Miniature Worlds

Mr. Star Wars’ teacher just finished reading The Doll People as a read aloud to his class. Mr. Star Wars promptly checked out the sequel, The Meanest Doll in the World, and read it in one sitting. It reminded me of other miniature world stories that I loved when I was his age. The Borrowers and The Indian in the Cupboard were my favorites. In these books, there are mini characters living in a regular-sized world. I think the technical name for this genre is “enchanted reality” but I might be making that up. I wanted to create a book list of all of the great miniature world books, but it turns out there really are not that many that I have read– or could find. So, I guess it is fitting that I have a miniature list of books.

• Awfully Short for the Fourth Grade by Elvira Woodruff
• The Borrowers (and sequels) by Mary Norton
• Castle in the Attic (and sequels) by Elizabeth Winthrop
• The Doll People (and sequels) by Martin and Godwin
• The Indian in the Cupboard (and sequels) by Lynne Reid Banks
• Knight’s Castle by Edward Eager
• The Littles (and sequels) by John Peterson
• The Minpins by Roald Dahl
• The Wednesday Witch by Ruth Chew (out of print– locate a used copy through Amazon or search your local library)

I considered adding books like The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary and The Rescuers by Margery Sharp because they have small animals doing human things in a regular sized world. I feel that a book like that fits into animal fantasy better. What do you think? What great books would you add to the miniature world list?