The Runaway Dolls

Martin, Ann M. and Laura Godwin. 2008. THE RUNAWAY DOLLS. Ill. by Brian Selznick. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 9780786855841 [Suggested Grade Levels 3-6]

REVIEW
The third book in the DOLL PEOPLE series begins with a visual flashback. A package in the doll maker’s shop falls unnoticed behind a cabinet. One hundred years later the newly found package arrives by mail at the Palmer family home. The mysterious package containing Annabelle Doll’s long lost baby sister creates a dilemma. Will the package, which is addressed to an unfamiliar name, be sent back unopened? Annabelle and Tiffany take a chance, freeing baby doll Tilly May and running away. Their adventure takes them from the front yard, to the woods, to a department store and eventually back home.

Readers of the first two books in the series will happily reconnect with these quirky doll characters as they find their way into and out of a seemingly impossible predicament, but new readers will find the book stands alone nicely. Initially, Selznick’s signature pencil drawings set the stage for the story in sixteen almost wordless pages. Throughout the novel, his plentiful page decorations and illustrations integrate with text in a narrative readers won’t easily put down.

CONNECTIONS
Compare this series with other books in which toys come to life. Narrate a story about a toy you own that comes to life.

RELATED BOOKS
Other books in this series:
THE DOLL PEOPLE. ISBN 9780786803613
THE MEANEST DOLL IN THE WORLD. ISBN 0786808780

Other books in which toys come to life:
Banks, Lynne Reid. THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD. ISBN 9780385170512
DiCamillo, Kate. THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE. ISBN 9780763625894
Jenkins, Emily. TOYS GO OUT. ISBN 9780375836046
Milne, A.A. COMPLETE TALES OF WINNIE THE POOH. ISBN 9780525457237
Williams, Margery. THE VELVETEEN RABBIT OR, HOW TOYS BECOME REAL. ISBN 9780312377502

By Suzy Parchman