Hitty Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field

Hitty was published in 1929 and won the Newbery in 1930. I knew nothing about this book until I read 52 Monday's by Anna Ciddor in 2019. I have kept my eye out for a copy of Hitty so I was surprised and delighted to see a copy at a recent charity book sale. In fact there were two copies which is quite strange when you consider this is a very old children's classic from America - I wonder who owned these two copies here in Australia. 

Hitty is a wooden doll who passes through the hands of many different owners over the period of one hundred years. The exact dates are not stated but I think she was made in Maine in 1830 so she lives through the Civil war; the end of slavery; the advent of steam trains; the early days of motor cars and changes in fashion.

Fashion and clothing are an important part of this story and I imagine a child who read this book back in the 1930s or perhaps 1940s would have loved the way various owners keep making new clothes, some from very beautiful fabrics, for Hitty after all her adventures. The narrative follows a pattern where Hitty is owned by a child, a young girl, and then she is somehow lost or dropped or flung far away. She lives in various houses and settings all over the country and travels in sailing ships, trains, a steam ship, horse drawn carriages and a car. She tells her story as a memoir from her final home in an antique shop. Having lived with various children Hitty had learned to read and write so that's how she can share her story with her readers. 

The original illustrations for Hitty were by Dorothy P. Lathrop

Here is a brief plot summary from Wikipedia: The book details Hitty's adventures as she becomes separated from Phoebe and travels from owner to owner over the course of a century. She ends up living in locations as far-flung as Boston, New Orleans, India, and the South Pacific. At various times, she is lost at sea, hidden in a horsehair sofa, abandoned in a hayloft, part of a snake-charmer's act, and picked up by the famous writer Charles Dickens, before arriving at her new owner's summer home in Maine, which turns out to be the original Preble residence where she first lived. From there she is purchased at auction for a New York antique shop, where she sits among larger and grander dolls of porcelain and wax, and writes her memoirs.

How Rachel Field was inspired to write this book is a story in itself. She and her friend Dorothy Lathrop, an illustrator, had been eyeing a tiny wooden doll in a New York City antique shop. No larger than six inches, the calico-clad brown-skinned doll seemed to have so much character. At twenty-five dollars, quite a tidy sum back then, she was out of their budget. Finally, the two friends agreed to pool their money to purchase her, and at once, little Hitty stirred their imaginations. (source)

I think a modern child is probably unlikely to want to read Hitty - the historical references won't mean much to an Australian child of course but also at times some of the writing feels quite dated and even at times racist. My copy from Aladdin (1998) has very tiny print. I do like stories about dolls (my own favourite is Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Rumer Godden) but as a child I am not sure Hitty would have appealed to me. As an adult I did find the whaling scenes very distressing and also I grew a little tired of the repeated plot pattern of with Hitty constantly (I think in every chapter) being lost and found.

In 1999 Rosemary Wells wrote a new edition of Hitty with illustrations by Susan Jeffers. I think the image below might be the one from under the dust jacket. Here is a detailed review which explains all the plot twists in the life of little Hitty (she is quite a tiny doll almost small enough to fit in a pocket). I have read a few other reviews of the Rosemary Wells edition and most readers who loved the original do not really like all the text changes. 

Little House by Katya Balen

Juno's dad works for an aid organisation in a faraway place. Juno is used to her dad's absence but now her mum is going away too. Juno will stay with her grandfather for a few weeks. She does know him, but she has not stayed at his house, and she is desperately missing her mum. On her first day, though, Juno discovers a water damaged doll house in the attic. Perhaps she is too old to play with this but somehow the little, fragile dolls seem to be asking for her care. Her grandfather is a woodworker and so together they build a new house for the four little dolls and then Juno uses her art skills to fill the interiors with rugs, paintings and wallpaper.

This is a book for readers aged 8+ who enjoy quiet stories about relationships. Katya Balen creates a beautiful grandfather character. He does not ask to many questions; he is a fabulous cook, and he is happy to let Juno take her time with talking about her worries.

This is a book for thoughtful readers and is to be recommended. Books for Keeps

Heart-warming without being sentimental ... Just Imagine

I previously read and enjoyed three books by Katya Balen - covers below (Birdsong is also a Barrington Stoke title). I am collecting books for a presentation to my local Teacher-Librarians and I wanted to include a few titles from Barrington Stoke. You can see their whole catalogue here. 

Key Features of this series:

October October Winner of the Carnegie Medal

Foxlight

Birdsong (Barrington Stoke)

The Doll Box by Deborah Kelly illustrated by Joanna Bartel

Young Isla is afraid of the climbing frame at the park. 

"Her legs were too shaky. Her arms were too achy. She would never make it to the top."

Isla takes comfort at home by playing with an old small blue tin. Inside there are three dolls. Isla has played with them many times but today is the day her mother tells her the story of each one. Grand Great Grandma Sarah was so brave. She couldn't swim and had no idea what lay ahead but she got on a ship and sailed to a new country and a new life. Great Grandma Phyllis worked so hard during the war when all the men had gone away. She ran a farm and grew vegetables for the soldiers. And then there is her grandmother - Gaga. When she was a young woman girls did not go to university but she was so clever so after she finished school she did study engineering even though she was the only girl in the class.

Hearing these family stories gives Isla the courage to conquer the climbing frame and perhaps, I would like to think, knowing, albeit very briefly, these stories will also give the courage to try other difficult or scary things in the future. 

I wish this book had a timeline at the back or perhaps an expansion of the family tree that we anticipate from the cover. I do like the way the pages showing the grandmothers as younger women are presented in a sepia style. The end papers are filled with a sweet nostalgic pattern rather like old wall paper. 

If I was sharing this book with a group of young children I would bring along some of my own old dolls and use them to talk about my grandmother who raised four children on her own while living in the CBD of Sydney in Pitt Street as a building superintendent. I don't have any of her dolls and my own mum only had one doll which she had to share with her sister but I do have my doll and her beautiful set of hand stitched clothes made by my grandmother and I have the doll someone important and rich gave my mum when I was born - she is a walking doll called Rosemary. This is not her photo but she is similar:

You might be thinking this is a book that will appeal more to girls. Again if I was sharing this book with a group of children in my library I would also take along my antique toy fire engine - it belonged to a relative of my father, then my father, then my older cousin (a boy) and then finally it came to me! Talking about this toy links perfectly with a discussion about the 1930s depression here in Australia. 

Image source: Buddy L museum

There are also lots of picture books which use quilts as a way to talk about family history. 

Publisher blurb: Whenever Isla’s mother brings out her small blue doll box, Isla knows she will hear the stories of the women in her family’s past. Their incredible tales of immigration, war, and fighting for their rights show Isla the strength she has in herself and lead her on a journey of self-discovery. Inspired by the author’s own family, The Doll Box is a testament to the power of our personal histories, and the spirit of the many women who had to overcome incredible odds to achieve their dreams.

The Doll Box might be a 2025 CBCA Early Childhood notable title although this category is for readers aged 0-6. It was better when the CBCA set up this category for ages 3-8.

The Doll Box looks at who we are, how we came to be the way we are, and to understand courage, sometimes we must search for answers in the lives of the those who have gone before us. Kids' Book Review

There is so much we can learn by handing down stories, by listening to the stories of our grandparents, by asking questions, finding connections, discovering things about our predecessors, the grandparents who came before us, inside ourselves. NZ Poetry Box

Companion books:

This Old thing

Other books by Deborah Kelly:

The Thing about Oliver

Read more about The Mosaic

Other books illustrated by Joanna Bartel:

Violin and Cello

The Wise Doll by Hiawyn Oram illustrated by Ruth Brown

In this story there are three sisters. Two are horrid and very horrid and the third is named "Too Nice". Little Too-Nice is lonely, but her horrible sisters reject her and then, to get rid of her, they set a challenge that she must visit Baba Yaga and bring back a Toad in a jewelled jacket with a diamond collar. Too-Nice has a little doll that her mother gave her before she died. She asks the little doll for advice.

"put me in your pocket, listen to my advice whenever I have any and let's set out."

Too-Nice knocks on the door of Baba Yaga. The witch invites her in and tells her to wash the mountain of dishes by morning. If she fails, she will be cooked in the cauldron. Too-Nice works hard but there is no way she can complete all of this by morning. Her Doll tells her to rest and magically in the morning all the dishes are clean and stacked in neat piles. 

BUT as you would expect with any traditional tale there are more tasks ahead - three in total. Next the witch tells Too-Nice to sift through the dirt in the garden to find all the poppy seeds. This is another impossible task which her Doll is able to complete. The third challenge is to lay out the food and answer the important question.

"Now answer me correctly, or you will be my first course. What was it you came here for?"

How should she answer this question and will her answer mean she can take that toad home to her awful sisters and if she does give them the toad what on earth might happen next? Is there a way for this story to have that all important happy ending?

I read a few things about Baba Yaga:

• Baba Yaga is a witch or ogress from Slavic folklore who lives in a magical hut in the forest and either helps, imprisons, or eats people (usually children).
• Although she is usually the villain of any piece she appears in, she can also offer assistance and is understood as more of a trickster character who encourages transformation than the stock figure of an evil witch.
• Baba Yaga is probably best known from the story Vasilissa the Beautiful in which she inadvertently frees the heroine from the tyranny of her stepmother and stepsisters
• Baba Yaga is depicted as an enormous, ugly old woman who lives in a hut built on four tall chicken legs that can turn about or relocate on command. She is often seen draped over her stove or reclining in the hut across the entire expanse, with her large nose touching the ceiling. 
• There are a number of tales in which she acts as an agent of transformation, helping the heroine or hero toward self-actualization and the completion of a quest.

And a few things about Vasilissa the Beautiful:

• Vasilissa lives happily with her mother and father until she is eight years old when her mother falls ill and calls her to her deathbed, giving her a magical doll to help her through life. 
• She must always keep the doll with her, a secret from everyone else, and offer it food and drink whenever she faces some challenge in order to receive help.
• After her mother’s death, her father marries a woman with two daughters who is envious of Vasilissa’s beauty and abuses her, giving her harsh tasks, which her father can do nothing about since he is away on business trips. Vasilissa is only able to accomplish these tasks through the help of her doll.
• In hopes of getting rid of Vasilissa, her stepmother keeps sending her into the woods on errands: finally, Vasilissa is sent directly to Baba Yaga’s hut to ask for fire.
• Baba Yaga demands to know why the girl is there and agrees to give her fire in return for work. She assigns Vasilissa impossible tasks, which she is able to accomplish with her doll’s help.
• Baba Yaga sends her home with a skull containing the fire she was sent to fetch, and once it is brought into the house, it burns the evil stepmother and stepsisters to ashes.
• Baba Yaga acts as the catalyst for transformation. The doll performs all the impossible tasks given to Vasilissa, but it is Baba Yaga who assigns them, who warns the girl against asking too many questions (and so saves her from probing too far into dangerous territory), and who provides her with the skull that sets her free from her stepmother’s cruel tyranny.

Nearly all of these plot points are included in The Wise Doll. I am also sure you can easily make connections between this story and fairy tales like Cinderella. 

Good Reads blurb: A memorable Russian fairy tale to entrance and enchant. Ruth Brown's stunning illustrations accompany an extraordinary fairy tale about a little girl who, with the advice of her wise doll, escapes a truly terrifying witch and her slimy, child-gobbling toads. When Too Nice's evil sisters, Horrid and Very Horrid, force her to kidnap the witch Baba Yaga's jeweled toad, Baba Yaga devises a series of impossible tests for the little girl. If Too Nice passes them, she gets the toad, but if she doesn't -- the toad gets her Too Nice's only companion through the ordeal is the wise doll in her pocket, a gift from her mother, whose help leads to the miraculous completion of the tasks.

Superb artwork enhances this offbeat, minimalist retelling of the old Russian folktale in which Baba Yaga the witch is outwitted by an innocent little girl, with the help of a magic doll bequeathed to her by her now-dead mother. ... excellent witchy stuff. Kirkus

My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything asked me to read The Wise Doll. She had it on her Halloween book display for over 3 weeks but sadly no child selected it for borrowing - should she keep this book in her library? Her copy is the first cover shown above.

Case for YES

• This is such a satisfying story which shows the rewards of hard work, bravery and trust.
• I love books about dolls and the idea that this doll has magical power bestowed by her late mother adds a beautiful emotional layer.
• The ending and final words are perfect.
• This book has the most OUTSTANDING illustrations. I cannot think of a book with a better or more scary witch illustration. 
• I think the first cover above is appealing - much better than the second cover from a more recent (out of print) edition. 

Here is a review: ‘Oram has a gift for pithy turns of phrase, compressing description into action and dialogue.  She has retold this story in eminently oral language. ... this is folklore justice as its finest.  Looking for stories with strong female protagonists?  Tell this one.’ Janice del Negro, editor The Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books USA.

The Wise Doll reminded me of this book (which is one I adore to read aloud):

I have been a huge fan of Ruth Brown's illustrations from the time I discovered A Dark Dark Tale (1981) which I read to hundreds of young children in my school library (1984-2017). 

And I also love so many books by Hiawyn Oram especially In the Attic illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura. I also highly recommend her little junior book series 'Animal heroes' also sadly long out of print. 

Silver Linings by Katrina Nannestad

Nettie (Lynette) Sweeny lives with her three sisters and her dad on a farm. The year is 1952 and in a few months Princess Elizabeth will be crowned queen and shortly after this she will visit Australia and in particular rural Australia - coming to a town near where Nettie lives. Nettie's mum died in childbirth. Nettie longs for the love of a mother and so it is wonderful to read that when Nettie turns five her father remarries. Alice is a perfect mum to all the girls but especially to young Nettie. I think Alice is my favourite character in this story along with young Nettie of course oh and the wise bus driver. Here are some text quotes about Alice:

"Dinner is filled with happy chatter. Every time Alice puts her knife down, I weave my fingers in and out of hers. Eventually overcome by the thrill of having my own real mother, I slip out of my chair and hang off her neck. I spend the rest of the meal running my knuckles along the pearls on her necklace ... and planting kisses on her cheek."

"Alice gives us one more kiss, which makes the skin on my forehead tingle with happiness ... "

"Mum spends heaps of time sitting on the lounge or in bed because Billy's always hungry and needs a lot of feeding. She uses one arm for holding Billy, so there's always a spare one for wrapping around me and plenty of room for Muriel if she wants to snuggle up too. Which she does."

The Australian vernacular in this story is so endearing and I didn't tire of the sweet 'joke' about babies and storks and Nettie's sweet misunderstandings and earnest little letters sent to the stork asking for a baby. 

I wonder what readers from other places in the world will make of expressions like these:

'whacko the diddly-oh!'
'stone the crows'

chooks (chickens)

'ruddy cold'

'that's a porky' (tall tale or a lie)

crook (unwell)

yarn (a story)

duffer (fool)

This story has terrific descriptions of life in a small rural school. I really enjoyed the scenes where the kids are preparing their Christmas play and also getting ready to meet the young Queen Elizabeth. The importance of supporting neighbours during times of hardship and disasters such as floods is also a theme and there are references to the damage done to the minds of returning soldiers - which we now call PTSD. I think Aunty Edith may have had a Victorian upbringing - she has such strict beliefs about the behaviour of children. She is also attached to lace hankies and the importance of eating peas. There are some truly funny moments when Nettie uses her doll Fancy Nancy to voice her frustrations about Aunty Edith. Fancy Nancy can say all the naughty words that the children might think but they would never dare to say!

You will find a link to some very good teacher's notes here. Katrina Nannestead says: "This story is fiction but inspired by family history."

Publisher blurb: A new heartwarming novel set in 1950s Australia from bestselling author Katrina Nannestad. Nettie Sweeney has a dad, three big sisters, a farm full of cows and a cat called Mittens. But it’s not enough. She longs for a mother. One with a gentle touch and sparkles in her eyes. Instead, she has Aunty Edith with slappy hands, a sharp tongue and the disturbing belief that peas are proper food. When Dad marries Alice, all Nettie’s dreams come true. The Sweeney home overflows with laughter, love and, in time, a baby brother. Billy. The love of Nettie’s life. Then tragedy strikes. The Sweeney family crumbles. Nettie tries to make things right, but has she made everything so much worse?

An emotionally rich narrative with big, complex themes, told in a way that’s irresistibly immersive for middle-grade readers. Nettie is a captivating protagonist with a huge heart. While her naive innocence at the beginning of the book makes her immediately endearing, the resilience and courage she develops over the course of the book’s tragic events will earn her a special forever-place in readers’ hearts. Better Reading

I am adding this book to my list of CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) notable and short list predictions. This book will warm your heart, then break your heart and then on the final pages, while the sadness is still there, you will be given a small glimpse of a better future. This book is sure to become a classic in the same way Seven Little Australian's captured our hearts last century.  I recommend this book for readers aged 11+. Note there are some suggestions of domestic violence in the home of their neighbours the Parkes.

Other books by Katrina Nannestad - I have LOVED all of them.

The Girl who Bought mischief

We are Wolves

Rabbit, Solider, Angel, Thief

Waiting for the Storks

Olive of Groves

The Travelling Bookshop

The Doll People by Ann M Martin and Laura Godwin illustrated by Brian Selznick

"Outside the dollhouse, in Kate's room and beyond, everything changed. Little girls grew up and had little girls of their own, people left the house and went to work or on vacations. History was made. Things happened. But inside the dollhouse, not much happened, as far as Annabelle was concerned. The only important event in her entire, one hundred-year life was that Auntie Sarah had disappeared."

This quote from the second page of The Doll People gives me a good way to talk about the plot of this delightful page turner. The setting is a dollhouse owned by the Palmer family. The current child owner is eight year old Kate. The seven dolls in the house - note once there were eight dolls - are old and fragile but Kate plays with them carefully. Her much younger sister Nora, on the other hand, is rough and careless especially when she invades the dollhouse with her collection of farmyard pet toys known as the Rancher Family. All of this is terrifying for Mama, Papa, Annabelle, Bobby, Uncle Doll, Nanny, and Baby Betsy.

Luckily the parents have noticed Nora's interest in the dollhouse, so they buy her a brand new very modern dollhouse for her birthday. The Funcrafts are a family of plastic dolls - mum, dad, Tiffany, Bailey and Baby Britney. This new dollhouse has a patio, a BBQ, a microwave oven (although it is pretend) and even a computer. The Doll family have no idea about any of these things. They have a piano, a rocking horse and a 1933 set of National Geographic magazines.

When Annabelle meets Tiffany her life changes. Now she has a friend and even better together they can solve the mystery of Aunt Sarah who has been missing for 45 years but this means they will need to leave the dollhouse and explore downstairs and upstairs and even the attic all the time careful to avoid the family cat named The Captain. Oh and there are terrible consequences if any of the dolls are seen by the humans.

When I spied this book at a recent charity book sale I was so intrigued. I have loved other books (not Babysitters Club) by Ann M Martin but what really caught my eye was the name Brian Selzick illustrated of Hugo Cabret, Wonderstruck and all of those terrific book covers for Andrew Clements. Luckily my hardcover copy of this book from 2000 only cost $2 the actual retail price is close to AUS$50. The family who gave this book to the fair also donated the third book - The Runaway Dolls.

I read The Doll People over just two days and I loved it!  This would be a terrific book to read in a family as a night time read aloud. It could be read to a range of young reading fans from age 6-10. the illustrations are fabulous, the cover on my copy has a different image underneath and the end papers are filled with advertisements for the original dollhouse and the new Funcraft version.  

I love that this story is simple.  It seems so many of our books are about complex dystopian worlds with life or death problems and nail biting adventures.  ...  I so enjoyed the simplicity of the story and how the characters navigated through life. I love that this book is about the secret lives of dolls.  I love that they hope and discover and take risks.  I love the mystery of Auntie Sarah and the adventures Annabelle and her friends and family have searching for her.  I love the relationships that develop throughout the book. Nerdy Book Club

Listen to an audio sample here. There are several more books in the series.

• The Doll People (2003)
• The Meanest Doll in the World (2005)
• The Runaway Dolls (2010)
• The Doll People Set Sail (2016)

This one is a picture book published in 2016

Stories about dolls and doll houses fascinate me. This book is a blend of The Borrowers and Miss Happiness and Miss Flower and it also has the vibe of Toy Story. Read this review from Books4yourkids.

The Little Girl and the Tiny Doll by Edward and Aingelda Ardizzone

A tiny doll is dropped into the chest freezer in a supermarket. Eventually a young girl sees her:

"The doll looked so cold and lonely, but the girl did not dare pick her up because she had been told not to touch things in the shop. However, she felt she must do something to help the doll and as soon as she got home she set to work to make her some warm clothes."

The kind little girl, with help from her mother, makes the doll a coat, a bonnet, a scarf, a sweater, a petticoat, and knickers with tiny frills. 

Eventually they ask the shop keeper if they can retrieve the little doll and take her home.

Yes, it is a simple little story but it is filled with kindness and wonderful illustrations by the famous UK illustrator Edward Ardizzone.

This year I hope to occasionally talk about old or older books which hopefully are still in print and which have stood the test of time. The Little Girl and the Doll was first published in 1966. I picked up my copy at a charity book sale but this classic is still available. Apart from words like bonnet this book has stood the test of time. I know most frozen food is found in upright freezers in our supermarkets but modern supermarkets do still use chest freezers such as the one in this story. I recommend this as a family read aloud or as a book to share with a young reader aged 6+.