This Is My Dollhouse - Hardcover

Giselle Potter has illustrated numerous books for children, including Cecil the Pet Glacier by Matthea Harvey, Want to Be in a Band? by Suzzy Roche, and The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter, which was a Parents’ Choice Gold Award winner. Giselle lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband and daughters. Visit her at GisellePotter.com.

K-Gr 3—"This is my dollhouse. It used to be a cardboard box." As the narrator takes readers on an inspiring tour, her handmade dollhouse will captivate young artists, architects, and miniature enthusiasts. She introduces the eclectic family who lives there and shows how she makes the furniture out of everyday objects. A hole in a small box makes a television with a changeable picture, and cut yarn in a bottle cap makes a plate of noodles. "The rug is a small piece of carpet I cut off the one in my room. (So far, no one has noticed.)" The dolls have a Dixie cup elevator and a bowl for a rooftop pool. Engaging spreads and spot art bring out the dollhouse's whimsy while also providing a few visual how-tos. In stark contrast, the narrator's friend's store-bought dollhouse is "all perfect." At Sophie's, the two girls struggle to find a way to play together as Sophie resists any unusual improvisation around her unalterable dollhouse. The narrator becomes shy about her creative impulses and later her own dollhouse, which she hides when Sophie comes over. Ultimately the handmade dollhouse is discovered, and Sophie becomes caught up in its creation and the imaginative play it engages. The illustrations done in watercolor and ink have a folk-art style that honors the spirit of arts and crafts. Those who want to build their own dollhouse will find illustrated ideas from the book with basic instructions and suggestions under the book's jacket. VERDICT This peek into a handmade miniature world provides an irresistible prompt to create fun and make things out of found objects.—Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA