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Summary
Summary
When Doll Face can't find Sweet Cake for her party, a chair, a tiny tin piano, and a whispering balloon come to life to help her find the finishing touch to her soiree.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Doll Face calls all of her friends and sets out to find the music and Sweet Cake she needs to insure her party's success. She enlists the help of an obliging chair, balloon, and toy piano, and together they find the cake. These animated objects act as both guests and contributors to the festivities-the chair provides a place to sit between dances, the balloon is an amiable dance partner, and the piano plinks out a waltz. The text has a sweet, innocent style well suited to the world of toys in which the most difficult problem is a quest for dessert. Selznick's highly assertive, surrealistic cartoon style evokes a sophisticated attitude that, though arresting, seems disconcertingly at odds with Conrad's gentle characterizations. Doll Face is depicted not as a chubby-cheeked nursery favorite, but as a Barbielike doll bearing some resemblance to Marilyn Monroe. She stares out from the book cover with a plastic face, painted sweetheart mouth, black beauty mark, pink bouffant hair style, glassy blue eyes, and thin painted brows, one of which consistently arches higher than the other. Her expression is enigmatic and unchanging throughout. When she eats the delicious Sweet Cake, a large fork smashes the pink-and-white treat against her lips. The illustrations, while stylish and interesting, dominate the text, which perhaps explains why Doll Face seems to have no fun at her own party. Oddly unsatisfying.-Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Doll Face decides to throw a party for her friends, a party ``with music and dancing and Sweet Cake.'' In excitement she sets the table, instructing Plate to be still, Fork to be straight, Cup to stay empty, Spoon to stir the tea, Knife to cut Sweet Cake and Teapot to keep the tea hot. Then she heads off with Balloon and Chair in search of music and Sweet Cake. These missions accomplished, all she needs are her party guests--but to the reader's surprise they are already there! In his first picture book, Selznick ( The Houdini Box ) complements Conrad's ( The Tub People ) unusual tale with startling artwork that emphasizes odd angles and disproportionate sizes. Doll Face, in snazzy rose-colored party clothes and with hair like pink spaghetti strands, roams waiflike through a forest of shag carpet and table legs. Luminescent colors and baroque wallpaper backdrops deepen the sense of fantasy, of having stumbled upon a dreamscape. This is a clever picture book, a distant relative of Alice in Wonderland , but ultimately there is something sad and unsettling about the wooden doll who throws a party for herself. Ages 3-7. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Doll Face, a fun-loving toy personage with considerable charm and enviable poise, is imbued with life, but within the range permitted by human imagination. She is first and foremost a doll and works within this framework to solve problems. The appealing story centers on Doll Face's search for music and Sweet Cake as she plans a party. Boldly patterned, richly textured illustrations imaginatively extend the mood. From HORN BOOK 1994, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
If there is one thing Doll Face loves, it's a good party. With her Tippi Hedren hair-do and her cherry-red lips, she plays hostess to her friends Plate, Fork, Cup, Spoon, Knife, and Teapot. Chair and Balloon are late additions to the festivities, once they agree to help Doll Face track down some music (in the form of Little Red Piano) and the illusive Sweet Cake. Conrad, a well-known author of YA books and, recently, The Tub Grandfather (not reviewed), gives everyone a good time with this slight story, and Selznick's funny, color-saturated illustrations set just the right mood. The retro- looking Doll Face is particularly resplendent, with her feet turned off at odd, twisted angles, and her hilariously inanimate way of eating and drinking. Funny in a subtle, knowing way. (Book-of-the-Month Club alternate selection) (Fiction/Picture book. 3-7)
Booklist Review
Ages 3-6. Here's one determined doll. Doll Face is having a party, and she's got some of the accoutrements--silverware and a teapot, a plate and even a balloon--but she wants some music and sweet cake. A tiny toy piano turns up, but it takes a little more initiative to find the cake. When she locates the goody, the party begins. The story is very simple, but Conrad tells it with panache. Adding to the fun are the larger-than-life pictures, many of which feature delightful head shots of the doll. A snazzy pairing of art and tale that will work especially well for story hours. (Reviewed September 15, 1994)0060242620Ilene Cooper