ABOUT THE AUTHOR
William Sleator, the eldest child of a pediatrician mother and a scientist father, grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. He began writing stories and composing music at the age of six. In 1967, he received bachelor’s degrees in music and English from Harvard University. He next studied musical composition and worked as a pianist at the Royal Ballet School in England. An avid journal keeper, Sleator recorded his experiences living in an ancient English cottage which he brought to life in his first young adult novel, Blackbriar. After nine years working as a rehearsal pianist for the Boston Ballet—and composing music for three ballets—Sleator turned to writing full-time. Many of his award-winning books and stories imagine strange applications of real scientific phenomena, while another recurring motif is the impact of architectural surroundings, such as the many variants of the Tithonus home in The Green Futures of Tycho or Vicky’s adventures inside the mysterious dollhouse in Among the Dolls.
Sleator divides his time between Bangkok, Thailand, and Boston, Massachusetts. On his website biography, he comments about his profession: “I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to make a living as a writer. I shouldn’t ever run out of ideas—knock on wood—since the universe is full of great things like strange attractors and the Mandelbrot set. I still can’t get over the fact that time slows down in the presence of a gravitational field. It really does, you know. That’s not science fiction. It’s a fact.”
WRITING AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
I. A QUESTION OF SIZE
A. From Gulliver’s Travels to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the notion of experiencing life from a different size perspective has fascinated fantasy writers. Go to the library or online to make a list of books in which characters change size or encounter characters sized differently than themselves. Using a computer to incorporate graphics and use varied fonts, make an illustrated “Incredible Shrinking Reading List.”
B. Keep a “Size Journal” in which to record observations and thoughts after the following activities:
1. Spend an hour watching a toddler or preschooler, noting how he or she navigates steps, reaches items on countertops, climbs into an adult-sized chair, and so on.
2. Recall a time when you were told you had to “wait until you are bigger” to get a certain toy or participate in an activity. Write about this memory and your current thoughts and feelings looking back on the event.
3. Make a list of interesting words that describe the size of things. If desired, use a dictionary or thesaurus and include interesting phrases on your list.
4. Describe the activities of an ant or other small insect, the way a big dog and a little dog play together, or another animal activity related to size.
C. Write a short story in which you, or a character similar to yourself, are transformed in size. Describe the transformation. How do you feel? What happens to you in your new size? What does the world look like? What are the advantages and disadvantages of living life this size? Can you control this change? What do you learn from this experience?
II. TOYS ALIVE!
A. Have you ever wished a favorite doll, toy, or game could come to life? With classmates or friends, write and enact a scene in which you enter your bedroom or playroom to discover one or more toys come to life. What is your reaction? What does the toy have to say to you? What do you do together? What else happens?
B. Select and watch a video in which a toy comes to life, such as Toy Story or Pinocchio. Then, imagine you are the host of a television program that reviews and discusses films. On your own, or with friends or classmates, present your review of the movie, including your thoughts on why people are intrigued by the toy-come-to-life theme.
C. Choose your favorite chapter or short excerpt from Among the Dolls to develop into a movie. Create a storyboard (a series of cartoon-style drawings depicting the scene) or a 1—2 page description outlining how you would transform this chapter into a movie scene.
III. REAL AND PRETEND
A. The line between real life and pretend (or imagined or toy) life is intriguingly blurred in Among the Dolls. Divide a sheet of paper
into two columns headed with the terms “real” and “pretend.” Beneath each term, write your own definition, followed by a dictionary definition. Then, list key real and pretend experiences Vicky has in the novel in the appropriate columns. Are there moments, thoughts, or experiences which seem to hover between the real and the pretend column? List these on the back of the page.
B. Have you ever awakened from a dream certain it had really happened? Have you ever looked into the eyes of a pet or doll and felt like you saw an expression of true understanding? Write a short essay describing a life experience of your own which seemed to have elements of both the real and the pretend.
C. The way Vicky treats the dollhouse dolls can be seen as a reflection of her real-life emotions and attitudes. With classmates or friends, discuss how the ways people treat their clothes, toys, homes, and classrooms sheds light on other aspects of their character.
D. Think about your own behavior toward objects. Do you put your clothes away neatly, clean your room, and respect school property? How would you describe the way you play with games and sports equipment? What do you do if a toy gets broken? Have you ever damaged an object because you felt angry at a person? Write a paragraph, a poem, or lyrics to a song in which you answer one or more of these questions and explore how you feel about what you have realized.
E. William Sleator, a journal keeper, member of a large family, and talented musician, incorporates many aspects of his own, real life into his works of fantasy and science fiction. Go online to learn more about the writer before composing a brief essay entitled, “Where Real Meets Pretend in the Stories of William Sleator.”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Where do Vicky and her parents drive in the first chapter of Among the Dolls? What strange person does Vicky see there?
2. What birthday gift does Vicky dream of receiving? What does she receive instead? What might her conclusion that it “ … was undoubtedly the worst birthday she had ever had” tell readers about Vicky?
3. Had you been Vicky, would you have responded to the dollhouse in the same way? Why or why not? Have you ever been disappointed by receiving—or not receiving—a particular gift? How did you react?
4. What bothers Vicky about the dollhouse? How does she propose to fix this problem? How does her mother feel about Vicky’s solution?
5. As Vicky begins to take an interest in the dollhouse, how does her schoolwork and home life begin to change?
6. What events lead Vicky into the dollhouse? Are the events themselves important? Why or why not?
7. How do the furniture, foods, toys, and dolls seem different to Vicky when she perceives them from inside the dollhouse?
8. What is unusual about the dolls’ names? How did they get these names?
9. How do the dolls feel about Vicky? How do the dolls behave toward each other? What are the dolls’ plans for doll-sized Vicky?
10. At the end of Chapter Two, what does the aunt doll mean when she tells Vicky, “It is you, after all, who has made us what we are?” Does the aunt doll recall another character in the story?
11. In the dollhouse, Vicky is called “small and helpless.” Is this different from the way she seems to feel about herself in her human-sized life?
12. What plans does Vicky consider for escaping from the dollhouse? Who ultimately helps Vicky to reach the secret door? How is Dandaroo different from the other dolls?
13. How does the author describe the dollhouse attic? What does Vicky discover there? What happens when the dolls find her in the attic?
14. How does Vicky escape from the little dollhouse? What becomes of the toy dollhouse in the attic?
15. How is Vicky’s home life different when she returns from her dollhouse experience? What do her parents decide to do with the dollhouse?
16. Does Vicky do anything to try to protect the toy’s new owner? Why or why not?
17. Do you think Vicky has been changed by her experience among the dolls? What does she do with Dandaroo? Why do you think she does this?
18. Have you ever wondered if a doll or toy could come to life? Have you ever wanted to be rid of a toy? Have you ever played roughly with a toy as a reaction to some real-life experience? Describe your thoughts in these situations.
19. Do you think a game of pretend, or an experience playing with a toy can affect your real life or the way you think about things? Why or why not?
20. What do you think happened when Ganglia took the little girl doll from the attic house? What does Vicky come to believe about the missing doll? Do you think Vicky’s adventure in the dollhouse was a real event, a dream, or another sort of experience? Explain your answer.