The Dolls’ House
Tanya Rosie and Claudia Ravalli
Oxford Children’s Books

When Mia finds an abandoned dolls’ house in the street near to her new home, she immediately decides to take it back to her house. Once there she straightway begins operation renovation by giving it a coat of bright yellow paint and because the paint hasn’t dried by bedtime, Mia has to leave it outside overnight.

Next morning to her surprise she sees a boy looking at the dolls’ house and he asks to play with her. Mia agrees and she and Aaron spend the day making things for the dolls’ house. The following day Aaron appears again, accompanied by his sister who has an offering for the house and also wants to play.

Gradually that dolls’ house becomes a meeting place where lots of children enjoy playing together – the whole summer long.

Then one evening Mia notices a face briefly staring out from behind the curtains of the house opposite and during the rainy autumn days she waves at the boy who merely smiles. As winter approaches Mia’s mum suggests bringing the dolls’ house indoors but although Mia agrees, she asks to leave it outside for just one more night. She carefully positions an umbrella over the house – just in case – and the following morning the precious dolls’ house is in rather a state. Then she hears a sound and there is the boy from behind the curtain offering shyly to help her fix the house. In his outstretched hands he holds something special.

But Mia too does something special …

With themes of friendship, sharing and empathy, this is a wonderfully heart-warming story to share. If you read it aloud to a class, make sure you have plenty of time for your listeners to explore the details in Claudia Ravalli’s illustrations, large and small. The final fold-out spread of the house interior shows the fully furnished dollhouse with its diverse residents – a visual treat – and a reminder of the enduring fascination of small world play for children.