Sometimes I read books that bring me nostalgia. The reason for this one was I coveted a dolls House as a child. Imagine my delight when I awoke on Christmas morning & my parents had bought it for me.
The story in this book is similar but it is the dolls that covet a proper home-they live in a shoe box-as the story is set in 1945 money was scarce & a dolls house was a luxury.
There are 4 dolls & one miniature dog that live in their shoe box owned by 2 sisters. They are all made of different material-Tottie is the oldest of the dolls she is over 100 & made of wood. Tottie used to have a home-a Victorian house when she lived with the sisters Great Aunt Laura. She recounted to the other dolls what the house was like-the furniture, the wallpaper, how she missed it. She did not miss one thing though-Marchpane.
Marchpane was a fine doll made of porcelain wearing real lace & did not care for Tottie she thought her common not as deserving & beautiful as she was.
In the events that transpire the dolls get their wish-They get the house that Tottie lived in.
Tottie is taken to an exhibition for dolls-how the other dolls miss her when she's gone. She meets a most unexpected guest as the exhibition-Marchpane.
When she returns there is a surprise waiting for her & the other dolls.
This is a dark children's tale very enjoyable, when we were children ourselves & would imagine what our toys got up to when we were not there this story is of that ilk.

My sister and I adored this book as children. I don't know how many times I checked it out of our local library and read it.

I loved RG’s Japanese doll books, but this one didn’t work for me. The writing is still beautiful, but I disliked the dolls’ voices and characters.

This is a fantastic book about imagination. Get the edition with Tasha Tudor illustrations. Reread it as I am trying to write something about the dollhouse I grew up with. An important book of my childhood.

One of my favorites from childhood. The theme that beautiful doesn't always equal good or kind is an important one to learn, and the lesson of self-sacrifice took my breath away when I first read the ending as a child. I couldn't believe what had happened! Part of me felt loss and wished that the author hadn't let that happen; the other part of me realized that it made sense and was actually beautiful though sad.

A special book. Both happiness and sadness within. Tootie, a wooden farthing doll, is wise and kind. The observes the other dollhouse dolls and also the human children who have human foibles. This is the edition illustrated by Tasha Tudor.

Superb. One of my favourite read alouds ever, a beautiful one for Advent/Christmas. The illustrations by Tudor are perfection. Godden’s cozy, poignant little book is a master class on foreshadowing and narrative tension. It held my 4 year old son’s attention as well as my 14 year old’s. Love those little glimpses into postwar scarcity, and the sensitive handling of themes of trauma and resilience (without using those recent terms). A wonderful family book and a great introduction to Godden.

I purchased this book on whim at the local AAUW book sale in 2019. I was originally attracted to the cover/title, but then noticed the price sticker which mentioned it was signed. What a bonus! I thought. Then saw that it was signed by the illustrator. I shrugged and bought it anyway for the first reason. I just now got around to reading it and discovered a sweet story about a family of dolls, the two girls who play with them, and the doll's house they inherit. Even the Queen makes a short appearance! There is a haughty doll that has history with the oldest of the doll family that causes some friciton. But truly what makes this book a treasure are the illustrations. After mentioning this book online in a bookclub, many folks commented not only on the author but on the illustrator, whose sketches are detailed but sweet and simple. I loved them and thought they made an excellent embellishment to this edition 20 years after its original publication.

A downer and a disappointment, considering that it is supposed to be some kind of classic book.

The lesson seems to be that, if you are a ruthless bitch, you can get pretty much anything that you want and to hell with anyone else.

I went out of my way to buy the edition of the book that is illustrated by Tasha Tudor. The illustrations are lovely but they are quite small and don't make up for my disappointment with the story itself.

There are any number of better doll story books; Hitty, Her First Hundred Years, The Mennyms, and, for younger children, the Miss Flora McFlimsey books are all vastly superior.

I read the first few chapters and was rather captivated. Yet, at the same time, I felt melancholy the enitre time and decided to stop reading. At first, I thought it was just nostalgia for my childhood, but then I realized what it was... The dolls are not happy being with girls who love them, in the shoeboxes the girls provide as homes because they cannot afford a real doll's house. The dolls long for a real doll's house. Now, perhaps something changes as the story progressed (and I heard the ending is sad--so I skipped ahead and was a bit shocked at what happened, considering it is a kid's book about dolls!) but I thought it was not a good message to send to children; I didn't have a fancy doll house, either, and it would have been very sad indeed to think my dolls were not happy with me, when I loved them so much--that the home I gave them was not enough.

I know this is much-beloved, and the writing is very good, but just be cautious depending on your child given the tragic fate that befalls the doll family in the end.

For years I have been looking for the dollhouse book I read once at my grandmother's. We visited her library and I checked this book out. I long labored under the delusion that it was Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, but once I found out that was a play I knew I had to keep looking. Imagine my surprise when I realized it was a book written by one of my now-favorite authors, and illustrated by my beloved Tasha Tudor! The story itself is a bit dark, but fittingly Godden. The way she writes about the dolls' world is unlike other doll stories I've read, and the worldbuilding holds up. I enjoyed re-rediscovering this one.

A little dark and a bit reminiscent of The Holly and the Ivy.