Publishers Weekly Review
Italian artist Ceccoli's (The Barefoot Book of Fairy Tales) previous illustrations were dreamy paintings; for this tall-format book, she uses clay models and digital media to create images of eerie immediacy. Each scene has its own quirky depth of field; the porcelain-doll faces of the children jump out with breathtaking clarity. Walls and drapes or the breeches of a rabbit violinist are similarly crisp; the other parts of a composition seem lightly misted. The surreal atmosphere is true to fairy-tale scholar Bernheimer's vision of a girl imprisoned in a marvelous world. The castle inhabited by the girl is inside a glass globe, which is in a museum full of old toys; children who visit the museum crowd around the globe to see the girl. She is lonely; her only visitors come in dreams. "Sometimes," the narrator adds provocatively, "the girl in the castle even dreams about you." The narrator suggests that readers ease the girl's loneliness by pasting a photo of themselves in a gold frame by her bed. Closing the book with a bang-up twist, the author inverts her this-inside-that motif to enshrine the audience's place in the story: "Now in her room and in her dreams, inside the castle inside the museum, inside this book you hold in your hands, you keep her company.... Do you see her? She sees you." Young fans of fantasy will be spellbound. Ages 4-8. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-"Getting lost in a good book" takes on a whole new meaning in this intriguing and captivating title. In an eclectic toy museum, children are drawn to a snow globe where it is said that, if they look hard enough, they can see the little girl who lives in the castle therein. To their delight, she is visible, as is her entire enchanted world. The girl is lonely when the museum empties, and she dreams of other children visiting her. She awakes with an idea of asking her visitors to leave a photo behind and, as if readers obeyed, the text asks, "Do you see her? She sees you." Using media as varied as clay sculpture and photography, Ceccoli has created a world that beckons young readers inside. The aerial ballet of objects and the playful use of perspective all contribute to the wondrous nature of the place. Children will eagerly enter this special world, pore over the amazing toys, and secretly wish they lived there themselves. This unusual book will jump-start the imaginations of all who are lucky enough to enter it.-Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
The title may be rather unwieldy but it's certainly accurate. Inside a large snow globe, inside a toy museum, is a castle, and  children who press their faces against the glass can spot a tiny girl in the tower. The castle is lovely, and the girl has her own toys inside, but she's lonely when the children leave. Her dreams take her to visit a boy in the deep woods or in search of a friend waiting to play: Sometimes she even dreams about you. The story, which on its own seems thin and even odd, is elevated by the breathtaking illustrations executed in acrylic, featuring clay models that give the artwork depth and weight. Digital nhancements provide the pictures with an airbrushed smoothness that is expecially effective in the close-ups of the children, and the use of unusual perspectives adds to the feelings of mystery and longing in the book. Enticed by the art to enter this dreamy world, children will contemplate the nature of reality evoked by the girl's life.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2008 Booklist
Horn Book Review
A girl lives in a small castle exhibit in a museum, and children peer into the windows trying to catch sight of her. She dreams of friends, and at the end readers are invited to "leave a picture of yourself here for me." The self-consciously ethereal tone and misty mixed-media illustrations won't appeal to everyone, but dreamers will enjoy the fantasy. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
The princess-like girl of the title is lonely within her idyllic, sequestered world until she is visited by children, either in dreams or in reality. Her solution is to address readers directly and ask for a picture to hang in her solitary castle to "keep her company in a magical world." Written by an eloquent fairy-tale writer-scholar and illustrated by a much-honored picture-book artist, this defies easy definition. Clearly "the museum" represents the metaphorical archive where fairy-tale collections regrettably gather dust, and this enigmatic tale is a plea for children to enter their immutable worlds within worlds, lest the tales be isolated and lost forever. The text is grandly supported by Ceccoli's chimerically beautiful paintings rendered in acrylic, which depict the girl's phantasmagorical world. A bit of a mystical allegory, but also an invitation too good to decline for the fairy-tale lovers among us. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.