DOLLS IN CHILDREN’S BOOKS
By Krystyna Poray Goddu, After-School Librarian

Books Discussed:

PICTURE BOOKS

Dahlia by Barbara McClintock
Fanny by Holly Hobbie
Fanny and Annabelle by Holly Hobbie
The All-I’ll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll by Patricia McKissak, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
The Apple Doll by Elisa Kleven
Allison by Allen Say
Fancy Nancy: Fanciest Doll in the Universe by Jane O’Connor, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser
The Lonely Doll by Dare Wright
William’s Doll by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by William Pene Du Bois
Penny and Her Doll by Kevin Henkes (BEGINNING READERS)

CHAPTER BOOKS

Hitty, Her First Hundred Years, by Rachel Field, illustrated by Dorothy Lathrop
Rachel Field’s Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Susan Jeffers
The Dolls’ House by Rumer Godden
Impunity Jane (The Story of a Pocket Doll) by Rumer Godden
The Fairy Doll by Rumer Godden
Candy Floss by Rumer Godden
The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden
Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Rumer Godden
Little Plum by Rumer Godden
The Fairy Doll Collection (includes all seven above titles)
Four Dolls (includes Impunity Jane, The Fair Doll, Candy Floss, The Story of Holly and Ivy)
The Dollhouse Magic by Yona Zeldis McDonough
The Doll Shop Downstairs by Yona Zeldis McDonough
The Cats in the Doll Shop by Yona Zeldis McDonough
The Doll with the Yellow Star by Yona Zeldis McDonough
The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson
The Doll People by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin, illustrated by Brian Selznick
The Meanest Doll in the World by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin, illustrated by Brian Selznick
The Runaway Dolls by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin, illustrated by Brian Selznick
The Mennyms by Sylvia Waugh (CHALLENGING)
Mennyms in the Wilderness by Sylvia Waugh (CHALLENGING)
Mennyms Under Siege by Sylvia Waugh (CHALLENGING)
Mennyms Alone by Sylvia Waugh (CHALLENGING)
Mennyms Alive by Sylvia Waugh (CHALLENGING)
The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Wright
The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn
Among the Dolls by William Sleator
The Picolinis by Anne Graham Estern

One of the earliest playthings, dolls have a mixed appeal. Some find these miniature replicas of humans downright creepy, while others are deeply drawn to their human quality. Writers and illustrators are equally divided when it comes to depicting these toys in children’s books—sweet and sentimental tales as well as spooky and sinister ones abound. But the richest ones explore deeper aspects of play and the imagination, and the bonds that grow between dolls and their owners. As a writer and editor, I have spent many years of my professional life writing and editing magazines and books about dolls, and have my own list of favorite children’s books that feature these playthings.

An Early Classic, and Its Retelling

One of the most classic doll stories is Rachel Field’s Hitty, Her First Hundred Years, published in 1929 with black-and-white period illustrations by Dorothy Lathrop. A 1930 Newbery Award winner, the book traces the adventures of a six-inch doll, carved in the nineteenth century from a small piece of mountain-ash wood and given to a little girl named Phoebe on an island off the Maine coast. Separated from Phoebe, Hitty passes through a succession of owners for one hundred years, experiencing much of American history, from the whaling voyages of the early 1800s through the sorrows of the Civil War to automobiles in the 1900s. Told in Hitty’s stoic, philosophical voice, the book has been ignored by readers for many decades, something the prolific writer Rosemary Wells tried to change in 1999 by retelling and abridging the story, even adding an entirely new, politically correct episode. Lushly illustrated in color by Susan Jeffers, this new version is titled, oddly, Rachel Field’s Hitty, Her First Hundred Years—oddly because, while lively and engaging, this book is very much not Rachel Field’s.

Picture Books

Award-winning writer and illustrator Barbara McClintock created an unlikely friendship between confirmed tomboy Charlotte and a delicate porcelain doll given to her by her aunt in Dahlia (2002). Charlotte spends her days hunkered down in the dirt, making mud cakes, or climbing trees and racing wagons and she’s not about to change her ways for this new toy, which she names Dahlia. But Dahlia is not the fragile fearful doll she appears to be… McClintock’s story, accompanied by her beautiful period illustrations, is thoroughly engaging.

Then there’s poor Fanny in Holly Hobbie’s 2008 book of the same name. She has one of those mothers who will never let her daughter have a “Connie doll.” “They’re just too…much,” says Mom. All the other girls have the full-lipped huge-eyed dolls, but faced with her mother’s firm denial, Fanny decides to sew her own doll from leftover fabrics. Adults will probably love the message of fostering individuality and creativity more than children, who will undoubtedly sympathize with Fanny’s predicament, while appreciating her spunk. Hobbie followed this story up with Fanny and Annabelle (2009), in which Fanny takes her creativity in another direction, making her own book starring…Annabelle, of course.

A child’s deep desire for a doll is also the focus of the renowned Patricia McKissak’s evocative The All-I’ll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll (2007), about a poor black family during the Depression. Nell, the middle sister of three, sets her heart on a doll glimpsed in The Pittsburgh Courier, with which her family is repapering their walls in preparation for the coming winter. Her sisters make fun of her for her unattainable desire, but when the doll appears under the Christmas tree and Nell refuses to share her, they concede she is rightfully hers. Nell finds, however, that imagination is not enough to turn the doll into a lively playmate, and invites her sisters to play. Illustrated by the equally celebrated Jerry Pinkney, and inspired by a true story, this book has the look, sound and feel of a classic.

In The Apple Doll (2007), Elisa Kleven simply and realistically traces the path from imagination to creation. Lizzy loves her apple tree and fears starting school, so she puts an apple on a stick, draws a face on it, names her Susanna and brings her to school as her companion. While her classmates immediately recognize it as a doll-wannabe, they also make fun of her: “her brains are apple seeds!” one boy calls. So Susanna stays home as Lizzy tries to make the apple more of an acceptable doll, finally hitting upon the idea of drying her, which brings admiration—and inspires further creativity—at home and school alike. The happy ending is followed by step-by-step child-friendly instructions for making a dried-apple doll.

Caldecott-winning author and illustrator Allen Say chose a doll to help tell a multicultural adoption story in Allison (1997). When little Allison receives the gift of a kimono from her grandmother, she puts it on and realizes that she looks more like her Japanese doll, Mei Mei, than like her Caucasian parents, who explain that they brought her and the doll from a far-away country. The information upsets Allison, who faces, for the first time, the idea of abandonment by her biological parents. Say’s rich yet spare, realistic watercolor illustrations are always a delicious treat and perfectly complement this tender story.

The latest addition to Jane O’Connor’s series about her irrepressible heroine, Fancy Nancy, centers around Nancy’s fancy doll, Marabelle Lavinia Chandelier, who acquires a permanent tattoo—thanks to Nancy’s little sister. Nancy is beside herself with rage, but attending a fancy gala for children and their dolls makes up somewhat for the indignity inflicted upon Marabelle. The tattoo proves, though, to be a good thing and Fancy Nancy: Fanciest Doll in the World closes with the expected happy ending.

Another of our fine contemporary children’s book author/illustrators, Kevin Henkes, gives his character Penny a doll and a naming problem in Penny and Her Doll (2012), the second in this series for beginning readers. Again, it’s grandmother who sends the gift of a doll and sets Penny off on a search for the perfect name—a puzzle faced by many whether it’s for a toy or a pet. Simple and charming, like all of Henkes’ stories.

No conversation about picture books starring dolls is complete without Dare Wright’s controversial The Lonely Doll. Published in 1957, starring a blond pony-tailed felt doll named Edith with an inscrutable smile, it is illustrated entirely by Wright’s black-and-white photographs, which make Edith’s world both more real and more surreal than the world of any other storybook character. A staple of many baby-boomers’ childhoods, the book came back into print in the 1990s and its mystique continues to intrigue new generations of readers. The story is simple and classic: Edith has a problem—she is lonely. One day Little Bear and Mr. Bear arrive. Happiness ensues, followed by a rainy-day crisis that threatens to return Edith to her lonely state. But Edith rises to the occasion, comes through the crisis and lives happily with the bears ever after.

The controversy? It revolves around the spanking Edith receives from Mr. Bear, which seemed innocuous enough in the fifties and sixties, but sparked outrage in the PC 1990s and onward. (Children, however, don’t seem to have any problem with it.) New controversy erupted in 2005 with the publication of a biography of Dare Wright by Jean Nathan, The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll, which raised titillating questions about the life of Edith’s creator. Wright published nine more books about Edith, and some are back in print, as well, but none has the force or popularity of the first.

Chapter Books–mostly

Probably my most favorite writer when it comes to stories about dolls and other toys is the late Rumer Godden. While this British writer wrote dozens of books for children and adults throughout her life, she devoted seven of them to dolls: The Dolls’ House (1947); Impunity Jane (The Story of a Pocket Doll) (1954); The Fairy Doll (1956); Candy Floss (1957); The Story of Holly and Ivy (1958); Miss Happiness and Miss Flower (1961); and Little Plum (1963). None of these are still in print as individual titles (though the Friends library collection does include Miss Happiness and Miss Flower), but in 2012 all seven were gathered into a single volume entitled The Fairy Doll Collection, with beautiful illustrations by Jane Ray. In the 1980s four of the stories were published in a book entitled Four Dolls: Impunity Jane (The Story of a Pocket Doll); The Fairy Doll; Candy Floss; and The Story of Holly and Ivy.

In these books, Godden explores the secret life of dolls, celebrating in particular the magical bond that can form between children and dolls—and not only girls. In Impunity Jane, a story about a dollhouse doll longing for adventure, she wrote: “Dolls, of course, cannot talk. They can only make wishes that some people can feel.” Her girl owners cannot feel Jane’s wishes, but a rough-and-tumble boy, Gideon, can, and falls under her spell: “Gideon, rescue me…don’t leave me here…” Jane wishes as hard as she can, and before long, “Gideon, his cheeks red, slid his hand into the dolls’ house, picked up Impunity Jane, and put her into his pocket”—and so begins Jane’s happy life of swinging, skating and climbing trees.

The recently deceased Charlotte Zolotow also honored the need a boy can feel for a doll in her 1972 picture book, William’s Doll, in which William’s parents continually present him with what they feel are appropriate boy gifts, which he happily accepts and plays with, even though he openly longs for a doll to care for. His grandmother is the one who understands, buys William a baby doll and explains to his father that William needs the doll “so that he can practice being a father.”

Dolls are a favorite subject for Yona Zeldis McDonough, who writes about them with the tenderness of a true aficionado. The Dollhouse Magic (2000), about the friendship between two sisters and an elderly woman brought about by a dollhouse, is a good choice for readers relatively new to chapter books, as are the historical-fiction books The Doll Shop Downstairs (2009) and The Cats in the Doll Shop (2011). These two companion books (The Doll Shop Downstairs comes first, chronologically) tell the story of three Jewish sisters living on Manhattan’s Lower East Side just prior to World War I, where their parents run a doll hospital. Warm and realistic in their portrayal of sibling relationships and solidly grounded in the culture of the era, these two books can be read individually or as a pair—but usually one whets the reader’s appetite for the other.

More somber is McDonough’s The Doll with the Yellow Star, (2005), the story of an eight-year-old Jewish girl, Claudine, who must leave her parents and her home in France during the early years of World War II. She sets sail to the safety of relatives in America with her most beloved possession, her new doll, Violette. While Claudine’s story holds much sorrow, it has a realistic and deeply satisfying ending. Succinctly told (just 88 pages) and beautifully illustrated by Kimberley Bulcken Root, this is a strong and moving piece of historical fiction for readers of any age.

The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson (2011) follows in the tradition of Hitty in being told through the voice of a doll that has many adventures from 1928 until 1941. A fine piece of historical fiction—four pieces, really—the book follows Miss Kanagawa, one of 58 dolls sent from Japan to America as Ambassadors of Friendship in 1927, and her four different owners over those years. Larson’s story is based on a true event: in November 1927, 58 Friendship Dolls arrived in the United States as a gift from Japanese schoolchildren. They traveled around the country, visiting 479 towns in all but two states, and were feted in all of them. Through the eyes of Miss Kanagawa, readers hear the stories of four girls and their very different lives in the first half of the twentieth century.

When The Doll People, the first of what would be a trilogy by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin with pictures by Brian Selznick, appeared in 2000, it garnered immediate acclaim as a well-grounded fantasy with realistic-fiction appeal. The premise: porcelain Annabelle Doll and her family have lived in their dollhouse for more than one hundred years and are strict followers of the rules of the doll world. Annabelle is understandably bored and restless, having been eight years old for an entire century and never having stepped foot outside the dollhouse. The first time she does so, she discovers the plastic family of Funcrafts, who have a complete disregard for the rules. Annabelle befriends young Tiffany Funcraft, and the two set off to solve the mystery of Annabelle’s long-missing Aunt Sarah. The Meanest Doll in the World (2003) and The Runaway Dolls (2008) continue Annabelle and Tiffany’s adventures, with Selznick’s narrative artwork taking on more and more prominence in each book, telling parts of the story that the words do not.

Before The Doll People, though, there were The Mennyms, (1993-1996), a series of five books for more sophisticated readers by the British writer Sylvia Waugh. The Mennyms are a life-size, three-generational family of ten rag dolls who live a seemingly human existence in their own home in London. Capable of thought and emotion, they are also well aware that they are dolls and that this secret must be kept from human beings. Waugh does not shrink from metaphysical questions about reality and make-believe, minds, souls and the potentially magical possibilities of creativity. All these complex themes are grounded, however, in realistic family dynamics and dramas. A well-executed combination of thought-provoking and engrossing reading at once.

SCARY BOOKS

The Dollhouse Murders (1983) by Betty Wright is a family drama that turns into a frightening mystery involving a haunted dollhouse. When Amy’s Aunt Clare moves into the huge old house that Amy’s great-grandparents used to live in until they died unexpectedly thirty years ago, Amy temporarily moves in with her. In the attic she finds a beautiful old dollhouse that is a detailed replica of the house itself, complete with a family of dolls who soon appear to have a life of their own—and seem to be giving her terrifying clues as to the real cause of her great-grandparents’ death. The story is a great mix of realistic family problems and spine-chilling horror.

A haunted garden, a buried antique doll, time travel and a girl who may or may not be a ghost—what more do you need for a book that will intrigue both doll lovers and mystery buffs? The Doll in the Garden (1989) is by Mary Downing Hahn, well known for her scary books; it opens with Ashley and her mother, after the death of Ashley’s father, renting part of a house from a cranky elderly woman. The intrigue begins when Ashley begins to explore the overgrown garden that surrounds the house and discovers the buried doll. Other readers have called this a “multilayered gem,” that is “a great read for a younger reader who is interested in ghost stories.”

Dark and disturbing are the words I’d use to describe Among the Dolls (1975) by William Sleator, which tells the nightmarish story of a girl who finds herself trapped in a dollhouse, an unwanted gift from her parents. The dolls seem to sense her dislike, which doesn’t bode well for her. “Now she is their toy…” reads the book’s tagline. I read it with horror, but it bears mention because it’s perfect for readers who relish a strong creepiness element in books.

Finally, not particularly scary, but suspenseful and charming is The Picolinis (1988) by Anne Graham Estern, a gentle mystery about a Victorian dollhouse bought at auction, which, unbeknownst to its new owners, may hold a secret treasure. The house comes complete with a family of dolls—former circus performers, that tries to help the owners against the evil-looking magician who is bent on getting the dollhouse for his own.

These titles represent just a fraction of the children’s books featuring dolls that have been published. It’s no surprise that these toys capture so many writers’ imaginations, and in such a wide range of expression. Among the most ancient of playthings, dolls have long been an inextricable part of childhood, and elements of our childhoods resonate in us long after we have left that realm.