School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-Anna's father repairs dolls for a living with parts he special orders from Germany. Their family lives above the shop and the nine-year-old and her sisters help with chores. In their spare time, they make up games to play with the dolls waiting to be repaired. Of course, each girl has a favorite. When war breaks out (an author's note says it is World War I and describes the embargo), Anna's father can no longer get his parts and the shop begins to suffer. He starts returning the dolls he can't repair, and soon there are only six left. Then Anna comes up with the idea to create new ones, and her Nurse Nora is a success. With business looking better, the only thing the girls have left to worry about is whether or not the owners of their favorite broken dolls will return to claim them. This slow but sweet tale has an old-fashioned feel and is based on a true story. Readers who stick with it will be happy with the ending.-Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Taking loose inspiration from the true-life story of the late Madame Alexander, whose New York-based company has been producing dolls since 1923, McDonough (The Doll with the Yellow Star) fashions a wholesome tale of a Russian-Jewish immigrant family on New York's Lower East Side in the early 1900s. The Breittlemanns live above their doll repair shop, where Papa restores porcelain dolls, Mama repaints the faces, and sisters Sophie, Anna and Trudie help however they can, taking special pleasure in playing with unclaimed broken dolls. When WWI begins and needed doll parts can no longer be had from Germany, middle daughter Anna comes up with the idea of making cloth dolls. McDonough tells the story in nine-year-old Anna's straightforward, sympathetic voice, accurately presenting relevant historical details as well as the emotional complexities of sibling relationships. Reminiscent of the All-of-a-Kind Family series, the book distinguishes itself both by its foundation in doll history and its authentic depictions of imaginative play. Maione's (Princess Bess Gets Dressed) lighthearted line drawings only vaguely suggest the era, and the characters' cartoonish features do little to illuminate their personalities, but the lively illustrations have little-girl appeal. Ages 7-11. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved