This is a cute children’s picture book about a little girl in an orphanage who is desperate to find a family and a doll in a toy store who is similarly desperate to find a family, and how their worlds collide.

This has to be one of my favourite Christmas books ever. Rummer Godden is an incredible writer, and just hits the spot when it comes to Christmas and dolls!!

A sweet Christmas story all about wishing....

A sweet story to get out of the library, and detailed pictures true to the descriptions, but I would not want to read it every year.

A perfectly paced story with lovely illustrations that offers many things to ponder beyond the first layer of the story.

Holly and ivy is truly a wonderful book I loved reading it

Short Movie of the Book : https://youtu.be/a07BhYNnaUk


4 stars.

This story ended with me having a smile on my face. I love these old fashioned type books. Such a lovely Christmas tale.



Re-read 7th December 2022

Still such a lovely little story. My copy even has that particular old book smell

A lovely Christmas story--which had no right making me this teary before Christmas! A nice, slow book perfect for the fireside on Christmas Eve, or around the tree after a hearty feast.

I somehow started to miss my old doll... Maybe I could find a similar one.

A sweet little Christmas read!

The story is fabulous and the art is lovely!

“This is a story about wishing. It is also about a doll and a little girl. It begins with the doll.

Her name, of course, was Holly.”

And thus begins the enchanting story of Holly, a Christmas doll, and Ivy, a little orphan girl. This was one of my very favorite books as a little girl and I was lucky enough to find the same edition I had back then and bring this gem back into my life.

I reread this book last night and it was the perfect story to put me in the Christmas mood. It is so sweet and charming with a hint of melancholy but it all gets wrapped up beautifully by the end. What more could you ask for during the holiday season? A perfect book to read in one sitting with a cup of tea and a holiday sweet.

I love this edition beautifully illustrated by Adrienne Adams and it fills my heart with so much joy every time I look at it. I am so glad I have a copy again so I can read it each holiday season.