Japanese Girl Day

This morning Christina Courtenay‘s newsletter lobbed in to my in-box, and one of the things she mentioned was that it was ‘Hinamatsuri’ – Japanese Girls’ Day, and featured a small post about her love of Japanese dolls. (You can see it here) It reminded me about some books I’ve had since I was a child, and she and I had an on-line conversation about it.

I always wanted a dolls’ house, but instead I was given a book called The Dolls’ House by Rumer Godden, (which only intensified my desire for one.) 

Rumer Godden also wrote several stories about Japanese dolls — Miss Happiness and Miss Flower, and Little Plum., which I was also given. They’re a delight and made me want a Japanese dolls’ house as well.

The Dolls’ House is about two little girls who were given an old, rather dilapidated dolls house. It’s the story of how they renovate it—with the help of several talented adults—but it’s also a story told from the point of view of the dolls who came with the house. It’s gorgeous — even if you’re not a little girl.

Miss Happiness and Miss Flower, and Little Plum are about two girls who were given Japanese dolls and learning about them. Sounds dull, but it’s not at all.

My copies are in hardback, but they’re all available on Kindle as well. But if you have little girls in your family, especially ones who like dolls and miniatures, you might think about buying a hardback or two. I was quite a tomboy as a child, and preferred my teddy and real animals to any dolls—though I did like the idea of a miniature house and furniture— but I adored these books. I suspect they’re the source of my lifelong dolls house fascination.

I’m heading off to reread them all, starting with the Dolls’ House.

And by the way, you can still buy these books — in hardback (second hand) paperback and e-book—, although the covers might differ from mine.

Do you like miniatures or dolls’ houses? Still have any?