which is why I would recommend it to an older grade level. The illustrations on the cover, inside the cover and inside the book are fun. The cover is the only colored illustration but it really captures the historic value of Annabell and her family as well as the modern doll family. Inside the cover there are ads from the early 1900's of the doll house and family members of Annabell's doll family, in the back is the same for the modern family. This really adds value to the book as an introduction and something fun for the reader to have in addition to the story.
This book is great for grades 3-5. It has a lot of different elements to it, which is why I would recommend it to an older grade level. The illustrations on the cover, inside the cover and inside the book are fun. The cover is the only colored illustration but it really captures the historic value of Annabell and her family as well as the modern doll family. Inside the cover there are ads from the early 1900's of the doll house and family members of Annabell's doll family, in the back is the same for the modern family. This really adds value to the book as an introduction and something fun for the reader to have in addition to the story.
March 30, 2009
We really liked this, but were sort of weirded out by it. Plus, an ongoing weird thing would happen where, toys that make music would go on mysteriously in the middle of the night. Throughout my daughter's childhood... it would happen now and then. This one ball with knob-like things sticking out that was really loud, and this one horse with a purple mane.. So, given that, we were perhaps a little bit sensitive. Anyway, great book, the sequel as well. A bit dark, but still..
August 9, 2020
Read this aloud with my 9 year old and we loved it! It is full of adventure and mysteries that keep you guessing what will happen next. The characters are easy to relate to and add to the stories charm. I would recommend reading the book over doing an audio because Brian Selnick's illustrations are great!
July 15, 2017
I've read this book five times! I love it!👍❤️
January 24, 2020
I remember loving this book as a child. I just finished reading it to my first graders and they were hanging on every word 💛
May 30, 2023
Feels like 2007 to me!
Greta Gerwig wake UP!
When you enter the stop-motion animation phase of your career...the people are waiting.
Greta Gerwig wake UP!
When you enter the stop-motion animation phase of your career...the people are waiting.
July 17, 2024
A cute book that I’m sure is followed by more cute books, but this is definitely a read to yourself kind of story, not aloud before bed. The flow is much too slow to be read aloud and the kids became disinterested in parts.
3.5 stars.
3.5 stars.
August 31, 2017
My 8yo daughter loves these books and insisted I read this, so I really can't rate it any lower, right?
Read
April 17, 2021as freaky as it was 15 yrs ago
May 13, 2023
I just remembered this book exists. It was the best book I read in elementary school
June 28, 2021
Reread this book as part of my journey to reread my childhood favorites. It remains a delightful read.
October 23, 2012
SPOILER ALERT
Written by Ann M. Martin & Laura Godwin
Pictures by Brian Selznick
There is a house of dolls, but not just any kind of dolls they are alive. Humans don’t know this but when they are away they can talk, walk, read and do just about anything that you could think of. There is one doll who has a secret that no one else knows, and her name is Annabelle. She has 7 people in her family, one is a nanny. Her aunt and uncle live with her and her family.
Auntie Sarah has been missing for many years and Annabelle has always wanted to find out what happened to her. One day when they had time to wonder about their doll house Annabelle found that there was a hidden book in the book shelf. It was Auntie Sarah’s journal. This could lead to where Auntie Sarah disappeared to Annabelle thought. She didn’t tell anyone in her family that she had found her journal. when Annabelle was alone she would read it.
Annabelle asked Uncle doll to come with her to find Auntie Sarah. So one night they sent out to find her. They came upon a box of other dolls and they were the Funcrafts. They became friends with them. They tried again to find Auntie Sarah but they had no success. Annabelle kept reading through the journal and she found out that Auntie Sarah went on an adventure to the attic and never returned. They went searching there, but the first time they could not find her but the second time they did. Their family was finally back together again after so many years of being apart.
This book was interesting and you just wanted to find out if they found Auntie Sarah. I would recommend this book to about 9 or 10 year olds. It was an interesting book I have never really read anything like it. i think that the genera of this book was suspense. This book tried to get you to believe that dolls were really alive you just didn’t know. I didn’t think that the author left anything hanging in the book that I noticed. It was a fast read I finished it in about two and a half hours
This was a good book and I would recommend to read it if you are interested in fiction/suspense books.
Written by Ann M. Martin & Laura Godwin
Pictures by Brian Selznick
There is a house of dolls, but not just any kind of dolls they are alive. Humans don’t know this but when they are away they can talk, walk, read and do just about anything that you could think of. There is one doll who has a secret that no one else knows, and her name is Annabelle. She has 7 people in her family, one is a nanny. Her aunt and uncle live with her and her family.
Auntie Sarah has been missing for many years and Annabelle has always wanted to find out what happened to her. One day when they had time to wonder about their doll house Annabelle found that there was a hidden book in the book shelf. It was Auntie Sarah’s journal. This could lead to where Auntie Sarah disappeared to Annabelle thought. She didn’t tell anyone in her family that she had found her journal. when Annabelle was alone she would read it.
Annabelle asked Uncle doll to come with her to find Auntie Sarah. So one night they sent out to find her. They came upon a box of other dolls and they were the Funcrafts. They became friends with them. They tried again to find Auntie Sarah but they had no success. Annabelle kept reading through the journal and she found out that Auntie Sarah went on an adventure to the attic and never returned. They went searching there, but the first time they could not find her but the second time they did. Their family was finally back together again after so many years of being apart.
This book was interesting and you just wanted to find out if they found Auntie Sarah. I would recommend this book to about 9 or 10 year olds. It was an interesting book I have never really read anything like it. i think that the genera of this book was suspense. This book tried to get you to believe that dolls were really alive you just didn’t know. I didn’t think that the author left anything hanging in the book that I noticed. It was a fast read I finished it in about two and a half hours
This was a good book and I would recommend to read it if you are interested in fiction/suspense books.
August 5, 2024
Read this with my oldest daughter. Adding it to my reading challenge because…it’s 288 pages and I read the whole thing out loud with her 😂💗
She absolutely loved it- and I enjoyed it too. Cutest story of dolls that are “alive”—so fun!
She absolutely loved it- and I enjoyed it too. Cutest story of dolls that are “alive”—so fun!
May 9, 2012
Rating:
I give this book 5 stars because it is a-ma-zing. It tells me that dolls are people too, st the beginnig when Mr. Judd gave me this book, I thought it was for babies! But no way, it is amazing! It is a gorgeous story.
Summary:
At Kate's room lied a 100 year old doll house which loved a very curous little girl, Annabelle. She and her family were very scared of humans because they did not want to enter Permanent Doll State, which is when a doll shows herself to a human and then the doll dies and have no life. The family was Papa, Mama, Uncle Doll, Nanny, Baby Betsy, Bobby, Auntie Sarah, and Anabelle. But, a long time ago a misfortune happened. Auntie Sarah disappeared, and no one ever looked for her. That is when, one day Anabelle was looking through the shelves, and sehe found a very dusty and old journal, and it was her aunt's! Anabelle wanted it to make it secret, whnes she read it she learned a bunch of stuff from her aunt that no one knew, at least, she thought no one knew. One day, when Anabelle thgought she had read enough, she decided to explore the Human's house to see if they find Auntie Sarah, but they did not find her, they found some other dolls! She met a girl doll called Tiffany, she by the time became Anabelle's BFF and they created a detective group called SELMP. They looked and looked, will this treacherous mission will be accomplished? Well it is up to you to know!
I give this book 5 stars because it is a-ma-zing. It tells me that dolls are people too, st the beginnig when Mr. Judd gave me this book, I thought it was for babies! But no way, it is amazing! It is a gorgeous story.
Summary:
At Kate's room lied a 100 year old doll house which loved a very curous little girl, Annabelle. She and her family were very scared of humans because they did not want to enter Permanent Doll State, which is when a doll shows herself to a human and then the doll dies and have no life. The family was Papa, Mama, Uncle Doll, Nanny, Baby Betsy, Bobby, Auntie Sarah, and Anabelle. But, a long time ago a misfortune happened. Auntie Sarah disappeared, and no one ever looked for her. That is when, one day Anabelle was looking through the shelves, and sehe found a very dusty and old journal, and it was her aunt's! Anabelle wanted it to make it secret, whnes she read it she learned a bunch of stuff from her aunt that no one knew, at least, she thought no one knew. One day, when Anabelle thgought she had read enough, she decided to explore the Human's house to see if they find Auntie Sarah, but they did not find her, they found some other dolls! She met a girl doll called Tiffany, she by the time became Anabelle's BFF and they created a detective group called SELMP. They looked and looked, will this treacherous mission will be accomplished? Well it is up to you to know!
August 12, 2023
A cute story about an an eight year old doll, longing for adventure and thrills.
October 21, 2009
Doll people is a fantastic book that explores the adventures of Annabelle the doll and her secret life. Annabelle keeps us in suspense as she dabbles in some dangerous business and threatens her own "permanent doll state."
I literally could not put this put down as I read it. I have always been a huge fan of Ann Martin, but this collaboratively written novel is an excellent new tale. It enlightened me to a new style of writing that I had never read from Ann Martin before (I read the whole babysitters series). I loved the clever use of personified toys and feel like so many of my girls would really enjoy reading it. After the movie Toy Story, I think children's imaginations were heightened even more than before to the idea of toys leading a secret life. I always loved dolls as a child and feel like this book. would have really intrigued me.
ages 7-10
I literally could not put this put down as I read it. I have always been a huge fan of Ann Martin, but this collaboratively written novel is an excellent new tale. It enlightened me to a new style of writing that I had never read from Ann Martin before (I read the whole babysitters series). I loved the clever use of personified toys and feel like so many of my girls would really enjoy reading it. After the movie Toy Story, I think children's imaginations were heightened even more than before to the idea of toys leading a secret life. I always loved dolls as a child and feel like this book. would have really intrigued me.
ages 7-10
October 23, 2021
This book was all the rage in fifth grade and I’m pretty sure every girl who was brave enough to ask her parents for money (not me) bought a copy at the scholastic book fair. The copy in the school library had a waitlist a mile long, so poor little Emily never got a chance to read it until at age 26 she found it in the Half Price Books clearance section for a dollar (which I’m pretty sure is like 19 dollars cheaper than what they were selling it for at the book fair). Anyway, the inner 11 year old in me had high hopes for this book, but I don’t think even at 11 I would’ve enjoyed it too much. The plot was slooowww and often repetitive and dull…but at least the pictures were cool! Thanks for that, Brian!
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