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In the land of dolls, there is magic.
In the land of humans, there is war.
Everywhere there is pain.
But
together there is hope.

Karolina is a living doll whose king and queen have been overthrown. But when a strange wind spirits her away from the Land of the Dolls, she finds herself in Kraków, Poland, in the company of the Dollmaker, a man with an unusual power and a marked past.

The Dollmaker has learned to keep to himself, but Karolina’s courageous and compassionate manner lead him to smile and to even befriend a violin-playing father and his daughter—that is, once the Dollmaker gets over the shock of realizing a doll is speaking to him.

But their newfound happiness is dashed when Nazi soldiers descend upon Poland. Karolina and the Dollmaker quickly realize that their Jewish friends are in grave danger, and they are determined to help save them, no matter what the risks.

(Content warnings: War, genocide, antisemitism, violence)

AWARDS & PRAISE

☆ An Irish Times Best Book of 2017 ☆


☆ Shortlisted for the 2017 Young Quills Award ☆


☆ 2017 Florida Book Awards Silver Medalist ☆


☆ 2018 Sydney Taylor Notable Book ☆


☆ 3rd Place 2018 Flemish Children’s & Youth Prize ☆


☆ Nominated for Najlepszą Książka Roku 2018 ☆


☆ 2019 Carnegie Award Nominee ☆

BOOKS-A-MILLION

  • “Enchanting. […] A winsome debut.”

    Booklist

  • “An astonishing debut novel that will have a lasting impact on everyone who reads it.”

    Booktrust

  • “For middle grade readers of open hearts, clear minds and a love of beautiful writing.”

    Book Bag U.K.

  • “The Dollmaker of Kraków is an absolute wonder – heartbreaking and heart-lifting. R.M. Romero has written such a difficult story so exquisitely.”

    Emma Caroll, author of Letters from the Lighthouse