Doll People Books in Order

This reading order guide provides the complete list of Doll People books in order, from the very first to the latest, so you won’t miss anything!

About the Doll People Series

The Doll People is a series of children’s books by Ann M. Martin, with Laura Godwin, and it is about very small dolls who come to life in secret whenever people aren’t around to see them. Annabelle Doll – a china doll who is eight years old, and has been eight for over a century – is the series’ main character. She resides in a dollhouse with her family, and although it seems perfectly calm on the outside, there’s a lot happening in that little house.

The first book appeared in 2000 and was instantly liked by people who read it. What sets this series apart is that it changes something all children know – dolls sitting quietly on a shelf – into a world of mystery, friendship and genuine adventure. Annabelle isn’t just a pretty doll who sits and looks good; she is inquisitive, courageous and, at times, a little bit impetuous, and this makes her a character people find it easy to want to succeed.

A truly good thing about the series is the friendship between Annabelle and Tiffany Funcraft, a modern plastic doll who moves in next door. The two are as unlike each other as can be – Annabelle is cautious and traditional, while Tiffany is daring and unafraid, in part because plastic doesn’t break as readily as china – but this is precisely what makes their relationship so enjoyable to read about. They complement each other well, and it is genuinely enjoyable to watch them solve problems together, even for adult readers who read the books too.

Over the course of the four books, Annabelle and Tiffany have adventures which become increasingly large and exciting. They go into a school, run away from home, get lost in the wrong house and, at one point, even find themselves on a ship going out to sea. Every book increases the tension a little, and every book concludes in a way that makes readers want to begin the next one immediately. The storylines are clever but not difficult to understand, and the humour is the sort that appeals to children and to the adults reading with them.

Brian Selznick – who would later become well-known for his own books – provided the illustrations for the first three books, using detailed monochrome pictures that add greatly to the storytelling. The pictures give readers a proper idea of what the world is like from the perspective of a doll, and this is part of what makes the whole series so creative and lively. Brett Helquist then took over the illustrations for the fourth book and maintained the same great visual energy.

The series also deals with some surprisingly important subjects in a way that doesn’t seem overbearing or didactic. There is a mystery in the first book about Annabelle’s Auntie Sarah, who vanished from the dollhouse many years before. There are questions about family, belonging, and what it means to be brave when everything around seems unstable. These are the sorts of themes which remain with young readers for a long time after they have read the last page.

For anyone wanting a series which inspires the imagination, the Doll People books are a very good option. They are intended for ages seven to eleven, but, truthfully, the stories remain good even for older readers. There is enough going on – emotionally, in terms of plot and with the humour – to hold the attention of older people as well. And for children who like the idea of a hidden world existing just below the surface of everyday life, this series completely provides that sensation.