Big Susan
by Elizabeth Orton Jones
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Description
After six weeks of neglect, a family of dolls comes to life on Christmas Eve wondering if they will have a tree or gifts this year from the girl who normally takes such good care of them.Tags
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Member Reviews
Huh. I loved making things for my dolls through my adolescence, and I still enjoy some doll and dollhouse stories. But this one verged on the twee, and I just don't see the appeal for re-reads.
Ok, it's cute they don't know what jacks are, and they clean their house for Big Susan, and name the new baby Little Susan. And I suppose I could forgive them for having servants, though the author's treatment of said Nurse and Cook is rather offensive. But I don't feel any depth, complexity, or resonance here. Even the most innocent & sheltered child has more going on in her life than is even possible in this fantasy world.
*My* dolls really lived. They had adventures, and arguments, and sorrows, and joys. And not just on Christmas night, show more either. Susan's dolls are almost boring. And Susan isn't in the book much at all - the title is misleading. show less
Ok, it's cute they don't know what jacks are, and they clean their house for Big Susan, and name the new baby Little Susan. And I suppose I could forgive them for having servants, though the author's treatment of said Nurse and Cook is rather offensive. But I don't feel any depth, complexity, or resonance here. Even the most innocent & sheltered child has more going on in her life than is even possible in this fantasy world.
*My* dolls really lived. They had adventures, and arguments, and sorrows, and joys. And not just on Christmas night, show more either. Susan's dolls are almost boring. And Susan isn't in the book much at all - the title is misleading. show less
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Author Information
15+ Works 2,043 Members
When Elizabeth Orton Jones was a child living in Highland Park, Illinois, her mother bought her a big second-hand dollhouse. Her grandmother made some of the rugs and furniture for it. Elizabeth grew up to be a famous artist and children's book author. She won the Caldecott Medal in 1945, at age 35, for her book Prayer for a Child. Two years show more later, she wrote Big Susan, featuring her dollhouse and dolls that inhabited it. The dolls, their furnishings and a replica dollhouse can be seen at the Highland Park Historical Society. For the last fifty years, Elizabeth's friends have called her by her nickname "Twig", after her book of the same name. She has written more than twenty books for children, and now lives in New Hampshire show less
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1947
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 192
- Popularity
- 171,006
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.17)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 1
- ASINs
- 1
