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Little Plum (2007)

Little Plum (2007)

Book Info

Author
Genre
Rating
4.18 of 5 Votes: 4
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ISBN
0230528988 (ISBN13: 9780230528987)
Language
English
Publisher
macmillan uk

About book Little Plum (2007)

LITTLE GIRLS AT WAR OVER JAPANESE DOLLSRumer Godden specializes in creating a gentle fantasy world where dolls have Lives--or in this case, Thoughts--of their own. Nona and Belinda Fell treasure their three Japanese dolls: Miss Happiness, Miss Flower and Little Peach. These special "persons" enjoy their own Japanese dollhouse and clothes, beds, foods (green paint water tea) and celebrate many traditional customs. While the dolls converse privately, the sisters (who are unaware of theri dolls' commuications) plan and dream of a new friendship. They themselves are very different: nine-year-old Nona is neat, polite and very talentd with her creative fingers. While eight-year-old Belinda is a fearless tomboy, a reckless daredevil who defies parental authority, common sense and even the laws of gravity, to satisfy her whims. But things get really interesting when a rich family buys and improves the big House Next Door. What delicious opportunities to observe the doings and possessions as they move it--and there is a daughter too! Gem proves to be a "motherless" only child, waited on by her personal nanny and a large household staff--all supervised by an authoritarian aunt. The kindly father is often away on business, but after one trip he brings his daughter a Japanese doll of her own. Poor Little Plum--as the spying girls name her and discover--is neglected by her lonely mistress. Belinda decides to teach the proper care of Japanese dolls to the sulking snob next door, but soon the teasing and critical notes escalate into a non-verbal war between the headstrong young ladies. Will that "rough child" ever be allowed in the front door of the wealthy but isolated Tiffany-Jones' mansion? And will Gem ever accept cultural tutelage from mere middle-class English children? This is a delightful read-aloud story for Girls Under Ten. And all women who fondly remember the dolls of their girlhood. (June 16, 2011. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)

The sequel to Miss Happiness and Miss Flower. It is not nearly as interesting.This book centers on a disagreement between Belinda and the neighbor girl.

Do You like book Little Plum (2007)?

One of the first of Godden's "Doll Stories" that I checked out of the library at about age 10. I remember long car trips across the Midwest with my older siblings bickering and sometimes coming to blows, while I buried myself in a book to escape. One day I had this book along, and suddenly my mother asked me to read it aloud. This meant I got to sit in the front seat instead of in back between the fighters (as the youngest and shortest, I always had to sit in the middle on the axle bump). I started where I was, and was told, "No, wait, go back to the beginning." I did. It held their attention all the way to our destination, and all the way back. (By that time it was night, and I was reading by the light of a flashlight.)No one got bored or complained or fought.I was surprised that my sister aged 13 and brother aged 15 could be interested in a "kid's story" about dolls, but they were. Perhaps because Belinda is a real child, who makes mistakes, fights with a new girl she's never spoken to, acts without thinking, and is selfish and totally unlike her obedient, "perfect" siblings and cousin Nona, who apparently can make anything she likes, no matter how miniature or difficult. Tom too is capable of building a Japanese doll's house, while sister Anne plays the violin (just like my older sister, also a Little Miss Perfect.) Belinda is untidy, clumsy, blunt and blissfully unaware of her bumptious personality until she meets the Tiffany-Joneses, the upperclass family who move in next door. ("Gem Tiffany- Jones", hyphen and all...ugh. Overkill. But for a "perfect" princess with private ballet lessons and her own grand piano and pony, I guess it fits.)The book got me interested in Japan, and established the custom of me reading aloud on car trips. Thanks to Little Plum, our frequent road trips were much more peaceful and we discovered a lot of very good writers. From there it was a short step to Dickens, Austen and co. Thank you, Ms. Godden.
—Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all)

It's been a year since Nona moved in with her Aunt, Uncle and Cousins. Nona and Belinda now get along and are great friends. But it seems the House Next Door that has been empty for a very long time, is now being lived in. A girl who is about nine years old is living there with her family and she has a Japanese doll! Belinda wants to make friends, but due to the girl's Aunt, she hasn't been able to. And soon it turns into a war between Belinda and the new girl next door.Like the first, it is a cute book. It's a bit longer than the first and I think Belinda plays an even bigger part in this one as she tries to make friends with the neighbor girl. It's a bit crazy at times because of the lengths that Belinda goes to so she can get the neighbor girl's attention. But it's a good book.
—Eden

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