The Mennyms
core novel 1993 The Mennyms
Record
| First published | 1993 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.07 (1,265 ratings, collected 2026-10-23) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780688130701 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
At Number 5 Brocklehurst Grove, in an ordinary English neighbourhood, live the Mennyms, a peculiar family of parents, grandparents and five children who keep to themselves, for they are life-size rag dolls, made many years ago by a human, Kate, and brought to life in mysterious circumstances. From the first chapter, a letter throws the unorthodox family into panic, and as the outside world inches closer they must balance safety against exposure to keep their hidden life. Sylvia Waugh's first novel, compared by reviewers to The Borrowers and Tuck Everlasting, won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Mennyms
- Series: The Mennyms core; position 1 of 5 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Sylvia Waugh
Awards (verified)
- Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, 1994: won; 1994 Guardian Children's Fiction Award, per Puffin's description of the book.
Notes
- First published by Random Century/Julia MacRae Books in 1993; the ISBN recorded is the Greenwillow US edition of 1994.
- From the series record (The Mennyms): Sylvia Waugh's five books of the living rag-doll family.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series The Mennyms: position 1 of 5: next Mennyms in the Wilderness (1994)
Sources
- The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (bibliography)
- Library catalogue note (series summary)
- Publishers Weekly (review with edition details)
- Kirkus Reviews
- Bookroo (series and book summaries)
- Wikipedia (Sylvia Waugh)
← The Mennyms dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.