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Product Description
Review
“Powerful, haunting, and—just when you don’t think it’s possible—inspiring, too.” (Booklist (starred review) )
“An emotionally resonant surprise.” (Kirkus Reviews )
“Mesmerizing in its strange romantic intensity.” (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books )
“An emotionally resonant surprise.” (Kirkus Reviews )
“Mesmerizing in its strange romantic intensity.” (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books )
Book Description
In a little house from another time, with lace curtains in every window and paintings hung in gold doily frames, Wildflower, Rockstar, and Miss Selene live a warm and cozy life. They wear fancy dresses, bake play-dough cakes, and spend their days enjoying one another's company.
For the three dolls, life is small but good.
But life is not good for Madison Blackberry, the owner of the dollhouse. Her grandmother pays more attention to the dolls than to her. The dolls have one another, but she is lonely in her big, empty apartment.
Then one day, as things always do—even for dolls—everything changes.
This beautiful story from the acclaimed team of Francesca Lia Block, author of such novels as Weetzie Bat, and Barbara McClintock, author and illustrator of many picture books, including AdÈle & Simon, brings to life the power of love, family, and friendship.
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.1 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Haunting Tale, Jun 22 2010
By J. Prather - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: House Of Dolls (Hardcover)
Don't let appearances deceive you. This is not a book for very young readers. The themes handled in this short story about a young girl and her house full of dolls are not going to be understood by your average 7 or 8 year old, and they will no doubt find the book confusing and boring. The author attempts to cram everything but the kitchen sink into just a few pages and for the most part she succeeds. There is jealousy, pain, love, loss and war here. All handled with a deft touch and a gift for metaphor. This book just left me with an odd feeling. I find the ending less inspiring than puzzling. More Twilight Zone than warm and fuzzy. I can't really recommend it because I can't think of what kind of reader might enjoy this story. An older reader (12-14) will probably be able to gather all the meaning but is unlikely to pick it up because of it's appearance. It's an okay little tale, just be forewarned that it's not your typical doll story. These dolls might have small lives, but along with their owner, they worry about very large things. Very strange.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Still Thinking, Jun 17 2010
By Portianay "portianay" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: House Of Dolls (Hardcover)
While I agree with much of the Booklist Starred review for this one, and I do love the heavy issues dealt with so delicately, I have to wonder: for what age would I recommend this book? Booklist says that the dollhouse-story facet makes it work for younger children, but I disagree. This book requires more maturity of the reader; well, more than *I* had when I was in my dollhouse stage. Still, the issues raised are so pertinent, so valid, that this book must be read! I would recommend it for upper-elementary and tweens, with the caveat that, hey, this is NOT a little-kid book about dolls! Excellent handling of some difficult themes, such as jealousy; neglect; emotional pain AND physical pain; war; loneliness; separation; and finally, reconciliation.STUNNING illustrations, Ms. McClintock! So rich and detailed! I spent a long time over each one, and loved it.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lovely illustrations, but such a short book, May 22 2012
By Brittany Moore "Reading Nook" - Published on Amazon.com
There were three doll who all lived in a beautiful house. They were once treated grandly with new gowns and love from Madison Blackberry's grandmother. Madison does not really like the dolls having all the fun though, so she breaks them up in hopes that it will make her feel better.This is a hard book to set and age range for. The brevity and illustrations lend an air of juvenile fiction to it, but the subject matter is complex and subtle which makes me want to stick it in with older kids. On the surface this book is a beautifully illustrated story about a girl who has some magical dolls, but doesn't like they she is ignored and so takes it out on the dolls. You will definitely find Francesca Lia Block's flowing writing within the pages and they are magical. This is the story of a young girl who wants attention and can't figure out how to get it. I liked how most of the story took place from the doll's perspective. They were witnessing the changes around them and weren't sure of Madison's intention. Madison makes some of the characters go off to "war" as revenge for being so beautiful and happy together. This was a very quick read, it took me all of 10 minutes. The illustrations were lovely and the story was quite good, but $16.00 seems a bit steep. As I said in the beginning too, I'm not sure the intended age range of this novel either. It was a good read though, and if you are a Francesca Lia Block fan, make sure you check this one out.
First Line:
"Wildflower, Rockstar, and Miss Selene lived in a house from another time, a white house with a red roof and red shutters and a red door."
Favorite Line:
"The combination of boredom and jealousy is a dangerous thing."
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