Two families of living dolls return for their third adventure in this newest novel by Ann M. Martin, Laura Godwin, and illustrator Brian Selznick. As with the earlier two books in the series, our tale centers around Annabelle Doll, a porcelain doll who came into existence with the rest of her family in the late 1800s, and her best friend Tiffany Funcraft, a modern plastic doll not unlike Little People.

This time, things get started when their owning family receives a mysterious package just before heading away on a 2-week vacation. It turns out that the package was lost in a toy shop 100 years earlier, about the time Annabelle and her family were purchased from the same shop. There had always been a mystery about the baby in the family since she clearly did not belong to the same set of doll as she is much bigger in scale.

The two girls quickly sort out that the package contains the doll that was originally meant to be the baby of the family. All the adults in the two families think they should wait to open the package to be sure because they need to honor the Doll Code. If humans notice a change that shouldn't have happened, they could all end up in the frozen Doll State ... maybe even permanently.

As little kiddies, even doll ones, are wont to, Annabelle and Tiffany sneak downstairs to open the box and find that their assumption is correct. The problem is they are worried that the 'rents will make them put the newcomer back. As a result, They decide to runaway with Annabelle's new sister.

There plans of a quick journey by hopping in a pair of wagons owned by the neighbor boys turn horribly wrong when the girls climb out during a stop in the park. Unfortunately, the wagons start up again before they are able to reboard. Fortunately, they are joined by their two brothers.

From there, the five doll people do everything they can to try and get home to, what are likely, very worried parents. They know what they have done is wrong, and it places all of the Doll People in danger of discovery. Before they know it, they have found their way in the toy department of a local store. The question is whether they can get back home before the two-week vacation of their owners is over or will they end up being sold to a new family.

I have loved this series since reading the very first book. The illustrations are rich and really capture the fun (and scary) elements of the story. Selznick does in fact give life to the Doll People while also capturing the look of toys.

The stories are usually very well thought out, allowing readers to join the Dolls and the Funcrafts on a series of mini-adventures. This book does that, but not quite as well as the early volumes. It seems to rely more on bringing back characters and dilemmas from the earlier titles rather than furthering the story on its own merits. It is a shame because the reader is introduced to a number of great new characters once the protagonists find themselves in the store. While not as good as the earlier titles, it is still worth a try.

One of my favorite things about the books is that they remind me of a favorite Christmas special from my youth. It was produced by the Jim Henson Workshop and told the story of a group of toys owned by a family as they are confronted with the idea that they would be joined with new friends the next days. They come to life under similar rules as the Doll Code of Honor.