Where I Took 20 Years to Finish

The Doll People by Ann M. Martin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is kind of a cute book for kids, and it works in some ways, but I feel like it's got a couple flaws that keep it from being more successful. I know for a fact it didn't work for my daughter when she was small--she got about halfway through it before giving up--and I've got ideas about it.

The story of dolls that secretly are alive and aware but don't let the humans see them move, a la Toy Story, is a fun one. The young people the story is aimed it no doubt have wished their dolls and toys really were alive and should welcome a story based on that idea. And there is a pretty good mystery story--where has Auntie Sarah been for 45 years? Is she still in the house? An overlooked journal gives Annabelle some hints. The addition of a new family of dolls in another girl's bedroom offers more drama as well as hope for finding the missing family member.

It's unfortunate that the mystery story takes so long to develop. Nothing important happens for about the first third of the book, and even when Annabelle and her new friend get serious about tracking down the missing aunt, it goes slow. And here's the real issue: this youngish chapter book is more than 250 pages long, though in terms of content it's aimed at kids (girls, mostly, but, you know, anybody) of about 7 or 8 or 9. Even good or very good readers (like my daughter at that age) are likely to find that too long to tell this story. Older readers more used to longer books might have more luck, but they are more likely to be turned off by the content and childish tone.

(High interest-low readability books are the opposite combination: easy to read with content aimed at older readers. Relatively hard to read but aimed at early grades is an odd choice. Very niche.)

There is a good solution, and I wish I had used it. This is surely a read-aloud book--or at least it would be for most kids. (We were going to read this together, but my daughter wanted to try on her own, and when it got boring she didn't want to come back to it.) Since the second half is more entertaining than the first, it will require pushing through a bit, but I think a young reader will want to know what happens once you get past the slow early parts.

This is my theory. Ahem. :)

Anyway, putting aside the mismatch between readability and the target audience, it turns out to be an entertaining kids book from somewhere in the middle to the end, and if you can get a kid that far I think they'll like it.

I've been meaning to read this since about 2002, so I'm glad I finally did. We bought the sequel, too, but that might wait a bit.

Oh, I forgot to mention: this has very nice illustrations. They add a lot to the book.

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