Title: The Doll People
Author: Ann M. Martin & Laura Godwin
Illustrator: Brian Selznick
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
Year of Publication: 2000
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy
Horn Book or Kirkus Reviews Ratings: Horn Book - 3 and Kirkus Starred Review
Summary: A young girl, Kate, owns a dollhouse that comes alive at night. Annabelle Doll is an adventurous doll who wants to explore outside of the dollhouse. Her aunt has been missing for many years after she left the dollhouse to explore. Can Annabelle Doll find her aunt and return safely?
Summary of Professional Reviews: Both the Kirkus Reviews and the Horn Book Reviews seemed to notice the quality of the illustrations and the idea of the book being enjoyed by mostly girls. Kirkus noted that the "pictures have a shapely richness that captures not only the sturdy tubbiness of the modern dolls, but the fragile rigidity of the Victorian ones." This was a great visual for the readers to imagine the difference between the doll families. It seemed as though both reviewers thought girls would enjoy the story more than boys. Kirkus states that, "little girls are in for a marvelous treat in this delicious fantasy that captures many of the rituals, fancies, and habits of girlhood with sweetness and honesty, while imparting gentle lessons about risk, self-fulfillment, and dealing with difference."
Review by Lauren Miller: Although the reviewers felt that mostly girls would enjoy this book, I would have to disagree. I think there are other themes such as friendship, adventure, and inanimate objects coming alive that would intrigue boys. The illustrations were drawn in black and white and seemed to be drawn with different shading pencils. The images in the beginning show the small details of the inside of the doll house. The picture of the human hand playing in the doll house shows the size difference between the dolls and a human. The pictures throughout the book helped further explain certain scenes.
This book would be useful when teaching:
Author: Ann M. Martin & Laura Godwin
Illustrator: Brian Selznick
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
Year of Publication: 2000
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy
Horn Book or Kirkus Reviews Ratings: Horn Book - 3 and Kirkus Starred Review
Summary: A young girl, Kate, owns a dollhouse that comes alive at night. Annabelle Doll is an adventurous doll who wants to explore outside of the dollhouse. Her aunt has been missing for many years after she left the dollhouse to explore. Can Annabelle Doll find her aunt and return safely?
Summary of Professional Reviews: Both the Kirkus Reviews and the Horn Book Reviews seemed to notice the quality of the illustrations and the idea of the book being enjoyed by mostly girls. Kirkus noted that the "pictures have a shapely richness that captures not only the sturdy tubbiness of the modern dolls, but the fragile rigidity of the Victorian ones." This was a great visual for the readers to imagine the difference between the doll families. It seemed as though both reviewers thought girls would enjoy the story more than boys. Kirkus states that, "little girls are in for a marvelous treat in this delicious fantasy that captures many of the rituals, fancies, and habits of girlhood with sweetness and honesty, while imparting gentle lessons about risk, self-fulfillment, and dealing with difference."
Review by Lauren Miller: Although the reviewers felt that mostly girls would enjoy this book, I would have to disagree. I think there are other themes such as friendship, adventure, and inanimate objects coming alive that would intrigue boys. The illustrations were drawn in black and white and seemed to be drawn with different shading pencils. The images in the beginning show the small details of the inside of the doll house. The picture of the human hand playing in the doll house shows the size difference between the dolls and a human. The pictures throughout the book helped further explain certain scenes.
This book would be useful when teaching:
- about using venn diagrams to compare and contrast. The students could compare and contrast the two doll families in the story and share their information with the class.