Miss Happiness and Miss Flower [Paperback]

Rumer Godden (Author), Gary Blythe (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 7, 2008

When little Nona is sent from her sunny home in India to live with her relatives in chilly England, she is miserable. Then a box arrives for her in the post and inside, wrapped up in tissue paper, are two little Japanese dolls. A slip of paper says their names are Miss Happiness and Miss Flower. Nona thinks that they must feel lonely too, so far away from home. Then Nona has an idea she will build her dolls the perfect house! It will be just like a Japanese home in every way. It will even have a tiny Japanese garden. And as she begins to make Miss Happiness and Miss Flower happy, Nona finds that she is happier too.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rumer Godden was one of the UK's most distinguished authors. She wrote many well-known and much-loved books for both adults and children, including The Story of Holly and Ivy and The Dolls' House. Her children's novel, The Diddakoi, won the Whitbread Children's Book Award in 1972. She was awarded the OBE in 1993 and died in 1998, aged ninety. Gary Blythe is a successful illustrator best-known for The Whale Song , which won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Award, and I Believe in Unicorns by Michael Morpurgo. He lives in Merseyside.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books (March 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330456326
• ISBN-13: 978-0330456326
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #580,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect book for can-do kind of little lonely girls March 8, 2003

By Dragon Lady

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

As "Harry Potter" calls out to today's young bright outsiders looking for somewhere to truly belong, this book spoke to me. It mesmerised me as a little girl. As an USAF "brat" I very much understand Nona's ache and anger as the "weird" outsider. I fell in love with the dolls as well. Their "voices" sounded like two little doting "aunties" as they subtly manipulated Nona and Belinda into seeing past their differences and fears and into finding friendship. If only I had had such a wonderful pair of guardian angels of my own back then.

Rumer does a great job of painting two total opposites of little girls with warmth and sympathy while never truly turning either into either a villian or a bad joke (way too rare). She showed that even our flaws can become strengths when they are accepted and we are willing to be loved.

One thing that really grabbed me as a child was that the book included all the plans for the house and the furnishings the girls eventually build for their little foriegn guests. I spent hours pouring over the school library copy back then. I nearly wore it out. Now my girls will be able to indulge in the same pleasure without having to always be on the look out for the due date.

This time we'll be building the Japanese doll house together.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Enchanting! April 30, 2004

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This book is still one of my favorites. I read it when I was 10 years old and in 5th grade. I fell in love with the idea of creating a home for my dolls, so I begged my dad to build me the same dollhouse, which he did. I spent many weeks searching for items to put in it, but I had some trouble finding things that looked Japanese. This book inspired me to learn more about other cultures and languages. I still have the dollhouse, and am planning to refurbish it this summer. I bought a copy of the book about 18 years ago, but it was very hard to find. I'm glad that it is more easily avaiable today. This would be a fun book to read with a child, and the house would be a fun project to make together.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars miss illustrations July 5, 2002

By J. Blum

Format:Paperback

I loved this book as a child, even using the plans to make a dollshouse of my own (albeit out of cardboard). Unfortunately the new paperback lacks the delicate illustrations gracing my cherished edition (circa late 1960s?). Hope that future versions will oblige.