Dollmakers and Their Stories: Women Who Changed the World of Play [Hardcover]

Krystyna Poray Goddu (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 2004 | Age Level: 9 and up

"Dolls are not a luxury. They are as necessary to a child's life as a loaf of bread . . . What a doll does for a little girl is develop her capacity to love others and herself."
-Madame Alexander

A wonderful offering for young doll enthusiasts
and women's history buffs alike

This fascinating book tells the stories of courageous dollmakers, all of whom were-and continue to be-filled with passion, vision, and determination. They are the unsung heroines behind some of the most important dolls of the last hundred years-such as Barbie (Ruth Handler) and Madame Alexander's collection (Beatrice Alexander). Entrepreneurs and feminists of their time, these strong women displayed both creative genius and astute business acumen, serving as excellent role models for today's young female readers.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up–This book will appeal to doll collectors as well as to those researching the history of toys or female entrepreneurs of the past century. The author is the founding editor of Dolls magazine, and her love for antique and contemporary dolls is evident in her clearly written, enthusiastic account. She profiles Martha Chase, Käthe Kruse, Sasha Morgenthaler, Beatrice Alexander Behrman, and Ruth Handler, all from the past century. While these women made important contributions, young readers will more likely be intrigued by the stories behind the Madame Alexander and Barbie dolls they might own themselves. A concluding chapter presents women who are currently creating dolls that capture young girls' hearts. The black-and-white photographs are too few and too small for a subject with such visual punch. Caroline G. Goodfellow's The Ultimate Doll Book (MetroBooks, 2001) features large, full-color photographs of dolls through the ages, making it a book with more general appeal.–Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Krystyna Poray Goddu is the author of A Celebration of Steiff: Timeless Toys for Today and co-author of The Doll by Contemporary Artists. She lives in New York City.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); First Edition edition (September 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805072578
• ISBN-13: 978-0805072570
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,865,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended for adult readers, February 8, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dollmakers and Their Stories: Women Who Changed the World of Play (Hardcover)

Though Dollmakers And Their Stories: Women Who Changed The World Of Play by Krystyna Poray Goddu was written for a younger readership and can appeal from middle school grades on up, Dollmakers And Their Stories is reviewed here and strongly recommended for adult readers for its fine applicability to anyone of any ages who is just beginning to collect dolls. Girls have played with dolls since ancient times and the dolls have changed over the centuries: selected stories of courageous dollmakers who produced Barbie, Madame Alexander collectibles, the Sasha line and more provide wonderful stories of strong entrepreneurs and feminists who displayed both business and political skills in producing dolls in times when women didn't ordinarily work outside the home or the family farm.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Takes a Woman!, December 12, 2004

By 

E. S. Will "a new leaf" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dollmakers and Their Stories: Women Who Changed the World of Play (Hardcover)

[This review was first published in the "Ephrata (Pa.) Review."]

The author, founding editor of "Dolls" magazine, argues that it's been women, strong entrepreneurial women, who have designed the dolls that children over the past century have loved, and continue to love. Here she tells the stories of five of these women, along with profiles of six contemporary dollmakers.

The inability to find dolls to meet their own daughters' needs inspired several dollmakers. Kathe Kruse, for example, may have never designed dolls if not for her 2-year-old who, after a brother was born, asked her mother for "a child like yours." The lavish porcelain dolls available in Germany in the early 1900s were hardly babylike. It took Kruse years of experimentation to find a design for a realistic baby doll. The company she founded still produces dolls that inspire tenderness and care.

Ruth Handler created Barbie only after noting how her preteen daughter and friends played for hours with paper dolls representing adult women, creating imaginary worlds for them, which Ruth viewed as the girls' rehearsal of possibilities for their own futures.

In each of the five bios the author emphasizes how each woman became an entrepreneur, struggling to bring her inspirations to life and breaking ground in a men's world. These stories will appeal to doll lovers. They will also inspire and instruct creative young women embarking on their adult lives.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars How was barbie born?, March 18, 2007

By 

Melissa Sack (georgia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dollmakers and Their Stories: Women Who Changed the World of Play (Hardcover)

Little girls love dolls such as Barbie and American Girl but do they know they got started. This book has 5 short biographies of doll makers and how they came up with the ideas for their dolls. Also included in the book is a section on the future of dolls and where the author feels the industry is headed today.