Margo's House [Library Binding]

Peni R. Griffin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1996 | Age Level: 9 and up

When her father is put in the hospital for surgery after a heart attack, Margo embarks on a magical journey when she is suddenly transformed into her four inch wooden doll, Sis, and moves into the doll house made for her by her father.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6?After her father suffers a serious heart attack, Margo finds herself drawn toward the nearly completed dollhouse he had built for her. In order to escape her worries, she decides to wallpaper the rooms belonging to the two wooden dolls, Butch and Sis. However, one morning she discovers that Butch's room has been mysteriously papered. The next night, she finds herself in Sis's body. Worried that her father's spirit has left his body and that he will not recover until it returns, she leads Butch on an adventure-filled trip to find it. Details, such as the way in which the dolls are constructed and how that affects their ability to move, are carefully and convincingly drawn. Even secondary characters are well developed and have unique personalities. Dialogue is used frequently and effectively, and the interchanges between Butch and Sis are both humorous and typical. The author creates a fantasy world so naturally that readers are drawn into it and willingly suspend disbelief. They will have little difficulty accepting either the situation or the surprising ending. A fast-moving, well-plotted, memorable novel.?Wendy D. Caldiero, New York Public Library
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3^-6. Margo's father is out of work, so he is spending his time making Margo a magnificent dollhouse and dolls whose arms and legs move realistically. But before he can finish the project, he has a heart attack. Then the story's fantasy element kicks in as Margo astrally projects into the body of one of the dolls, Sis, and eventually learns that her father, who is fighting for his life in the hospital, has astrally projected himself into the other doll, Butch. Like the wooden dolls, the story has some very creaky elements, especially Margo's long-winded explanations to Butch about the nature of reality and the last chapter, in which the now-recovered dad offers his rationalization of what happened. That he and Margo never really connect on this experience makes for an unsatisfying ending. Still, there is always an audience for doll stories, and there is a degree of excitement here as Sis and Butch try to make their way through the house, often with Margo's now seemingly huge cat in pursuit. Ilene Cooper

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Library Binding: 122 pages
• Publisher: Margaret Mcelderry; 1st edition (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689809441
• ISBN-13: 978-0689809446
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,372,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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