Naomi Butler (Children's Literature)
No windows. No doors. No way out. Kyle Wilson was the size of a regular fourteen-year-old kid until Mrs. Shepherd injected him with a shrinking formula. Now he is being held prisoner in a dollhouse. He is the fourth Lambkin in Mrs. Shepherd’s collection. She loves them all and would never harm them, she says...as long as they do not make her angry. Kyle and the others must figure out how to escape--and fast. Otherwise they will end up as Lamkins forever...or worse. There is plotting on ways to get out and there is anger and pay back from Mrs. Shepherd. The hero of the book is fourteen with the other victims of various ages. Will any child today, at the readable intended age of 10 up--especially teens--want to read this book about being held captive in a dollhouse? Probably not. Even with some reading advisory from librarians and adults it may not circulate to the audience intended. There may be some avid 8- or 9-year-old readers but not much above that age. The illustrations will not do it either. A picture book story for young children would be perfect, maybe using the same illustrator. In all fairness, there are some clever ways of escaping and some good interaction and working together among the characters. There is also a lesson learned about being wary of strangers. 2005, Joanna Cotler Books/HarperCollins Publisher, $15.99. Ages 8 to 10.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 16))
Bunting offers an odd story of four plucky young people who are shrunk and forced to live in a dollhouse to satisfy a crazed woman's fantasy. The unhinged widow of a great scientist, Mrs. Shepherd "rescues" talented individuals to allow them freedom to devote to their avocations and to populate her incredible dollhouse with the children she never had. Shrinking serum and kidnapping are the means to nabbing her victims in the first place; weekly "vitamin shots" guarantee their perpetually tiny stature. She thinks she's doing her "lambkins" a favor; they know she's nuts and desperately plot escape. The hapless victims' personalities emerge as they bond over time, and there's a weird plausibility about all this as they try to make the best of their situation. The story won't suit everyone, especially since Bunting doesn't tie up all the loose ends, but there's enough menace to keep kids turning pages and rooting for the unwilling playthings. 2005, HarperCollins, 192p, $15.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 10 to 12. © 2005 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Timnah Card (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, October 2005 (Vol. 59, No. 2))
A harmless-looking middle-aged woman shoves fourteen-year-old Kyle Wilson into her car trunk and knocks him out with a hypodermic needle to the butt. When he wakes, he’s eight inches tall and trapped in a dollhouse with three other now-tiny young people: baseball prodigy Mac, violinist Tanya, and cute little Lulu (who, at four years old, is being trained by their captor to be the next Shirley Temple). The middle-aged woman is Mrs. Shepherd, the widow of a brilliant scientist who, just before his death, developed a shot to shrink people (and keep them small with weekly boosters). The Shepherd (as the children call her) now uses her husband’s invention to provide herself with kidnapped children, whom she calls Lambkins, over whom she can wield complete control. Kyle, a talented painter, has been snatched in order to fill the gap left by John, an opera singer who was accidentally killed by the Shepherd during one of John’s many breakout attempts. The details of the Lambkins’ pasts and the dreariness of their present increase Kyle’s need to be free; however, the Shepherd is strong and sneaky (not to mention insane), and only by working together against her can the four friends escape. As with many adventure novels, this story has just sufficient characterization to make the Lambkins’ plight realistic and their cooperative escape reasonable. The intimidatingly large and chillingly insane Shepherd is a superbly despicable ogress who richly deserves the ninety-mile-an-hour hardball finally launched at her forehead by Mac--enthusiastic readers may even be disappointed when it is discovered that she is unconscious, not dead. Though the dénouement is quick and perhaps overoptimistic (Kyle displays an innocent trust that the police will take care of everything), it does leave open the opportunity for a sequel. A lighter treatment of the miniaturized-person theme than Gillian Cross’ compelling The Dark Ground (BCCB 1/05), this fast-moving novel will find its own cadre of fans. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2005, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2005, Cotler/HarperCollins, 180p, $16.89 and $15.99. Grades 5-9.

Reba Llewellyn (The Kutztown Book Review, Fall 2006)
High-school student Kyle Wilson stops to help a woman with a flat tire. As he reaches for the jack, she pushes him into her trunk, where he blacks out. When he regains consciousness, he discovers he’s been kidnapped, shrunk, and trapped in a dollhouse with three other shrunken kids and a shrunken dog. They are prisoners of Mrs. Shepherd, the lonely widow of a brilliant geneticist. Mrs. Shepherd thinks she is helping her “lambkins” by giving them time to devote to their talents. The children eventually plot a way to escape. Reader’s who enjoy fantasy and horror will enjoy this book. The story begins slowly, but moves quickly as the children make their escape. I would recommend this book to upper middle school students. Category: Fantasy. 2005, HarperCollins Children’s Books, $16.89. Ages 11 to 14.