REVIEW: The Winter of the Dollhouse by Laura Amy Schlitz
On a gloomy November night, eleven-year-old Tiphany Stokes saves an old lady from collapsing in the street. An antique doll named Gretel watches them, longing for Tiph to rescue her from life in a shop window. Though none of these three characters realizes it, their worlds are about to change: Gretel will no longer be a precious prisoner. The old lady—is she a witch?—will discover the secret hidden in her long-neglected dollhouse. And Tiph—whose parents rejoice that she is “never any trouble”—will become a thief, a dog walker, an actor, and best of all, a friend.
CW/TW – stealing, anxiety, mention of younger child’s medical issues (already resolved)
Dear Ms. Schlitz,
I was drawn to this book because of the charming cover and the fact that it has been likened to Rumer Godden’s doll books. The reading age listed is listed as 9-12 which I agree with if those children still like dolls and dollhouses which I think is different from playing with stuffed toys and baby dolls. I think adults would enjoy this, too. But those younger than 9 or teens would probably be bored with either the length or with a book about dolls.
The blurb gives a tiny hint of what goes on in the story. Tiph is living in a new city, going to a new school, and her home life is complicated. Her mother died before Tiph really got to remember her and her father remarried a few years later. Step-mother Holly (an important role in so many fairy tales) is the only mother Tiph really knows but things still aren’t smooth sailing as her younger brother was born “with a hole in his heart” and the family tensely lived through his numerous operations. Baby Rain is beautiful but also demanding. Tiph loves her sibs but is getting tired of being the “no problems” child who gets dragged into changing smelly diapers and giving up her free time to play with a brother eight years younger than she is.
In her late sixties, Szilvia (pronounced Silvia) lives alone after her divorce. Her ex never wanted children so they didn’t have them. Szilvia has a dog, Loki, and a cat, Flosshilde, and an old dollhouse that her father made for her and shipped from Hungary years after Szilvia and her mother emigrated from Communist controlled Hungary. Now recovering from an operation, Szilvia asks Tiph, who helped her, to dog walk and clean up after the cat.
But like any good fairy tale, there’s more to what’s here than we see.
Things get messy in this story. Tiph is the new girl in school, looking for and longing for a new friend, and also seems to have anxiety when confronted by authority. She actually does do some bad things including taking a doll and at times, when stressed, talking back to her stepmother. There are a lot of pent up emotions at Tiph’s home and I could understand her feeling invisible and unappreciated. During her brother’s health scare, Tiph didn’t feel she could speak up about anything and held in her worry about Phillip.
But is Holly really an evil step-mother? I like how the book addresses this and lets Szilvia give Tiph some sage advice about speaking up and not bottling in her feelings. Parents can make mistakes too and aren’t all seeing or all knowing. Tiph’s father is also concerned about his family and tries his best but admits feeling overwhelmed with his son’s health condition and anxious about adding more children to the family.
Then there’s what Tiph actually did and her growing guilt. She knows what she did is wrong but in the face of her longing for the expensive Gretel doll and envy about how much money Szilvia, an adult, has to spend, Tiph messes up and then can’t figure out how to correct her mistake. Until she does – on her own, which I also appreciated – and then goes about fessing up and fixing things. In addition there’s a lovely subplot about Tiph finally finding her way at school as well as gaining a best friend.
But this is only half the story. The best bits are the magical realism (think Toy Story) with the dolls, Loki and Flosshilde. Because of course when no one is looking the dolls can move and communicate. They can also speak with Loki and Flosshilde who is just Such A Cat. I adore them both but yeah, I’m a cat woman at heart. Despite Red’s and Gretel’s fear of being gummed and slobbered on by Loki, he’s ready to help while Flosshilde, if she’s in the mood, will pitch in as well.
The growing friendship between Szilvia and Tiph is delightful. Szilvia is thoughtful and doesn’t cut Tiph too much slack when she thinks Tiph needs to shape up. Her suggestions are made calmly though. Tiph’s growing confidence at school is heartening as are her newfound emotional skills in opening up to her parents instead of holding everything in. But the dolls, Loki, and Flosshilde make the book for me. B
~Jayne
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This is one of the most beautiful covers I have ever seen. Just snagged it from the library. Thanks!
@Tanya: Isn’t it gorgeous? I just had to add the addition image that expanded what we can see.