The Doll People

Title: The Doll People

Author: Ann M. Martin

Illustrator: Brian Selznick

Genre: Bluebonnet 

Awards: Bluebonnet Master List

Age Group: 2nd–6th

Who says dolls can't come to life? That's exactly what happens in The Doll People. They can talk, move, and think, but they can't let the humans know, or else they risk being put in doll state–or worse–permanent doll state! The Doll family started out as Grandma Katherine's dolls and have been passed down to her daughter, Annie, and her granddaughter, Kate. Adventure brews within the doll house when a mystery falls into Annabelle Doll's hands. Auntie Sarah has been missing for 45 years, and no one knows where she is. When she stumbles across Auntie Sarah's old journal, she decides that she is going to find her, even though there is risk in leaving the doll house. That's when the Funcrafts show up! Kate's little sister, Nora, receives her own set of dolls for her birthday, the Funcraft family. Tiffany Funcraft, who is Annabelle's age, joins her in the search for Auntie Sarah. When they discover that someone has been writing in her old journal, they find a clue that makes them set off for the attic. Meanwhile, Papa Doll has been snatched by The Captain (the cat), and Uncle Doll leaves the doll house when a rift occurs between him and Annabelle's parents. In the end, they find Auntie Sarah and she arrives safely back to the doll house. Annabelle has a new friend, Tiffany, and they are all happy and together. The story ends with Kate wondering if the dolls are alive...
I would definitely use this book in my classroom! I would for sure include it as an option for a book club book if I taught upper elementary, which I think would be a great use of this book. I can see a lot of boys rejecting this book as it is about dolls, but really and truly this book is all about a mystery, which I think both boys and girls love for the most part!
I would recommend this The Doll People for 2nd through 6th grade. It has tons of illustrations in it (Brian Selznick is such a good illustrator!) which makes it stand out from a lot of other chapter books of this size. I remember reading this in 4th grade and I loved it back then! The plot is exciting and suspenseful, and it involves living dolls, so I think those are two pluses for this book!
With this book, I would have students write about whether or not they would allow Annabelle to leave the dollhouse and search for Auntie Sarah. That was a significant motif throughout the book, deciding between playing it safe or taking a risk, and both sides could be argued for. I think it would also be fun to have students compare and contrast this book to the movie Toy Story, since they both involve dolls/toys that come to life without humans knowing.