I wasn’t able to finish this book. Because of this, it is my policy not to review the book on my site or on Goodreads/Amazon. I also didn’t mark it DNF.

Karolina a doll from the Land of dolls, is spirited to Kraków by the magical wind Dogoda, and lands in the hands of the kind and gentle Dollmaker. When the Nazis descend on Poland, their lives will forever be changed. What they endure together is truly a story to be told. This is a story of magic, love, friendship, hardship and triumphs, for what Cyryl Brzezick does will forever have him remembered as the Dollmaker of Kraków

This Holocaust book was written primarily for children in grades 3 - 7. Like other books on the same subject, the book is difficult to read, but not overly dark, based on the subject matter. The fairy-tale feel of the book help to make it a charming story for share.

I couldn't get into the story, I tried (too wordy for me). I didn't leave a review because I only do so if there's something very wrong with the book, but this one was just not for me.

This is a fantasy novel about WWII for children. Karolina is a doll who awakens in the home of a dollmaker who lives in Krakow, Poland. She has left the Land of the Dolls because it had been attacked by ferocious rats and she wanted to find a way to fight them and win the war. Instead, she helps the dollmaker become friends with a Jewish violinist and his daughter, Rena. Then, however, war finds Poland and the Nazis invade. The story is touching and sad and beautiful.

"The Dollmaker of Kraków" tells the story of a doll named Karolina and, of course, a dollmaker who lives in Kraków. It mostly talks about how people's lives changed because of the War World II and that means it's a very sad book. Even expecting that after reading the synopsis, I was actually shocked by just HOW sad is it.

I love the idea of this story, the idea of a Land of Dolls. And yet, I always felt like it wasn't developed as well as it could have been. There was just something missing, something to make one really enchanted with this magical place. And even more importantly, the merging of the world of humans & dolls seemed a little bit clumsy at times. Like the author wasn't really sure how to go about it. I suppose this might be because it's supposed to be a middle grade book, so the author might have tried to avoid big, convoluted ideas? And yet she wrote a book about Holocaust...

Overall, "The Dollmaker of Krakow" is a solid story, offering some hope and some ways to heal. It's just that I was expecting more from it.

Books that evoke strong emotions are among my favourites and The Dollmaker of Krakow certainly fits the bill. The book alternates between Poland in the 1940s and the Land of the Dolls where a similar yet different war is taking place.

Romero writes a beautiful tale of friendship between a doll and the dollmaker, as well as the relationship they have with Jozef and Rena, a father and daughter whose lives change drastically after Nazi soldiers descend upon Poland.

The book starts off slowly and may not offer anything new to those familiar with the history but I appreciated how age-appropriate it was without making light of events or providing descriptions that may be too harsh for kids to read.

What I loved most about this book was how genuine the relationships felt between the characters. Romero was able to capture heartfelt moments in the everyday, and gradually, as people's treatment of Jews began changing in Poland. I also liked that the book shed light on the overlooked people of society who are among the kindest and bravest of souls, willing to help and protect mistreated people because it's the right thing to do. It reminds us that we always have a choice and what we choose matters.

I loved the characters as well. Watching them grow and change as the story went on was both delightful and hard to swallow. Some became better, others worse, and it was frightening how well it mirrored society today.

The Dollmaker of Krakow is a treasure among middle-grade historical fantasy novels. It's magical and full of heart from beginning to end and it's a story I recommend to many.

You always have a choice. We can choose to participate in hateful acts, to look away from them, or to ease the pain we see in the world through bravery and kindness. Please be kind. Please be brave. Please don’t let it happen again. - R.M. Romero

6 stars! I loved this book. While it may be targeted to children (middle grade and up), it's also a delight for adults. It's kind of a fairy tale set in two places: Poland during World War II and in the Land of the Dolls. The two main characters are a doll named Karolina and a dollmaker. The way the author intertwines the two worlds allows her to show both the tragedy of wartime and the nobility some display in its midst, while not being too harsh for younger readers. The characters were wonderful and there was a good blend of both sorrow and hope.

Highly recommended for everyone!

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me a free e-ARC of this book.

There is so much to love about this novel, but my favorite part has to be the creativity of Karolina and the Dollmaker's worlds. Karolina comes from the candy-covered Land of the Dolls when she is thrust into Krakow just before Hitler's invasion of Poland. I found having a polish-Christian perspective of the war unique because I feel like most novels focus on a German or Jewish point of view. The Dollmaker may not be Jewish, but he believes in treating everyone kindly regardless of their religion. His biggest problem is that he was born in Germany, so the Nazi's expect him to behave as such. I loved the progression of his conflict because he is definitely one of the good guys, but the Dollmaker struggles to figure out how he can help his friends and keep everyone safe.

For a short middle grade novel, these were also incredibly well-developed characters that each had a deep back story. I enjoyed the back and forth between real world chapters and Land of the Dolls chapters because that helped slowly lay out each story-line. I think it was an interesting choice to leave Karolina's journey to Poland until the final chapters because it also would have made sense to place that chapter at the start of the novel. I was surprised by the amount of backstory given to the villain as well because generally we just want to hate Nazis, but Brandt's story made me sympathize with him first, then hate him even more. He's a great villain and I thought Romero did a great job with the rivalry between Brandt and Karolina.

Finally, the main event! I absolutely LOVE the solution to their problem! I thought turning the children into dolls to sneak them out of the ghetto was so clever and unique. It was an inspiring way to end this story after the tragedy laid out in their lives. The ending was a bit brutal because the Dollmaker and Jozef don't make it out alive, but I liked that this book was realistic while still having the happy ending of the children surviving. I thought this novel had the perfect balance of cheerful and sad. I genuinely think that readers of all ages could enjoy this WWII story. It ranks up there with the Book Thief, and I think one day The Dollmaker of Krakow will be just as popular when teaching children about the Holocaust.

Anytime you pick up a book that is set during WWII you must be prepared for a sad or at the very least a bittersweet ending; even when it's a middle-grade book.

The Setting & Characters
The Dollmaker of Krakow is set in German occupied Poland. As a survivor of WWI whose missing a leg, the Dollmaker is a quiet, downtrodden older man. To me he felt like the kind of old man that you just want to hug and listen to all day long. I adore him.
As this is a middle grade (ages 9-11) book it conveys the horror of the treatment of the Jews and the Polish people in a way that children can understand. And even though I knew how it was likely to end and that not everyone could get out, I still couldn't wait to read more each time I had to put it down.
Our other main character is a doll that has come to life. This doll named Karolina, lived in the Land of the Dolls first and experienced a war herself. She is unlike Pinocchio in every way and instead is our Jiminy Cricket of the story, always telling us what is right and wrong.

Plot
The focus of the book is the telling of two parallel stories. One of the Land of the Dolls being invaded by rats (told in past tense) and the other of Poland being invaded by Germans (told as its transpiring). As the story is told from Karolina's perspective we have a constant voice asking why people are doing these things and questioning why the Germans are so awful; but also questioning why the adults don't fight back. This allows the story to be told in a way that keeps the message clear; the actions of the soldiers are wrong and immoral and that the Polish are afraid and most are not at fault. I like this treatment of the story and morality a lot. It allows R.M. Romero to keep the story true to actual events (ie: Jews being moved around and eventually onto the trains if the Germans aren't just outright killing them in the streets) without the need to lie about what happened.
I believe it's important we tell children the truth of events and situations so that they can know not to repeat these actions. If we ignore history and it's awful moments then I fear humans will make the same mistakes again. We must teach our children to have their eyes open and be able to identify fascism, racism, injustice, etc. early and then to try and give them the tools to fight back long before an army is invading.

Magic
There is some fictional magic in this book. It's used sparingly and really only to allow for two major events. First for Karolina to exist at all in our world (talking doll and all) and second for a major plot point to be plausible. I think it's brilliantly used and absolutely love that it's very specific and used sparingly. It helps keep the majority of the events in the story realistic.

Word Choice
I have only one major complaint about this book. Which frankly is amazing as even some of my favourite books still have multiple issues.
Word choice is something that really good authors pay a lot of attention to and actually think about.
All of the vocabulary in The Dollmaker of Krakow is well chosen (for reading comprehension of the 9-11 age bracket and for tone and impact to the story). All except for one word:
Witch
This is what Karolina calls the Germans. Some are worst witches than others in the dolls mind and she does discuss that briefly. There is also a distinction made between magicians and witches (I will concede that witch is lowercase on all uses at least). A magician can be good or bad. I'm not sure why Romero decided to use the word witch, but I really hate it. Using it to describe the Germans soldiers perpetuates the use of witch as a word for someone evil or wrong.
In actual fact there are people who identify as Witches in modern day (yes my caps usage is intentional). Witches are commonly followers of Wicca but can be Pagans in general depending on who you ask. Witches are generally people who believe in nature as the strongest force in the world and follow the sentiment of 'If ye harm none, do what you will'. An obvious hurt no one belief and certainly contrary to the definition used.
I believe this is likely an innocent mistake by Romero to choose the word but it's still a mistake. If Romero wants a word for monster or evil that children would understand easily I believe there are much better choices.

Overall
Despite my cringe each time Karolina called a soldier a witch, I still absolutely loved this book. The Dollmaker of Krakow is a gem. Written in the magical voice of a little doll who comforts and helps a lonely old man; it's impossible not to be in love from the opening word to the final period.
If you are a crier I would recommend some tissues for sure. I'm not a crier but still nearly succumbed at one point. For me that is a showing of how amazing and powerful this story is.
This is a book that transcends age or genre. It tells the truth, and reminds the reader at every turn of what is right and wrong. In the scenarios in The Dollmaker of Krakow there are very few grey moments of morality. Instead it is black and white which I believe will help children understand the travesties better. Destroying people is never okay; whether the destruction is running people from their homes, starving them or (obviously) ending their lives.

A Special Spot
A spot next to The Book Thief and The Sky is Falling. is now being reserved on my shelf for The Dollmaker of Krakow. I can't imagine not adding it to my permanent library in a place of honour. It definitely deserves to be there next to other fantastic WWII children's novels.

Like many other reviewers, I have to agree that the author seems to be confused of how the tone of the story should be. The whole magic and land of the dolls story fits children of 6 or 7 years old, while the war experience written in this book feels to complex for that demographic, yet it will fit children of 13-15 years old. I appreciate that the author try to simplify the war by using the land of the dolls metaphor, but then the war in this book is too grim when compared with land of the dolls story. Not to mention the characters themselves seem like they were adults with child-like mind; easily believes in magic (really?), easily persuaded, and easily exciteable. It really makes the book feels jarring to read because it feels too child-like for all the horrible things (and there are a lot, even more than in The Book Thief), that when those things happened, it left no impact for me.

R. M. Romero’s Dollmaker of Kraków is perfect blend of light and dark

THE DOLLMAKER OF KRAKOW, by R. M. Romero, Delacorte Books for Young Readers, Sept. 12, 2017, Hardcover, $16.99 (ages 8-12)

I started reading The Dollmaker of Kraków not knowing what to expect. I finished it wondering why more people weren’t talking about it.

Once upon a time, there was a doll named Karolina. Karolina lived in the Land of the Dolls where magic works, although not always how you’d imagine. When rats overthrow the Land of the Dolls’ king and queen, Karolina finds herself forced to do the vermin’s bidding.

Karolina fins a way to escape, though, and is swept away by a strange wind that transports her to WWII Kraków, Poland. Karolina isn’t dropped in just any place, though. Instead, she finds herself in a toyshop under the care of the Dollmaker, who has a haunted past and a hidden magic.

The Dollmaker is a solitary man, but Karolina’s curiosity and courage inspire him to look beyond his shop. The Dollmaker and Karolina befriend a violin-playing father and his daughter who — once they get over the shock of a talking doll — become as dear as family. For the first time in a long time, the Dollmaker knows happiness.

If only that happiness could last. Just as things are becoming comfortable, the Nazis invade Poland, and it doesn’t take long to figure out everything the Dollmaker and Karolina hold dear could come crumbling down in an instant.

Though called The Dollmaker of Kraków, the third-person narrative follows Karolina instead. And her story in the Land of Dolls unfolds parallel to that of the Dollmaker. This parallel existence helps scale what’s going on to a personal level as well as big picture.

Karolina might be one of my favorite characters to come out of middle grade fiction this year. Her traits often made me think of her as a child rather than a doll. She is curious and yet she knows injustice and feels deeply. Though she looks delicate, she’s strong and fiercely loyal. And she understands more than people seem to think.

The Dollmaker of Kraków works because there’s a blend of hope with sadness. Author R. M. Romero finds happiness and light among the darkest of times. Her balance of all these elements is inspired. I highly recommend The Dollmaker of Kraków for readers young and old.

This book was a very poignant story. It described the characters of the Dollmaker, Rena, Josef and Karolina wonderfully. It is narrated by Karolina and she draws my heart into this story exquisitely, but I could feel the draw of the inevitable conclusion and when if came, all though I hoped things could have been different, it just broke my heart, especially the Dollmaker, Cyryl Brzezick's last words to Karolina. Amazing heartfelt tale.

This book checked ALL THE BOXES for me. Beautiful imagery and prose, a cool concept, and then setting really sets it off. I would recommend this book to EVERYONE, because this book has at least SOMETHING that everyone would like.

An engrossing middle-grade fantasy story about a doll and the man who brought her from her world to his own. After the rats invade the land of the dolls and destroy everything she holds dear, Karolina is brought into the life of the Dollmaker by a kind wind. She tries to bring joy to the life of her new friend, who suffers from the memories of the first world war. As the Dollmaker begins to realize he possesses his own magic and starts befriending a Jewish man and his daughter, outside forces rapidly begin destroying their lives. When the Germans arrive in Krakow, everything changes, and Karolina and the Dollmaker must stand up for what is right and try to protect their friends.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although I'm not really sure what to make of it and I will admit that I skimmed over the rather boring (and unnecessary) portions of the land of the dolls. (view spoiler)

It felt very removed. It was emotional, yes, but the use of subtle euphemisms and the fact that much of the action happens off-screen only served to distance me from the storyline. (view spoiler) Of course, the story is told from Karolina's viewpoint and she spends most of the time as a witness instead of a participant, observing the Dollmaker interact with people. The timeline's uneven pacing also felt weird, like I was missing huge chunks of time where apparently nothing happened save more hardship and meanness among the people of Poland and the rising tyranny of the Germans. It's a long build-up to an anti-climactic climax and then the book is over.

Even with the sense of removal, the plight of the Jews is horrifying. There's the sense that no one knows what is going on and the pending dread of taking a stand against the Germans and risk having everything destroyed. It was curious to see the Dollmaker's explanation that people only see what they want to see and children only act how they had been taught, which could explain the German children and the younger soldiers' psychopathic actions and lack of empathy towards anything deemed "not-human." The tragedy isn't necessary expressed in the plot but rather in the absence of people—people vanishing in the night, people being removed from their homes, being loaded into trains to "go to the countryside," and the mountain of shoes and mountain of spectacles and mountain of toys waiting for their owners to return from their showers.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

This was quite an interesting book - fantasy or historical fiction?

Karolina is a doll who lived in the Land of Dolls. Unfortunately her land was overcome by rats and she was devastated. But then, magically she was transported to the land of humans by a dollmaker who lived in Krakow. There she helped him make friends with a Jewish father and daughter. But war affected the human world as well and Karolina, the dollmaker, and their friends saw the rise of Hitler and World War II. Can the dollmaker work his magic, make the right choices, and make a difference?

Very interesting take on the Holocaust and World War II. I will be curious to see how this is received. I don't think it will work in my library but at a junior high I think it will work.

Reminiscent of E.T.A. Hoffmann and Hans Christian Andersen, The Dollmaker of Krakow depicts the horrors of the holocaust through the eyes of a doll, Karolina. But Karolina is no ordinary doll. Her own doll world has been ravaged by rats, and when she escapes with a toy soldier named Fritz, a wind ferries them to our world and into the hands of two human magicians.

Karolina's magician is the dollmaker of krakow, a kind-hearted and shy war veteran who makes toys. With Karolina's help, he breaks out of his introverted shell and makes friends with a violinist and his daughter. Both are Jewish. When the Germans invade Krakow, a dark magic descends on their lives, reminding Karolina of when the rats invaded her homeland.

This is a different kind of MG holocaust novel than say, Number the Stars or The Devil's Arithmetic. Dollmaker has its roots in fairy tale and fantasy, and as such has a lightness and magic to the beginning. The world is fun, and you want to see even more magic. You want to see the Dollmaker learn how to make even more toys come to life. But alas, this is not the time frame for fun. It's a bit jarring when everything goes so very dark, even when you're expecting it the entire time because, of course, you know what's bound to happen. Nonetheless, this is a novel that deserves its place on the shelf with other classic MG holocaust novels. The fairytale aspects make it unique to the genre. Oh, and the illustrations are quite cute!

Thanks to Delacorte Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Posted to Goodreads 09/22/2017]
[Posted to Amazon 09/22/2017]
[Posted about on Book Riot 09/01/2017]
[Posted on personal blog 10/09/2017]

This is a beautiful fairytale-esque story. Karolina comes from the Land of Dolls to the World of Men to help a veteran of the first World War - a lonely man who stays shut away in his shop making toys to make other happy. Karolina's arrival quickly coincides with the arrival of the Germans in Poland, and along with the Dollmaker, she learns about friendship and family, and also hardship and sadness.

The Nazi occupation of Poland in the story parallels the war Karolina left behind in the Land of Dolls, where an army of rats took over, deposed the King and Queen, ate up all the candy streets and buildings, and burned many of the toys in a fire. This book is categorized for ages 8-12 years old. I think is is absolutely age-appropriate. The hatred of the Nazis is evident, several times Nazi officers talk about how Jews are vermin and good for nothing, and need to be "dealt with". There is one instance of an exchange between a Jewish child and a German child and afterwards the Dollmaker explains to the Jewish child that the boy was only repeating what he saw and heard from his parents. The story tells about the Jews being exiled to the ghetto, then put on trains to go "somewhere else" where they disappear and never come back. I really think the author does a good job of telling the story of the Holocaust without being graphic. Near the end of the story, the reader is shown the Birkenau concentration camp, but just that people got off the trains, were told to leave all of their luggage and possessions and herded away, never to be seen again. I think there's enough information in there to start teaching a child about this terrible time in history, and there's enough that is hinted at that a parent could take the opportunity to explain more depending on the maturity level of their child.

The book mentions people praying and having different religions or beliefs, but doesn't go into any particular detail about any of them. The main focus is on the magic that brought Karolina to life, using the magic to help people, and some of the other creatures or spirits of the fairytale world who help people and dolls along the way.

The ending of the book seemed a little rushed for me, and a bit abrupt. That is likely only from an adult prospective though. I think the ending is probably fine for most kid readers. I would recommend this story to any fans of fairytales, historical fiction, and general heart-warming stories. Ultimately, a beautiful story about love and kindness, and doing what good you can in the world, even if it doesn't seem like much.