From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8. Waugh's eccentric creations come back to life in this fifth volume about a family of rag dolls. Set in a contemporary British town (though the story and characters have an old-fashioned tone), the straightforward presentation makes this fanciful novel oddly believable. The plot follows the Mennyms's efforts to find a safe, secluded new home after being transported to an empty flat above a secondhand shop. The shop's owner, Daisy, believes that the Mennyms are alive but prefers not to have that belief confirmed. Appreciative of her care, the dolls remain still during her Wednesday afternoon visits, but spend the other six days of the week planning their move to a roomier, more remote location where they can be safe from human eyes. Details of the search for a suitable residence are interwoven with occasional forays into the town and interactions (of sorts) with Daisy and her nephew. The low-key action, serious tone, and sophisticated vocabulary combine to make this book most suitable for experienced readers with a taste for British fantasy. Multiple references to characters and events from previous titles suggest that it will be enjoyed most by those already familiar with the Mennyms's quirky personalities and past histories. Although it is not entirely clear, the ending suggests that this may be the final volume in the series. Readers will be reassured, then, to know that the Mennyms have a safe home in which to live happily ever after.?Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
The Mennyms, a family of life-size rag dolls, have always live with danger, ever since their maker Kate Penshaw instilled in them an indomitable life force. That life force carried them through perils of many kinds and helped them survive the greatest danger of all-the ever-present fear of discovery by the outside world. Then suddenly that life force left them, all except Soobie, the lone blue Mennym. Now, as the curtain prepares to rise for the fifth and final dramatic act in the series about the miraculous Mennyms, the rest of the family is waking up-but to what kind of life?
