The Doll People

The Doll People is a wonderful book written by Ann M. Martin and Laura Goodwin. In the beginning, we learn about the life of Annabelle Doll. She was made in 1900, and her family and their dollhouse was a birthday present for Grandma Katherine's mother, and now belongs to Kate, an 8 year old girl. Annabelle has a Mama, a Papa, an Uncle, Auntie Sarah, a little brother named Bobby, and a baby sister named Kate. They are all porcelain dolls, and they are alive. They took the Oath of the Dolls when after they were made, like most dolls, and no human knows that their dolls are alive. If a human sees a doll move, that doll goes into Doll State. This is where the doll cannot move, and is like a "real" doll. This lasts for 24 hours. There is also something called Permanent Doll State. This is where a doll does something that so badly jeopardizes doll kind that the doll is in Doll State forever. Now Annabelle is getting bored. Her family can move about their house only when the Palmers (the family that owns the Doll Family) aren't home.  

Annabelle has never left the doll house, but Auntie Sarah used to be gone for long periods of time. Auntie Sarah hasn't been seen since 1955, and no one knows what happened to her. When Annabelle finds Auntie Sarah's diary one day, she finds out that Auntie Sarah used to travel out of the dollhouse and go on adventures. She wrote all about the different kinds of spiders she saw, and drew descriptive pictures. Annabelle Doll wants to go on an adventure now! She has wanted to leave the doll house for years, and she finally convinces her nervous and anxious parents that she, Bobby, and Papa could safely leave the dollhouse one night and be back before morning. They go to Nora's (Kate's 5 year old sister) room. In the closet they find a doll family that the Palmers are giving to Nora for her birthday. They are plastic, modern, and want to have fun, fun, fun! They have a child each age that the Doll family has a child, and the same genders. Tiffany and Annabelle quickly become best friends, and they gain permission to travel around the Palmer's house at night. They decide to look for Auntie Sarah. Soon, mysterious notes begin to appear at the end of Auntie Sarah's diary, ones that Annabelle was sure that weren't there before.  

Where is Auntie Sarah? Who is writing those notes? And will Annabelle and Tiffany find Auntie Sarah before Captain the Cat finds her?? The ending of The Doll People is fantastic! I hope you enjoy this book!