Doll Eyes

"Not your ordinary story"
By: Sarah Acero

Author: Eline Santos
Illustrator: Joy Mallari
Published Date: 2010
Publisher: Canvas

The Gist:

                Ella is a little girl who sells Sampaguita at the streets of Quiapo together with her best friend Tin. One day, she came across a store of colorful animal dolls. Outside the store sat Manang Bolabola, the store owner and doll maker, who seems to be waiting for a long time for a girl like Ella. Manang Bolabola waved at her and brought her inside the store. Ella soon realized that she can no longer move and found herself in a situation where escaping seems to be impossible.

The review:

                Doll Eyes has an unusual story. It is far from the classic fairy tales, fables or children’s stories. It is action packed and thrilling. Its set of characters proved how mystical and unique the story is. One of those is Manang Bolabola who looks like a typical old woman but behind this image is a doll maker with a sinister magic. Another is Ella and Tin who showed how faith moves mountains and what real friendship is and lastly, the tall, dark man who mysteriously appeared in the time when Tin least expected a help.

                

The length of the story is just right for both young and adult readers. The paragraphs in every page are not overwhelming. It is good that there are more illustrations than text every page, which is essential in a children’s book. The book is also available in 2 languages, English and Filipino. The writer wrote a very ngood description of the eyes of the dolls. It is also nice that the writer chose Quiapo as the setting of the story which is uncommon. She also described it very well. I could visualize Quiapo without the illustrations. I also admire how she introduced the Feast of the Black Nazarene which is an important part in the faith of Christians.

              

  The story has lots of symbolism. One good symbol is the tall, dark man, who represents Jesus Christ. In His shadow you would see that over his head is a thorny crown. He also appeared right after Tin asked help from heaven. The writer wants to imply here that God will never leave us nor forsake us. The blood-like liquid inside the water gun could be His real blood that washed away the sins of the world. It is holy and Tin used it to fight to the old woman.

My favorite part of the story is the scene where Tin worried about Ella and tries to find her. It is very dramatic as well as the illustrations. It also showed a very strong connection between the two best friends. It is good how the character of Tin portrays what a real friend is. It shows the readers, especially the children to never leave their friends in good or bad times. Another is when Tin entered the store of Manang Bolabola. Though it is a tough and fearful situation, she showed courage in dealing with the evil and never forget about her mission to save her best friend.

What I like about Doll Eyes is that it teaches many lessons. First is to not trust strangers easily. Children can be easily lured, so they must be very cautious and aware with their environment. Next is that God is always there and you can always count on Him. He will help you even in the hardest times. Here in the story I learned that God gives the toughest battles to His strongest soldiers, like Tin and it is the good that will always prevail. Another is that don’t let fear overcome you. You should be brave in facing challenges and open minded in dealing in a peril situation. Lastly, a real friend is a treasure that nothing or no one can replace. The book also shows Filipino customs and tradition like being a devoted catholic because of the feast of the black Nazarene. The book and the publisher also promote awareness and appreciation of Philippine arts, culture and environment. This book is also illustrated by one of the best young Filipino artist.

The illustrations are very Filipino and realistic. I love the first and tenth page because it showed a glimpse of what Quiapo looks like. I also found that the Quiapo church was even there. The teddy bears that are displayed in the shop are very cute and colorful. I love how the illustrator emphasized the eyes of the dolls. I love how the artist differentiates the world inside and outside Manag Bolabola’s store through colors. I also love how Filipino culture was shown in the illustrations. There are some illustrations that are quite scary for me like the portrait of Manang Bolabola. There, she looks very mean and evil. The illustration of the doll’s eyes too is quite scary because it seems to communicate with me.

There are few things I don’t like about Doll Eyes. First is that I do recommend it to very young children. The story is a little scary.  I myself had goose bumps the first time I  read the book. The person who would tell this story to the children should be very careful or else the children might not have a goodnight sleep. Though there is an available and free ebook of Doll Eyes, it is still better to read the printed copy. The problem is that it is very expensive. It costs 850.00.

From a scale of 1-5, being 1 the lowest and 5 the highest, I would give Doll Eyes a 4. I also strongly recommend this book to readers who want to have a thrilling and exciting reading experience. You would not only be entertained, but you’ll also be a help in promoting Philippine arts and culture.

About the Reviewer

                Sarah Acero is presently pursuing her degree of Bachelor of Science in Child Development Education at Miriam College. Reading children’s books is a big part of her childhood and these books are very well kept up to now.