Review: The Winter of the Dollhouse

By Laura Amy Schlitz

Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2025. Fiction. 389 Pages.

Tiphany Stokes is an eleven-year-old-girl who is having a hard time making friends and is struggling with her role as an older sister and step-daughter in her blended family. One day Tiphany is out taking her younger brother for a walk when she meets her elderly Hungarian neighbor Szilvia Rozsahegyi and offers to help her with her bags as she shops at the store. On their way home from the store a business arrangement is made between the two of them where Tiph agrees to come everyday and walk Ms. Rozsahegyi's dog and clean her cat's litter box. Tiph is very dependable and she is surprised by how much she enjoys her job and her visits with Ms. Rozsahegyi, who insists she call her Szilvia Neni, which is Hungarian for "Aunt Szilvia". Tiph loves spending time at Szilvia Neni's house and as a bonus, she is excited to be earning her own money so she can buy the antique doll she has been admiring in the store window.

As the friendship between Tiph and Szilvia grows another friendship begins to bloom between two antique dolls, Gretel and little Red Riding Hood. The dolls meet at the antique store and then they both magically end up at Szilvia Neni's house. As the dolls talk they learn that one of them was bought and other one was stolen. At night the dolls explore the old dollhouse together and talk about ways to help Tiphany out of the mess she got herself into. The stolen doll must remain hidden but that doesn't stop them from having some very thrilling nighttime adventures together.

This enchanting story is all about friendship, loss, imagination, and finding magic in places you least expect it. A perfect read for those who enjoy positive stories that leave you with a warm happy feeling.

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