The Doll People

Something about The Doll People has my 8 year old enthralled. She has re-read it more than a dozen times. She carries it around as her comfort object since she's "too big for a stuffie, mama!" My opinion of why she loves it comes down to it is a safe adventure for her. The dolls take on all the risks and it's obviously not real since dolls aren't alive. In this world of war, collapsed financial markets, missing children and near 24/7 bombardment of bad news I find comfort in knowing she has her own safe adventure to follow with nary a risk, lest she get a paper cut.

This book is a hoot! Because of the subject matter, it will inevitably be a "girl's book," but girls will indeed enjoy the story of the heroine, Annabelle, the first in her family to have the courage, upon finding a secret journal, to go in search of her lost Aunt Sarah. Meanwhile, the rest of the one hundred-year-old doll family escape the discomfort of reality by engaging in sing-alongs of sixties' tunes, such as "RESPECT," and "Natural Woman." Perhaps the appealing illustrations carry the book, but the subtle humor in the storyline certainly keep it going.

Worthwhile read; however, I would have liked to have seen the story have more depth.

It's a fun book, but it didn't really grab me like some stories do.

I plan to read the next in the series.

Brian Selznick's art is first-class. The story is mostly captivating and, barring a few slow patches, moves along and has some classic elements of mystery, restless adventure, adaptation to change, and enough suspense to keep the pages turning.

However -- there are a few feminist rocks thrown in the soup. The only adventurers and leaders of whom the protagonist is (made) aware are solely women. This is strange, for Annabelle Doll works her way into adventure just fine without needing American Heroines for inspiration. Also, parental figures, men, and brothers are either ultimately irrelevant or feckless. Non-doll characters are all girls or women -- except for the major source of trouble, namely a male cat.

But for all that, it's a good book for seven-year old girls at least.

This was an awesome book. I started reading it at the end of the school year, so I was was really busy, but after school was over I finished it really fast. A lot of times when I read a book I find myself seeing how long the next chapter is, and all of these were a reasonable length, so I wanted to read more. It was really hard to put down. The beginning was a little slow, but not for long. Still, it was one of the best books I've ever read.

The Doll People is a charming story about a family of dolls. It's a fanciful story that is little bit The Borrowers and a little bit Toy Story. What little girl hasn't wondered what her doll do at night? The adventures of the little china doll Anabelle and her family, a group of dolls made in the 1800s and their neighbors, a family of modern plastic dolls is a lovely story. I highly recomend it and can't wait for the next instalment.

The Doll People is a terrific book for girls. The book is about a girl doll named Annabelle and her family. They were made more than one hundred years ago. It's not that she doesn't like her family, but she needs a doll friend. Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin describe everything so well you might think your dolls are real after all. The Doll People is such a great book you won't want to set it down. Every girl who likes dolls and mystery should read this book to know how Annabelle finally gets a friend.

We absolutely adored this book! I bought this for my 9 year old daughter, who just loved it. She insisted that I read it next, and she promised me that I would love it, too. I told her that I would read it, thinking to myself that I would just kind of skim through it to get the general idea, but I found myself reading every word! I read it in two evenings and I must say... I thoroughly enjoyed it! The illustrations were absolutely delightful and so full of little details. I plan to give many copies of this book as birthday gifts for years to come...

P.S. We bought The Meanest Doll in the World and The Runaway Dolls too. I am now waiting for my daughter to finish TMDITW so I can have my turn!

Except Annabelle Doll is annoying. Tiffany is the best friend ever to put up with Annabelle's whining and crying and complaining about her life and never getting home...gosh i wanted Tiffany to scream "Shut up!" the entire time.

Besides the annoyance towards the main character, "The Doll People" is a nice little book that is a quick read. the plot if shaky and shifts from finding Auntie Sarah to being Tiffany's best friend then back to Auntie Sarah, overall your satisfied and wanting more!

I enjoyed The Doll People because the characters are well described. Their dresses are frayed and their skin is a bit grayer. The book grabs your attention so that you can't put it down because of the things that Godwin and Martin have the characters do. Once Uncle Doll was so mad, he moved into the Barbie Dream Car. The Doll People is such an enjoyable book.

I really enjoyed reading The Doll People. It was a sensational novel with a family of dolls who reside in a little girl's doll house. They go searching for their Auntie Sara throught the house, because about 100 years ago she went missing. Soon,a new doll family moves in and helps them search and become their friends. I believe this book is a great book for children grades

3-5.

Is there a child who hasn't wondered whether their toys come alive in the middle of the night? Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin have written a delightful fantasy, both humorous and tender, in which two sets of doll-house dolls, one set made in England 100 years ago and the other made in Cleveland last week, come to life and we follow Anabelle Doll as she searches for the lost-for-forty-five-years Auntie Doll and makes a friend. Accompanied by wonderful illustrations and end-papers that mustn't be missed; by the time you've finished reading, you'll be convinced that toys do come alive at night. A real charmer!

I liked this book because the dolls are so ambicious to find their auntie Sarah that they sometimes go into doll state, a condition where they turn into regular dolls. That's right, they're alive. But, late one night, the dolls meet a friendly group of fun-crafts, another group of dolls. Its really awesome because it makes you wonder what will happen next. My favorite part was when annebelle doll finds her way back to the house after being thrown around the house. I totally recommend this book to anyone who likes mysterious books.

I really liked this book because it was engaging, funny and was very well written. It was one of the first books that I sat down and read for hours. It was too good to stop reading. I read it from when I got it until I had to go to bed. Then I read in the morning until I finished it.

I purchased this off of recommendation for my 8 year old daughter as a Christmas gift. We read this and the sequel "The Meanest Doll in the World" together. I enjoyed the story as much as she did! The illustrations are fantastic too. These books will be passed down to future generations for sure. I intend to give them as gifts too. Off to buy book #3. Thank you Ms. Martin and Ms. Godwin and Mr. Selznick for creating a lifelong memory for my daughter and I.

I finished reading the entire Doll People series with my daughter last year and frequently check the Internet for the next installment. This is one of the best books that I have read with my daughter, who is now 7. The story telling is wonderful, the comparison between 1900's and modern day through the clothing, furniture, customs, etc. of the dolls is facinating for both of us. There were laugh-out-loud sections as well. The only negative thing that I have to say is that we finished it and have no idea when or if there will be another.

This is another great work from Ann M. Martin, as well as another collaboration. In it, young Annabel Doll joins up with new girl Tiffany to save Annabel's aunt, who has been missing for years! The story is fun and keeps you guessing and going along, and the pictures by Brian Selznick are wonderful. Even though this book is generally for the younger people, I enjoyed it when I was thirteen, and others will too.

I think Martin is a fabulous storyteller. My daughter especially has enjoyed reading about the doll's adventures. The images Selznick illustrated are so full of play and childlike imagination, you feel like you have stepped right into this doll world. As both an author and illustrator for children's books, I can truly appreciate the craftmanship that went into this wonderful book. Thank you both for keeping this genre alive!

Ann Martin did a really good job writing The Doll People. I loved how the dolls came to life and how the dolls go on adventures. I also thought it was cool how in the sequel they looked for the aunt. I hope she writes another book.

The story is just average. The dolls, who are supposedly alive, have no real spark and they fail to capture the reader's heart or emotions. However, the cover art, the illustrations on the inside covers, and the artwork throughout the story are delightful! Buy it for the art. For storyline, stick with The Indian in the Cupboard, The Castle in the Attic, and The Mennyms - they take a similar premise and present it with humor, suspense, and real storytelling skill.

This is a wonderful book. The premise is really cute and interesting. I just finished reading it with my 5-year old daughter, and we're going out to buy the next book in the series. It was totally enjoyable for both of us, and we both looked forward to bedtime the entire time we were reading it.

Ann M. Martin, The Doll People (Hyperion, 2000)

Baby-Sitters' Club creator Ann M. Martin gives us a tale about living dolls (and an implication that many, if not most, dolls are alive) in The Doll People. While I am an unabashed fan of Martin's (the BSC books were guilty pleasures for me all through my days working in bookstores), and I devoured this the way I do any Martin book I happen across, I have to say that the idea of living dolls is just damn creepy. Did you ever see the Talky Tina episode of Twilight Zone with Telly Savalas, or Trilogy of Terror, with Karen Black and the crazy voodoo doll chasing her around. I could go on forever with examples (James Wan's underrated Dead Silence from a few years ago being the most recent example of the genre I can think of). Living dolls scare people. Martin's already got two strikes against her going into this thing. And then you hand us a plot where the dolls have to go looking for one of their number who has been lost for forty-five years? Maybe kids don't have this fear the same way adults do, but man, I guarantee you that if you're over eighteen you're going to have nightmares about this book.

The Doll family have been living in the same house since the late nineteenth century, and have seen generations of humans. While the dolls are alive, they must pretend they're not when humans are around, at the risk of going into doll state (where they really are lifeless dolls) for twenty-four hours. There is, legendarily, something called permanent doll state as well (but Annabelle, our main character, doubts it really exists). The biggest event of their existences had been the disappearing of Aunt Sarah back in the fifties, but Aunt Sally was a restless soul, always sneaking out of the dollhouse to go study spiders. Sally's husband, Uncle Doll, wasn't thrilled with it, but like the rest of the Doll family, he was too scared of discovery (and permanent doll state) to do anything about it. That's also why no one else has left the house without being carried by one of the humans since Aunt Sarah went missing. Things start getting shaken up when Annabelle discovers Aunt Sarah's journal. Reading it makes her own sense of restlessness rear its ugly head. Then the Funcrafts, a new doll family, move in next door. They have a daughter, Tiffany, just about Annabelle's age, and the two of them get restless together. They decide to go find Aunt Sarah, much to the consternation of the Dolls, and most of the book details their adventures while doing so (as well as some amusing confrontations with the family cat).

I had no idea, until looking up a few things just now, that this is actually the first book in a series. A whole series of books about dolls that get up and move around when humans aren't looking. Let that sink into your head for a while. I appreciate what Martin is trying to do here, and the book has all the hallmarks of Martin's writing, both good (excellent characterization) and bad (stock after-school-special plots), but I just can't get past the moving-doll thing. They kill you in your sleep, you know. ***

I was wandering through Borders, with my family when my eyes cought on this book, The Doll People. I decided to buy it. I needed something to entertain me because we were leaving tommorrow for a seven hour plane trip to Idaho. And boy did it keep me entertained!! I never knew dolls could be to interesting! I was glued to it the whole plane trip!! It made it to my list of The Top Ten Best Books Read By Patricia. If you have the chance to read, you should.

I read this book because my friend recommeded it to me and I though it sounded good. I was right! This is now one of my favorite books! It is about a girl doll named Annabel whos Aunt has gone missing. One day a new doll family moves in and there is a girl doll Annabel's age. Annabel and her new friend Tiffany are taking a big risk to go out of their houses to find Auntie Sarah! But watch out for the Captain(cat)!

This book is about two brave dolls, named Tiffany Funcraft and Annabelle Doll, going on exciting adventures. sometimes they go to the attic or downstairs to the living room of their owners' house. They do this because they are looking for Annabelle's Auntie Sarah, who has been missing for 45 years. I love this book! I liked the pictures because they matched the story. If you have a child, you should get this book, it si very good.

This book is about two brave dolls, named Tiffany Funcraft and Annabelle Doll, going on exciting adventures. sometimes they go to the attic or downstairs to the living room of their owners' house. They do this because they are looking for Annabelle's Auntie Sarah, who has been missing for 45 years. I love this book! I liked the pictures because they matched the story. If you have a child, you should get this book, it si very good.

This book will knock your socks off! When I started reading it I couldn't put it down. I would beg my mom to let me read one page more and after I read that page I would beg to read another. This book is my all time favorite!

I think it is a wonderful story. It allows children to venture into that world of imagination. We discussed in the class the way children really do believe at some point in their childhood that there toys are alive! What a wonderful way to keep that belief alive, even as an adult I found the story delightful!

What a wonderful book!! A trusted librarian suggested this book and she couldn't have been more correct. My daughter and her friend loved it!! Thank you for giving them a book they can get excited about.

What a wonderful book for children! I love to watch my second grade class as I read this story and they learn how the dolls come to life when humans are not watching. This book is not just for girls...boys will love it just as much!