Once there was a little doll who belonged in a pocket. That was what she thought. Everyone else thought she belonged in a dolls' house. They put her in one but, as you will see, she ended up in a pocket.
-- From the story of Impunity Jane by Rumer Godden
The Mousewife by Rumer Godden has been one of my favorite books for many years. Recently I picked up a copy of The Fairy Doll -- a reissue of Rumer Godden's doll stories collected together in one volume. I was delighted.
My favorite story is about a very determined little doll called Impunity Jane who knows she is destined to have adventures riding in the pocket of a child. Despite the fact that she spends many years sitting on an uncomfortable beaded cushion inside a doll house, she is not discouraged, and eventually does have exciting escapades with a little boy named Gideon.
I also enjoyed the story of Miss Happiness and Miss Flower. If you love doll-stories as much as I do, I highly recommend it.
More delightful doll books:
Goldie the Dollmaker by M. B. Goffstein (this is another of my very favorite doll stories)
Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field
Patty Reeds Doll by Rachel K. Laurgaard
The Best Loved Doll by Rebecca Caudill
The Doll People by Ann M. Martin
Thank you for this! I love doll stories and I have little grand daughters that do too. :) Thank you also for the list you posted!! I will write that down for sure! :)
ReplyDeleteYou are so very welcome. I hope you and your granddaughters enjoy some of these books!
Deletemb
Thank you for the list of Doll books. Miss Happiness and Miss Flower's story was a favorite of mine as a child. I wanted to make their dollhouse. It also instilled a love of all things Japanese. Would love to visit Japan one day.
ReplyDeleteJapan is a gorgeous country and an easy, safe place to travel. I highly recommend a visit! I was lucky enough to live there for several years and cannot wait to go back someday.
DeleteCheers --
mb
I loved the "Lonely Doll" series by Dare Wright. Thank you for your post because it reminded me how much I enjoyed them. I went an ordered the series for my granddaughters as they love doll stories as much as I do.
ReplyDeleteI remember The Lonely Doll! The photograph illustrations were beautiful and fascinating...
Deleteooh I have a rec - the little girl and the tiny doll by Aingelda Ardizzone, which I read as a child and then found again recently, and read to my children. It's a about a little girl who sees a tiny doll living in a supermarket freezer, and so she and her mother start to make the tiny doll some clothes. It is a novella rather than a novel, but it ticks all my childhood doll boxes - tiny craft, tiny handmade clothes, a doll that needs a home... well worth checking out.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds wonderful. I have just done a search and learned it's long out of print, and there is short supply of used copies in circulation available for purchase (nor does my local library seem to have a copy). I will keep my eye out in case some used copies come available or it is reprinted. Thank you for the recommendation!
DeleteGood news! I found a used copy online which was reasonably priced. Thank you again for the recommendation!
Deletemb
Oh my, it was for Gideon I created PeeWee the Pirate and Smoke the Dragon from your sweet book. Currently, I am finishing Ellowyn, the fairy who rides in Finnlee the Bluebird, which I've already crafted. I will have to get my paws on an Impunity Jane.
ReplyDeleteIn the future, dear Gramerly, I am going to have you give names to all my creations. Finlee the Bluebird. How perfect!
Delete️xo