In 1958, I used a bookmobile for the first time. I was unfamiliar with the terms of borrowing a book. I was in the middle of reading a book when I learned I had to return it. I had not yet finished it. I tried in vain to re-borrow it. The story was about a young girl who had a doll in her attic. It was not a picture book. The book did not have illustrations. It was a chaptered book. It seemed like it was an “old” book at the time. I’m guessing it was written on a 4th or 5th grade reading level. I do not remember any dollhouses. I think the protagonist, a young girl, was hiding the doll from some danger. The character seemed to be a loner. It was not scary.
I would guess the book was from the 40’s. Any help?
Stump the Bookseller
New format, same book stumper solving.
I wonder if this is ‘Hitty: Her First Hundred Years” by Rachel Field.
You might be thinking of one of my favorite books of all time – Behind the Attic Wall by Sylvia Cassedy. It’s about an orphaned girl who is very much a loner and discovers two old dolls in the attic who come to life. If you never read it, it’s excellent. I would say it is a 4-7 grade reading level.
That was my first thought as well…but I just looked it up, and Behind the Attic Wall was first published in 1983, so it couldn’t have been read in 1958.
Could be Magic Elizabeth – published 1966.
From Goodreads:
Eight-year-old Sally faces an entire summer trapped in a creepy old house with no one for company but her spooky Aunt Sarah and a black cat named Shadow. But soon Sally uncovers a mystery about a beautiful old doll in a portrait — and a little girl who looks just like Sally herself! In search of clues, Sally is drawn toward the attic and the old mirror that sits there. And when she looks into it, something magical happens…. (less)
OMG !!!!
I have been searching for this book forever.
Thank you so much for posting this. I read this book in 3rd grade in the 60’s.
Thanks
Ah, just noticed you said you read the book in 1958. Alas.
Maybe, The Secret of Madam Doll? Probably not, but a wild guess.
I suspect that she’s talking about The Wonderful Fasion Doll by Laura Bannon, originally published in 1953