The Doll’s House Review
This is an excellent book for young children which follows the adventures of Sienna, a little girl who is adopted by Inga and Matt, whose daughter, Annika, went missing a few years ago. Sienna is intrigued by the unusual disappearance of Anika and has an immediate desire to solve this mystery. Her curiosity compels her to steal the key to the locked wardrobe in Anika’s bedroom one day and look inside, despite it being forbidden by her new parents. Inside, she finds a beautiful old doll’s house which immediately sparks her curiosity and adds even more to the mystery of this locked wardrobe. When Inga discovers Sienna looking in the wardrobe she tries to teach her a valuable lesson about stealing but is also understanding of Sienna’s curiosity and allows her to get the doll’s house down and play with it.
Over the next few days, strange things start to happen. First, Sienna thinks she hears something in the night coming from the doll’s house but as soon as she enters the room, the noises miraculously stop. Then, the miniature fairy cakes that she placed in the doll’s house’s kitchen start to disappear. Soon, Sienna is thrust into the magical mystery of this doll’s house and becomes convinced that it has something to do with Anika’s disappearance, but whenever she mentions this to Matt and Inga they get angry and don’t believe her. Frustrated, Sienna sets out to solve the mystery and experiences a great deal of adventure along the way, along with the help of some interesting dreams and Mr Panagopolous, the owner of the old curiosity shop which sold the doll’s house to Inga.
I enjoyed this book and I think that the plot is very interesting and well-crafted, considering the age of its intended audience. It’s also excellent for dealing with and teaching children about foster care, adoption, and grief, with a main character who feels a large range of different emotions and is often saddened by memories of her biological parents, but eventually learns a valuable lesson about showing her appreciation and gratitude for the kindness of her adoptive parents.
It could also teach children a lot about empathy because throughout the book Sienna starts to think more and more about the feelings of others and we see her considering what Anika would think of having a new sister. The ending will leave a smile on your face as Sienna’s finally lovingly accepts her new family. There are also lots of pictures throughout the book to keep young readers interested and involved with the gripping plot of this short story. I would definitely recommend this book for children aged 5-8 and I think that it could be excellent to read and discuss with a parent or a perfect easy-read to try out alone or read aloud to an adult.