Once upon a time, the dolls of Racketty-Packetty House - Ridikilis, Meg, Peg, Kilmanskeg, and Peter Piper - lived in a beautiful dollhouse and had elegant names to suit their lovely clothes and handsome faces. But then Cynthia received Tidy Castle as a gift, and she hid Racketty-Packetty House out of sight behind her door and quite forgot about it. Despite being forgotten and neglected, however, the dolls of Racketty-Packetty House remain cheerful, enjoying observing the goings-on at the neighboring castle and making time every day to join hands and dance. Things become a bit complicated, however, when first, Peter Piper falls in love with a lady from Tidy Castle, and then it looks as though Racketty-Packetty House might be tossed out and burned.

Just as the Toy Story films and Doll People books have done in recent years, this charming 1906 novella taps into kids' fascination with the notion that their toys might come to life when no one is watching. Burnett creates a believable situation in which many children find themselves - feeling tired of an old toy and ashamed by its drabness when a newer and more attractive model appears - and she uses it to demonstrate important truths about class differences, both in wealth and attitude. The residents of Racketty-Packetty house have many problems that could bog them down in sadness and self-pity, but they never indulge in either, whereas those who live at Tidy Castle have many material possessions but seem not to enjoy life. Using the dollhouses to represent two ways of life makes it easy for kids to discuss larger issues about wealth and poverty within a context that is familiar to them.

I have never read The Secret Garden all the way through, so I couldn't say how The Racketty-Packetty House compares, but I did enjoy the writing style, descriptions, and overall moral of the story. I don't think my three-year-old is quite ready to hear this as a read-aloud just yet, but I wouldn't hesitate to share it with a six- or seven-year-old, especially if that child was a big doll lover, as I was at that age. Perhaps this is because my copy of the book is the 100th anniversary edition, but I also feel that the story is very accessible and contemporary-sounding, despite being published in the early 1900s. The updated illustrations by Wendy Anderson Halperin probably contribute to this a little bit, but even without them, I think the story still holds up really well. I look forward to reading this again with my girls in a few years!

This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.

A short, sweet story about a family of dolls who have fallen on hard times. By the same author who wrote 'The Secret Garden' and 'A Little Princess'

This is a FABULOUS treasure! I absolutely love this book! It takes about and hour and a half to read if you read it aloud, all at once, but it also has beautiful illustrations. So it's a picture book AND a chapter book! What a treat! Plus, the story is wonderful and uplifting. This is a rare find. I need to buy my own copy instead of getting it a bazillion times from the library!

It was a wonderful story it was a cheerful and friendly story I loved it

Beautiful and sweet and a little bit fun.

The second 'Queen Cross Patch" story "Racketty-Packetty-House" is the story on an antique hand-me-down dollhouse and its brand new rival. With the lessons that 'one person's trash is another's treasure,' the value staying cheerful, and appreciating what one has, Queen Cross patch and her fairies undertake saving the rundown, but loving inhabitants of Racketty-Packetty House in this endearing short story.

I absolutely loved this book as a child. I pretty much loved anything that had a dollhouse in it! My father built me the most amazing doll house when I was about ten, and I have it to this day. Illustrator Wendy Anderson Halperin brought Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic to life. A tale of two dollhouses, one shabby and one a brand-new grandiose house with dolls to match.

I love re-reading favorite stories from my childhoods when I'm overwhelmed with the intense historical fiction I also love. A fabulous story for all ages.

Must buy.

What a precious book!

If you put dolls and FHB together in a book, you have a sure fire childhood winner to me, that is just the facts. It's reminiscent of the Rumer Godden doll books which is high praise to me.
(Also, did you know: FHB lived in Knoxville, TN. This fact is blowing my mind.)

A beautiful rendering of one choosing how to perceive one's experiences and to make the most of life. Knowing that this story is also autobiographical to a certain extent of FHB's life makes it even more enjoyable - to appreciate the human spirit and the gift of choosing our viewing of our lives.

Another favorite from my childhood.

a cinderella like story for the residents of an old, forgotten dollhouse...