A Child of Their Own

A family of dolls living in a toy shop, the Darlings worry about being separated, but they are reassured when a kindly woman buys everyone together, until they begin to worry about having a child to love them all.

Grade 3-5-- Many good books have been written about dolls; unfortunately, this is not one of them. The Darlings are a family of porcelain dolls in search of a playmate. Precious, didactic, and condescending, the story suffers from an intrusive narrator whose frequent asides interrupt the flow, and are no substitute for competent character development. The dialogue is melodramatic and humorless. However, avid dollhouse lovers may enjoy Rendal's extensive descriptions and find her decorating hints useful; most readers will skip over them in search of plot. The author's coyness and abrupt ending do nothing to improve the book. --Ruth Smith, formerly at Chicago Public Library
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This cozy, determinedly quaint tale will find a captive audience in dollhouse fanciers. An American Lady who may or may not be a Serious Collector (liberal capitalization helps give this book its antique patina) spots a group of dolls in an English toyshop and buys them all--not just Mr. and Mrs. Darling and their children, who are made of hand-painted porcelain and dressed in exquisite hand-sewn clothing, but also Amanda Miranda and Revely, the mass-produced sister and brother who desperately wish to be part of the Darling family. Rendal lards the story of their resettlement with enchanting details and parenthetical tips on dollhouse decor ("Stamps make excellent doll's house pictures"; "very fine cotton batiste" is the fabric of choice for doll linens). Several plot lines generate tension: Will Amanda Miranda and Revely become Darlings? Who is the American Lady? Will the dolls ever be united with a child who can Pretend with them? Aside from a bit of clumsy psychologizing, Rendal cleanly and capably navigates between the whimsical and the coy. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A delightfully old-fashioned story about the Darlings, a family of hand-painted porcelain dolls purchased by a Tall American Lady and shipped from a London toy shop to New York. Their new owner seems kind--indeed, she installs the family in a magnificent dollhouse; the dolls' great fear is that she is a Serious Collector who will display them but never allow them to be loved and played with by a child, dooming them to becoming lifeless knickknacks. A subplot concerns a pair of mass-produced dolls who, even though they are ``common,'' yearn to be adopted by the Darlings. All ends happily after various adventures (including the near-demise of one doll, shattered when he falls from the dollhouse roof) with the revelation that the Lady is the author herself, while the dolls are a gift for her niece and nephew. Written in a quaint, leisurely style with occasional asides to the reader (including clever tips about furnishing a dollhouse) and warm, reassuring things to say about families and what dolls (i.e., children) need to feel safe and loved. Should come packaged with every dollhouse. (Fiction. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.