The Doll family, beautifully crafted china dolls, has been passed down through four generations of girls in one American family. Annabelle Doll is eight years old and has been for over 100 years. Not a lot has happened to her, cooped up in the dollhouse, with the same doll people, day after day, year after year...until the Funcrafts move in. Unlike the cautious, traditional Doll family in every way, the Funcrafts are carefree and delivered straight from the factory shelves. Tiffany Funcraft is made entirely of plastic and lives in the scariest room of the house, but she's an adventurer and after 100 years of boredom, that's just what Anabelle needs. Especially when she vows to solve a decades-long family mystery.

Recommended by L. Frank

Annabelle Doll lives with the rest of the Doll family in their house in 9-year-old Kate's room; they've been there for a hundred years, and Aunt Sarah has been missing for 45 of those years. When Annabelle decides to search for her, she discovers the Funcrafts: a plastic doll family who, together with their pink plastic dollhouse, are going to be a present for Kate's little sister Nora for her 5th birthday. The adventurous Funcrafts help the Dolls search for Aunt Sarah; Annabelle finds clues in Aunt Sarah's diary, and Tiffany Funcraft helps her make a plan to follow them. Along the way, they perform a daring rescue (Papa Doll is carried off by the family's cat) and visit the attic.

Wonderful, in the vein of [see also] Toys Go Out, The Borrowers, Diary of a Mad Brownie, Ivy Lost and Found (Book Buddies series), and Toy Story (movie). On to the sequel!

"You know, I'm a lot like [Auntie Sarah]. I get so bored sometimes. I want to go places and see things. But we are stuck here because of the Doll Code of Honor. I don't want to put my family in danger. But I hate having to hold still, and be quiet, and pretend I'm not alive." (Annabelle to Tiffany, 105) ( )

This was a very fun read about a family of dolls who live in a dollhouse and their adventures. Reminded me of a childhood favorite "King of the Dollhouse" ( )

I absolutely LOVE this book. This book shows the many adventures of two doll families, living the same household. I read this book over and over again as a child, and it warms my heart thinking of all the love I had for my own dollhouse and doll people. ( )

This post has taken me far longer to write than I'd like to admit and I think that's largely because I found this book pretty lukewarm. The Doll People by Ann M. Martin (with pictures by Brian Selznick) was another one of those books recommended as a great book for the kids in your life who are trying to stretch their legs as early and eager readers. I didn't realize at the outset of reading it that it was actually the first in a series which follow the lives of the members of the Doll family. This is like Toy Story but dialed up to 11, ya'll. We follow the adventures of Annabelle Doll who is preoccupied with the mystery of her aunt's disappearance 45 years ago. Like Toy Story, there are certain rules about letting the humans see them moving but they actually have an oath with consequences attached. (We learn about Doll State or Permanent Doll State where they are frozen either temporarily or permanently.) The storyline is slow and rather predictable but suitable for beginner readers who are gaining confidence with chapter books. I guess the most 'interesting' part (if you can call it that) was when a new set of dolls entered the house and the reader can see the difference between the older porcelain toys and the newer plastic ones. 4/10 ( )