After The Matchstick Castle and The Phantom Tower, Keir Graff is back with yet another building structure themed middle grade adventure – The Tiny Mansion. We meet Dagmar, a 12 year old girl who has been dragged off to live with her father, stepmother and 5 year old stepbrother in the redwood forests of California. Spending the summer living in a tiny house away from her friends isn’t the adventure she had planned on but it may just be the one she needs.
Whether a madcap chase through a mall or creating little brother traps, Graff had my 10 and 8 year olds laughing out loud at the zany jokes and misadventures. Dagmar comes across as a real kid, flaws and all. She struggles with anger over parental decisions she has no control over, being trapped in close proximity to a sibling she can’t get away from and being unable to visit her good friends in person; all issues most kids can relate to in these COVID times.
Things take a turn towards current events as Dagmar and her family face a wildfire in the forest where their tiny house is parked. As folks on the west side of the country are all too aware, these fires are a scary yearly reality and Graff presents the very real and present dangers of wildfires in a respectful way. The book doesn’t minimize the devastating effects yet still provides an appropriately exciting conclusion to the various subplots set in motion throughout the book.
With his fourth children’s book Graff continues to create unique people and situations without relying on sequels or recurring characters. That commitment to imagination is appreciated and, while we may hope for a future Avengers style team up, for now our family is finding great joy in the new friends and unexpected situations. Graff takes the kids in the book and the personal problems they are facing seriously while setting them loose in a fun story that leaves you wondering what’s next.
Both my kids and I highly recommend picking up The Tiny Mansion. Kids will appreciate the quirky characters and jokes while parents will appreciate Graff’s take on how to responsibly deal with things that are out of your control (and the jokes.)
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