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Summary
Summary
This is the story of five little dolls that are left in a box, in a park, under a chair. Nobodyknows why they were left here, but one day, a couple of retired mice discover them, the box is blocking their doorway. Soon, the dolls and the mice become friends...except for the Countess, who's a little too hoity-toity to befriend any mice. But she doesn't have any choice and soon the dolls learn to stay away from the "legs" (humans), forage for food, and have a great deal of fun with the mice. The Countess's Calamity is the first in a series of four books about these lost dolls called Tales from the Box.
Author Notes
Sally Gardner is the author and illustrator of a number of charming books for children, including The Book of Princesses, The Fairy Tale Catalogue, Polly's Really Secret Diary, and Mama, Don't Go Out Tonight. She lives in England and is the proud mother of twin girls and a boy.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-In this fresh and lively chapter book, Mr. and Mrs. Mouse befriend five dolls abandoned in a box in a park. The couple provides beds, food, and safety in their warm, well-furnished mouse hole, but they can't win over the haughty Countess, who is used to the Land of Lounge. While the other four toys try to fit in and are grateful, the Countess remains apart. But when she falls prey to the groundskeeper's cat, the evil Mr. Cuddles, the mice and the other dolls rescue her, and the park's puppet master repairs her and supplies her with a "beautiful little heart." Mr. Mouse's language ("Everything tickety-tails?" he asks), the dolls' comments ("You really are a cloth brain"), and the view of the park as a place where "legs" come and go but leave plenty of food make this story fun to read aloud. Gardner's mixed-media illustrations include charming drawings of characters superimposed on photographs of a furnished mouse house and other backdrops. Their details, along with the clever telling, will delight readers not quite up to Rumer Godden's doll stories or Mary Norton's The Borrowers (Harcourt, 1953) but ready for more challenge than is offered in John Peterson's "The Littles" books (Scholastic).-Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
"This is a story of five little dolls who were left in a box, under a chair, in a park. Why they were left there, I haven't a clue," begins Gardner's (Polly's Running Away Book) wry and winsome Tales from the Box series. The rather formal yet welcoming tone of the omniscient narrator echoes in the voices of Mr. and Mrs. Mouse, who discover the box blocking their front door ("Shall I see what's inside, my little ribbly rodent?" Mr. Mouse asks his bride). Meanwhile, the quintet of dolls speculate on their whereabouts. Quilt, the sailor doll, thinks they are in an attic. Ting Tang, a smiling cloth doll in formal Chinese attire, believes they are wrapped as a birthday present, and the Countess-from "the Land of Lounge" who owns a "red-plush chair" and silver tea service, and sports a fur-collared coat-is quick to agree: "Why didn't I think of that? We are the birthday present." While the others accept the generous hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Mouse, the Countess insists on remaining in the box, which a child throws in a rubbish bin. Gardner drolly relays the haughty doll's just deserts, which include calamitous encounters with the nasty park keeper and his equally unpleasant cat. When a kind puppet from a nearby theater brings the mangled Countess to the puppet maker, she gains something she has lacked: a heart. Gardner's cheerful art, composed of black-and-white photos and halftone drawings, adds further whimsy to this diverting and clever fantasy, sure to attract a following. Ages 6-10. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
With the help of a nice mouse couple and friends, five dolls left in a box in the park must learn how to survive. The snooty Countess doll offends everyone, until a daring rescue from a cat and a kindly puppet-maker's repair cause her a (literal) change of heart. Old-fashioned photo and paper-doll collage illustrate this quirky tale. From HORN BOOK Fall 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
