I love a picture book about toys, especially when there are toys I recognize in the illustrations. In her debut book, Too Many Toys, Heidi Deedman pairs charming, retro style illustrations with an equally sweet story that is jam packed with pages of toys that readers will pore over.
The plot ofToo Many Toys is simple but timeless. When Lulu was a baby, she was given a "very special one -and-only-toy - a lovely fluffy teddy bear" that she named Jupiter. However, as any parent will recognize, between birthdays, other kid's birthday parties, holidays and Happy Meals, toys just seems to exponentially multiply as kids get older.
Soon, Lulu is overwhelmed and Jupiter is frustrated. Together, the two come up with a plan that readers will enjoy seeing put into action. By the end of Too Many Toys it's just Lulu and Jupiter again, but, don't worry. Another gift giving occasion is just around the corner...
Too Many Toys is a solid debut. Deedman's illustration style is unique and she is a fine storyteller. I can't wait to see what she does next!
ODDFELLOW'S ORPHANAGE
is now in paperback!
With her first book for children, Oddfellow's Orphanage, Emily Winfield Martin combines her many talents and uncommon vision to create a book that I would have adored as a child. Martin's first book, The Black Apple's Paper Doll Primer, caught my eye one day last year while I was shelving in the craft section and I was entranced. Martin doesn't
I'm reposting this review from my Doll Week in June. At the time, I forgot to add a label for Winter Holiday Stories because I almost forgot that the last half of the story took place on Christmas Eve. So, if you need a last minute gift for a little girl who likes dolls or just need a good doll story, don't miss Big Susan!
You may recognize the
Rosie Flo is the moniker Roz Streeten gave to the line of coloring books that she (and husband Steve Kamlish, both graphic designers) developed after spending hours coloring and creating with her daughters. Of her collection, Streeten says, "I have paid attention to al the things which irritated me as a child, and then as a parent. The paper quality is thick enough to avoid showing through or
With her first book for children, Oddfellow's Orphanage, Emily Winfield Martin combines her many talents and uncommon vision to create a book that I would have adored as a child. Martin's first book, The Black Apple's Paper Doll Primer, caught my eye one day last year while I was shelving in the craft section and I was entranced. Martin doesn't just draw and paint, she fabricates a complete world
1. What else? Rebecca Caudill’s The Best-Loved Doll, of course! I adored this book as a child; I found the girl’s devotion to her scuffed-up, faded, frazzle-haired doll deeply touching and believable. Rose went through a long period of attachment to this book after I made her a (highly imperfect) cloth doll when she was seven or eight years old.
2. Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Rumer Godden. Has probably been read a cumulative total of thirty times by my three oldest daughters. Creating a house for two homesick Japanese dolls helps a girl get over her own homesickness. Lovely.
3. Among the Dolls by William Sleator. NOT a hit with everyone here: decidedly too creepy for some. But I remember the delicious chill up my spine when I (around age eleven) first encountered the sinister gleam in the eyes of that doll family out for revenge.
4. May I count a toy rabbit as a doll? Kate di Camillo’s melancholy The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, which captivated us as we drove across Oklahoma and Missouri last summer, seems to me to deserve a place on this list.
5. Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle. As I mentioned the other day, I don’t find Mr. Gruelle’s writing very easy to read aloud; it feels stilted and arch. But as a child I loved the world he portrayed, both inside Marcella’s nursery and out of it.
6. Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field. An early Newbery Medal winner about a doll who packs a great deal of adventure into her “first hundred years.” I’d like to hear about her second century…
The Doll's House, written in 1948 by British author Rumer Godden, with illustrations that were added in 1962 by Tasha Tudor, is, along with Rachel Field's Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, a significant influence in the relatively small genre of books about dolls. Having read or reread The Doll People, Big Susan and Hitty, as well as many picture books featuring dolls and or doll houses, some
Jane Ray's The Dollhouse Fairy is exactly the kind of book I would have loved as a little girl! Ray's illustrations, which are a combination of paintings and collage, bring to life the cardboard dollhouse of the title. While I had a "real" dollhouse as a child, I also built my own from cardboard boxes and school glue, using scraps of fabric, napkins, magazines and whatever else seemed to fit. I
You may recognize the artwork of Elizabeth Orton Jones from her 1945 Caldecott winning book, A Prayer for a Child, written by Rachel Field, winner of the Newbery in 1930 for her excellent book, Hitty: Her First 100 Years. I first learned about Jones' 1947 book Big Susan while perusing the pages of the Chinaberry catalog years ago. For those of you who have never heard of Chinaberry, started by
If you are a woman and over 40, you probably remember the original Holly Hobbie, seen at left. This bonnet wearing, calico loving waif was an iconic part of my childhood. As an adult I was stunned to learn that Holly Hobbie is a real person, and artist and illustrator and not just an appropriately, adorably named prairie girl. I learned this when the first Toot & Puddle book was published in
The Sixty-Eight Rooms by debut author Marianne Malone, illustrated by Greg Call, best known for brilliantly bringing Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson's Peter and the Starcathcers series to life. The Sixty-Eight Rooms is the story of Chicago residents Jack and Ruthie and an amazing discovery they make while on a field trip to the Art Institute of Chicago. While visiting the Thorne Miniature Rooms
thanks for posting this. it seems wonderful doll story. unfortunately, I can't read this novel as a Korean language. (I live in south Korea, and this book is not published in my country.) but I will buy this book by e-bay or amazon soon. thanks!! ^^ - doll novel fan from south Korea.