Kindergarten-Grade 2. Jacob arrives home from school to find that a pioneer cabin he won from a cereal-box contest has arrived. When he opens it, he sees that the toy cabin is better than expected, and there are four little dolls inside. That evening, they come to life. They demand food, take a bath, get new dresses (made by Jacob with his penknife), and play with his mother's jewelry. As he falls asleep, Jacob becomes tiny and enters the cabin with them. The next morning he seems unsure whether this was real or fantasy; readers may feel the same way. The transition into fantasy is smooth enough, but the confusing story seems to go in and out of reality. Jacob as a character is peculiar?the first visual impression of him is as a disinterested boy blowing a bubble, with two people looking at him with sadness or pity; when he first sees the package with his name on it, he doesn't seem excited and has a bowl of cereal. Jacob is not a happy child; he tells the dolls that he is lonely, and in most of the pictures he looks sad. The illustrations are competent with close attention to detail; the little dolls and their cabin look very realistic. The story should be commended for portraying a little boy who plays with dolls, but Charlotte Zolotow's William's Doll (HarperCollins, 1972) is a far better choice.?Angela J. Reynolds, West Slope Community Library, Portland, OR
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
A replica of a log cabin, the prize for answering a question on the back of a cereal box correctly, arrives at Jacob's house; when he lifts off the roof, he sees four sleeping girl dolls. That night, after Jacob wishes his parents good-night, the dolls come to life, and they are an exacting bunch: They're hungry, they want a bath, they want new clothes made for them, etc. Jacob notes that they aren't behaving like stalwart pioneers, so he takes on the role, ingeniously satisfying the girls' demands. Then comes an unexpected hint of sadness when Jacob tells the girls a story: ``Once upon a time there was a little boy who wanted a log cabin. He was a very lonely little boy and when he got the log cabin he was going to pretend he lived there.'' The book ends on an ambiguous note--was Jacob dreaming? Jam's story is a rich stew, by turns charming and disarming, sweet and clever, and touched with melancholy. Fitzgerald's illustrations are amiable confections that do their best to capture the many layers of the tale. (Picture book. 3-6) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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