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The Richest Doll in the World
The Christmas after her parents' death, Emily wants no gift but to see the wonderful doll of her grandmother's employer, Mrs. Bigley, but the old woman, who has also experienced a terrible loss, will not allow a child near her treasured heirloom.
- GenresChildrens
129 pages, Hardcover
First published April 15, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 8, 2008
Robertus, Polly M. 2008. The Richest Doll in the World.
The flap on this one called it an "exciting, spooky tale that will appeal to anyone who has ever loved a doll." I'm not so sure. The good news? It's short. And the print is large. The bad news? I didn't like many (if any) of the characters.
This is a holiday-based mystery for the 8 to 10 crowd. Emily is an orphan living with her grandmother, Grandma Rose. When the story opens, we see Emily whiningto her Grandma begging her to let her go with her to work. Emily wants to go with her because she's super-curious about her Grandma's 'crazy' employer, Mrs. Bigley. More to the point, she's super-curious about Mrs. Bigley's doll, Delilah. It's the only thing in the world that she could ever ever want for Christmas. But Grandma won't let her go. She wants to keep her job. And Mrs. Bigley is not mentally or emotionally stable enough for visitors. But Emily refuses to take no for an answer. And she follows her grandmother secretly. Super-spy she is not. Emily didn't really realize how cold and how dangerous and how foolhardy this whole plan was to begin with.
I don't really want to say too much more. It'd be a contest to see who was more annoying as a character--Mrs. Bigley or Emily. But needless to say I think someone has been praying for Grandma Rose to have patience--lots and lots of patience.
Spooky? Slightly. Exciting? Hardly. More spooky than exciting. It's definitely darker than most doll books. It'd be a question for the individual reader how much the book redeems itself in the end.
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
The flap on this one called it an "exciting, spooky tale that will appeal to anyone who has ever loved a doll." I'm not so sure. The good news? It's short. And the print is large. The bad news? I didn't like many (if any) of the characters.
This is a holiday-based mystery for the 8 to 10 crowd. Emily is an orphan living with her grandmother, Grandma Rose. When the story opens, we see Emily whiningto her Grandma begging her to let her go with her to work. Emily wants to go with her because she's super-curious about her Grandma's 'crazy' employer, Mrs. Bigley. More to the point, she's super-curious about Mrs. Bigley's doll, Delilah. It's the only thing in the world that she could ever ever want for Christmas. But Grandma won't let her go. She wants to keep her job. And Mrs. Bigley is not mentally or emotionally stable enough for visitors. But Emily refuses to take no for an answer. And she follows her grandmother secretly. Super-spy she is not. Emily didn't really realize how cold and how dangerous and how foolhardy this whole plan was to begin with.
I don't really want to say too much more. It'd be a contest to see who was more annoying as a character--Mrs. Bigley or Emily. But needless to say I think someone has been praying for Grandma Rose to have patience--lots and lots of patience.
Spooky? Slightly. Exciting? Hardly. More spooky than exciting. It's definitely darker than most doll books. It'd be a question for the individual reader how much the book redeems itself in the end.
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
February 23, 2012
The basic story line is about an elderly woman who is dealing with severe grief by replacing the long-ago loss of her little daughter with a doll. All attention is spent on the doll and in the mind of the elderly lady the doll is the object of her affection. Living in a mansion, she is helped by a maid who loves her and tries gently to bring her back to reality.
When the maids granddaughter, who is also struggling with the recent loss of her mother and father, decides she would like to see the doll and the fantastic doll house, a powerful event occurs.
I liked the detail of the book and the story line. It isn't a great book, but still, it held my interest.
When the maids granddaughter, who is also struggling with the recent loss of her mother and father, decides she would like to see the doll and the fantastic doll house, a powerful event occurs.
I liked the detail of the book and the story line. It isn't a great book, but still, it held my interest.
April 2, 2008
A charming story for sure! Emily finds herself as an orphan after her parents die in a fatal crash. The reader is taken in as well with Emily's adventures. This book took be back when I first read one of my favorite childhood books "Behind the Attic Wall" by Sylvia Cassedy. I love stories about mysterious lives of antique dolls and this book delivered that suspense. It also points out that handmade knitted mittens are an asset to have on Christmas Eve. A wonderful book by a wonderful author!
January 7, 2009
Too predictable and the happily-ever-ending seems too abrupt and unreal. Kind of silly. But it may have some fans. The story is about an old woman whose life revolves around an old porcelain doll, to the point of craziness. It takes until the end before her fixation is explained and resolved, but even then, I was unsatisfied.
July 15, 2008
For a book for younger readers (2nd or 3rd graders?), this one is really dead on. There is just enough spookiness and mystery and danger to keep one going and the wonders of the doll's treasures will undoubtedly be very attractive, as well. The writing is really solid. I would have given it 4 stars if not for the atrociously sloppy copy-editing job. My rant will be on my blog. It's up now at:
http://www.fairrosa.info/rj/2008/07/someone-save-authors-from-sloppy-or-non.html
http://www.fairrosa.info/rj/2008/07/someone-save-authors-from-sloppy-or-non.html
December 14, 2007
Thrilling chapter book by a great writer!
February 14, 2009
Besides the numerous grammar/spelling/puncuation mistakes I enjoyed this quick read.
December 11, 2011
An excellent book for the young reader.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews