An inspiring, uplifting picture book biography about iconic doll creator, Madame Alexander, whose love for dolls and bringing joy to others began at a young age and only continued to grow.
Someday, she thought, I will make dolls that don't break so children will never be unhappy.
Beatrice Alexander's family ran a doll hospital in their home in New York's Lower East Side, where she grew to love fixing and making dolls. Beatrice dreamed of becoming an artist, but her family couldn't afford to send her to sculpting school. She never stopped dreaming, even as she stayed home, graduated from high school, and got married. When World War I broke out, she came up with the idea to make unbreakable, cloth dolls modeled after nurses to support the war effort and help keep children happy. After the war, Beatrice founded Madame Alexander and redefined the doll industry, creating some of the first plastic and collectible dolls, dolls that never break.
With beautiful, vivid art by Sarah Dvojack, author Susan Goldman Rubin tells the powerful story of savvy, feminist entrepreneur Beatrice Alexander, who founded the Madame Alexander Doll Company and became one of America's most celebrated toy makers.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
October 18, 2022 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781250905260
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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November 1, 2022
PreS-Gr 3-This delicately illustrated picture book biography describes in simple prose the upbringing and rise to success of the founder of the Alexander Doll Company, known to many as she was dubbed by a reporter, Madame Alexander. Alexander's parents were immigrants living in New York City, where her father ran a doll repair shop under the family apartment. The eldest of four daughters, Beatrice entered the family business at a young age, helping to repair fragile porcelain dolls that had been imported from Europe. During World War I, she began to design her own dolls to bring in business. Her first doll sold so well that she continued to create new prototypes, eventually leading to an order for dolls from the New York City toy store FAO Schwarz. With this success, she had the resources she needed to work with her own team of employees to create new kinds of dolls and clothing, have a doll hospital like her father's for mending the toys, and eventually have her own production facility. End notes share the company's history and give more information about Alexander's family and philanthropic activities, along with a bibliography for further reading. This is a gentle read, lacking in tension, and filled with an entrepreneurial spirit. Dvojak's hand-drawn and digitally colored illustrations feature realistically positioned, fluid depictions of the key players in this biography in calming shades of cream, brown, and blue-like snapshots of the era, one can almost imagine the characters captured in the middle of movement. VERDICT Recommended for early nonfiction collections.-Lauren Younger
Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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November 1, 2022
Preschool-Grade 3 For children who love dolls, especially collectible dolls, Rubin's picture-book biography of the Jewish American woman who came to be known as Madame Alexander will prove fascinating. Alexander, born Beatrice, loved helping out in her stepfather's doll hospital on New York's Lower East Side. In the early 1900s, his shop catered to a clientele from throughout the city, specializing in fixing dolls imported from Europe. Beatrice, who wanted to be an artist, loved reading and imagining dolls that brought the characters to life. The opportunity to make and not just fix dolls came during WWI, when imported dolls weren't available. Nurse dolls, baby dolls, and soon character dolls--all unbreakable, using a formula Alexander pioneered--became a successful, well-known business. The story is accompanied by Dvojack's detailed and charming pictures capturing the early years of the twentieth century in warm red and sepia tints. An inspiring story of a businesswoman who turned childhood interests into a unique company at a time when businesses were rarely owned by women. Back matter adds more fascinating info.COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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