The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum

Although I have neither children nor plans to have them -- in fact, I'm not terribly comfortable around children -- I adore children's books. Picture books, chapter books, young adult novels, you name it. There's a certain freedom and beauty, and sometimes dignity, to children's books that can't always be found elsewhere.

On a recent trip to Denver, a friend introduced me to the Tattered Cover, a lovely independent bookstore in an old-ish building complete with creaking, sloping floors and comfortable furniture everywhere. And in the children's section I came across this lovely book and had to buy it: The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum, written by Kate Bernheimer and illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli. A tiny girl lives in a castle show more inside a glass globe inside a museum that seems to house strange toys and other oddities, and children come to try to catch a glimpse of the girl inside the castle. It's a sweet, slightly recursive story (there's a reference to "this book you hold in your hands") that I very much enjoyed.

But it was the illustrations that I fell in love with. The style seems familiar and strange, and although I haven't googled Nicoletta Ceccoli yet, I feel certain that I've seen her work before. This art is luminous, surreal, and fantastic. There are dice with wings fluttering around the castle, and stuffed animals and rocking horses with button eyes. The children in the museum have big eyes that are solemn and intelligent. You have to look at the book several times to take it all in.

Even if you don't have children, maybe you have nieces and nephews. Some child in your life will love this book. Or you can just buy it for yourself.

And if this book doesn't make at least the short list for the Caldecott Award next year, I'll be a monkey's uncle. Well, aunt. show less

I was distinctly underwhelmed by this first children's book offering from Kate Bernheimer, the editor of the journal Fairy Tale Review, as well as such collections as Mirror, Mirror on the Wall and Brothers and Beasts. I'm not sure what I was expecting - probably something more along the lines of an actual fairy-tale - but The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum didn't have enough of a narrative to retain my interest. Bernheimer's text reads like a string of random statements, rather than a coherent story, and the reader will be hard-pressed to empathize with the girl's loneliness.

Nicoletta Ceccoli gorgeous mixed-media illustrations reminded me somewhat of the work of Ukrainian artist Vladyslav Yerko, which is high praise. But the show more delightful artwork simply wasn't enough, in the end, to compensate for the absence of wonder in Bernheimer's story. show less

The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum by Kate Bernheimer is one of those surreal metafiction picture books that either works for you or not. As my daughter and I both tend to like these types of books, I purchased the copy on display at our local bookstore.

The title pretty much sums up what the book is about. There is a girl who, for unexplained reasons, lives inside of a castle, which in turn is on display in a museum. She is a living doll or something.

But like Watanuki in the later half of xxxHolic, holding down the shop for the missing Yuko, the girl can travel through dreaming. And here's the make it or break it point — the narration moves from third person to second person. Not only does she dream of places within the show more fictional world of her book, she also dreams of you, the reader.

The book ends with an interactive piece, asking the reader to draw a picture for the doll to dream of. Now, if you're little one likes that sort of interaction, it's a plus. If you're little one will be put off by that, skip this book. show less

Odd. Personally, I found it a little creepy. If I spent much time with it I'd probably have weird, unsettling dreams. That being said, an imaginative or morbid child would probably be thrilled to enter that lonely little world again and again. They might feel inspired to new rushes of creativity, or studying the book might feel cathartic to them. I am going to look at other works by the author and by the illustrator, Nicoletta Ceccoli.

A small girl who lives in a castle in a museum is lonely and dreams of having friends and company in this surreal story.

The highlight of the book is Ceccoli's illustrations-- a mix of paint, clay, and photography; they have a bewitching, dreamy quality that fits the eeriness of a tiny girl living in a castle in a museum. However, the lovely art is not enough to overcome the weak storyline. Rather than telling a linear story, Bernheimer's text just gives general descriptions of the enchanting illustrations. Because of that, it is unlikely that the story will keep children's interest.

Not recommended for library collections.

A dreamy sort of picture book, that in a way reminds me of "Coraline." The end takes an odd turn and draws the reader in. I think it would be a bit less creepy if the girl who lived in the castle did just that, and wasn't lonely or dreaming about a boy who once visited her.

Summary: Tells the story of a girl inside a big snow globe inside a toy museum. The girl that lives in castle in the museum gets lonely when the children leave the museum, but she dreams of a boy in the woods waiting to play. She dreams about playing with other people as well, even you.

Personal reflection: I think this book would be good for character building and learning to make the most of time even when you don't have anyone to spend it with. I like the creativeness of the story and the illustrations go along with the story very nicely.

Class use: I would use this to ask students what they would do if they lived in a snow globe in a museum and how they would spend their time as a creative writing activity.