The Countess's Calamity: Tales from the Box

by Sally Gardner

This is the story of five little dolls that are left in a box, in a park, under a chair. Nobodyknows why they were left here, but one day, a couple of retired mice discover them, the box is blocking their doorway. Soon, the dolls and the mice become friends...except for the Countess, who's a little too hoity-toity to befriend any mice. But she doesn't have any choice and soon the dolls learn to stay away from the "legs" (humans), forage for food, and have a great deal of fun with the mice. The Countess's Calamity is the first in a series of four books about these lost dolls called Tales from the Box.

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

AKA Wray Delaney

Sally Gardner grew up and still lives in London. Being dyslexic, she did not learn to read or write until she was fourteen and had been thrown out of several schools, labeled unteachable, and sent to a school for maladjusted children. Despite this, she gained a degree with highest honors at a leading London art college, followed by a scholarship to a theater school, and then went on to become a very successful costume designer, working on some notable productions.

After the births of twin daughters and a son, she started first to illustrate and then to write picture books and chapter books, usually with fairytale- or otherwise magical subject matter. She has been called 'an idiosyncratic genius' by London’s Sunday Times.

Reviews

[Mr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Divya Pillai 9/27/08 Period 6 # of pages 117
I read the entire book and this is my review.

The book talks about five dolls and two mice. The story talks about when there is a lazy countess and the countess gets every doll trapped. Then these two mice come along and help the dolls. But the countess is too lazy and mean for the mice so the mice tell the countess that she is not allowed inside. It happens in a park with a box. The main characters are the two mice who helped all of the dolls. It talks about sportsmanship. The countess is mean to the mice until finally she breaks some peices of her body and gets it fixed by a doll magichan. Then she gets really nice at the end and the countess says sorry to the mice and they forgive her.Yes it talks about how a doll is mean and then gets fixed up and turns into a nice doll. You should never be lazy and mean and then get fixed up and turn into a nice doll. It talks about camponionship and sportsmanship. I love the book so much that I feel like reading the book again.

[KidsFiction Teton County Library]

Teton County Library Call # J SH CH GARDNER
No rating
This is a fun filled adventure of five dolls that were left under a bench in a park. They are discovered by a cute mouse couple. Mr. and Mrs. Mouse take them in, and they become friends. One doll, the Countess, is quite full of herself, and finds herself in many awkward situations.

I found it interesting that the author and illustrator, Sally Garner was a theater designer before she became and author. She actually builta nd decorated the doll house box that is illustrated in the book. She even kept a pet mouse in her studio to use as a model for the characters in the book.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

The other day I came across a picture of a fabric doll on a blog. It made me think of a doll I had read a story about, but I couldn't quite remember the name of the book. I remembered that some dolls were found in a box in a park, and that they happened to be resuced---was it by some mice?. The fussiest doll, the Countess, was very ornery and the book centred around a disaster that struck her.
I had a faint inkling of an idea of who the author was, and so I logged onto GoodReads to find out.
It's been at least five years since I read this book. Surely that's a sign of it's awesomenesss.

[Danine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm rating this book as a parent who loves reading children's books. The story and the illustrations are charming in the way children's books rarely are anymore. The story is imaginative but not too complex. My 7 yr old daughter and I read this together and we equally enjoyed it.

[Bettie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starts 15/3/2010

[Melutopia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story, somewhat a little far fetched, but what child's adventure isn't?

[Rachel Inbar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a fairly difficult book to read aloud. It was interesting, but slow-paced and a little hard to follow at times. Perhaps if I'd read it all at once, I would feel differently.

[Robin Berman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adorable illustrations, which appears to be drawing on top of photographs. cute story about dolls that come to life.