The Doll Book of the Month Club: Doll Hospital, Charlotte's Choice

  Can you believe we've reached the end of the first month of the new year already?! Time really flies. Ivy went back to college yesterday. There' a surge of Covid in Indiana in general, and her college specifically, so I'm worried. At least she recently got her booster, when we did, while she was home.

  So anyway, I'm on my own again while Ken's at work. Know what that means Raging Moon and Barb? It means I'll soon be digging out those dolls for you. I'll also be listing some more dolls and doll things on the blog's sales page. What doesn't sell on the page in a month or so will go on Ebay for a slightly higher price, since on there I have to cover the fees. (Can you believe they now take a share of the money paid for shipping too! That's for shipping! I don't even get any of that! It's because a lot of people were trying to avoid the Ebay fees on their 'final value', so they priced the item very low and charged a crazy rate for shipping. Now we all have to pay part of our shipping money to Ebay! I always put a regular price on the item, so that means I don't actually get what I asked for anything now, because part of my profit goes to pay shipping. I hate Ebay.) 

 This month's Doll Book of the Month Club entry is really a series of books. The series, by Joan Holub,  is called "Doll Hospital".  Although we'll concentrate on The book "Charlotte's Choice", we'll also talk about the series in general.

  The series 'Doll Hospital' books are about two sisters, 8 year old Lila and 10 year old Rose, who are sent to live with their grandmother  when their doctor parents go to Africa for a year to work. They call their grandmother  'Far Nana', because she lives far from them, and they have rarely seen her. The idea of them living with her is so they can get to know her better. Far Nana is a bit of an old hippy. She wears lots of bead necklaces, which click together when she moves. She also repairs dolls, thus the 'doll hospital' of the series title. 

  But the interesting thing about Far Nana's doll repairs is that when Far Nana repairs the dolls, they 'talk' to her, (Not out loud.), and they tell her their histories. Far Nana tells the stories to Rose and Lila as she works. That's how we learn the stories, as the reader is obviously listening in. 

  There are six books in the series. The first was "Tatiana Comes to America", the story the girls' arrival at Far Nana's, and of a doll who escapes Russia in 1907. The second book was "Goldie's Fortune", and the doll in the story is from the Depression era. Third in the series was "Glory's Freedom", and the doll was the doll of a slave traveling the Underground Railroad. The fourth book in the series was "Saving Marissa", about a doll from the 1950's. The fifth book was "Danielle's Dollhouse Wish", the story of an 1890's dollhouse family from Paris. (I'd like to get hold of that one.)

  The book we're looking at more closely is, as I said, "Charlotte's Choice", the sixth and final book in the series. 

In this book, Lila and Rose have just gotten off school for winter vacation. They want to go to the Winter Carnival, but Far Nana has other plans, which infuriates the girls. Far Nana tells the girls they are going to an historic Shaker village, where Far Nana is going to visit an old friend and repair a doll for her.

  Lila and Rose decide to give Far Nana the cold shoulder, to let her know how mad they are that they don't get to go to the Winter Carnival. Far Nana's friend works at the Shaker village, which is now a tourist site, and Far Nana and the girls are going to be staying in the 'dwelling house' at the village. 

The doll Far Nana is going to repair was found in an attic in the village. The doll has paper mache' limbs, (except for  a missing leg), a cloth body, and a wooden head. 

But dolls and toys weren't allowed by the Shakers until well after the era of this doll. How did she get in the attic? What's she doing in the Shaker village? 

Maybe Far Nana will find out as she repairs the doll. (In the process of repairing the doll we learn how Far Nana makes a new paper mache' leg by making a mold of the remaining leg and casting a new leg.) And do Lila and Rose get over being mad at Far Nana? Do they end up enjoying their visit to the Shaker village? 

  Of course, you probably have figured out that, of course Far Nana tells the doll's story, of course the girls get over being mad at Far Nana, and of course they enjoy their visit. That's how these books go. But  is it an enjoyable journey getting to the end of the story? Well, yes. These books are fun. It's never  explained whether or not Far Nana can really 'hear' the dolls' thoughts, or if she's making it all up. I like to think she has a little magic and can really hear the dolls. I suppose I would also have enjoyed them as a kid because there's always a little history in each book too. I always loved history. Ivy liked these books when she was little, and we read two or three of them. 

  The book is a quick  read of less than 130 pages, about the length of all the books in the series. The age recommendation is ages 8-10. It could be read to younger children if they are interested.

  Author Joan Holub has written a lot of books for kids. And I mean A LOT. More than 180, in fact. She acquired a Fine Arts degree and spent a few years as an art director with a graphic design firm. But she always wanted to write kids' books. Eventually Joan moved to New York and got a job designing books for Scholastic Books. She also edited books for them. In 1992 the first book she had illustrated was published. She became an illustrator, until the publication of her first authored book, in 1996.  Today Joan Holub is 66, and apparently has cats named after Scout and Boo from "To Kill a Mockingbird". (One of my favourite books, so I have to love that! By the way, I highly recommend "To Kill a Mockingbird" to everyone, and the movie is great too!) 

  Oddly enough, Joan Holub didn't illustrate the Doll Hospital books. They're illustrated by Ann Losa. I guess Joan is too busy these days writing those 180 plus books to illustrate them too. But the illustrations by Ann Losa are nice. 

  That's it for this month's book. See you again soon.

Review Time: Maileg Ginger Brother

   It's review time again. I got an action figure for Christmas, a Funko Pop Vinyl, and one actual doll. I picked it out myself. It was one I'd had my eye on for a while. And he's the doll we're going to look at today.

  I discovered the company Maileg when someone I follow on Flickr posted photos of her super cute Maileg  mouse family. I've always loved storybook mice. (But not the ones that get into the house and chew up my stuff!) I checked Maileg out, and found The Gingers. The Gingers are a family of five, Mum, Dad, Sister, Brother, and baby. They were described on the Maileg site as "...a family that always enjoys the time they spend together and their hair is as bright as their personalities!" They were available in three sizes. Size 1 included a 16 inch Mum and Dad, and 12 inch Brother and Sister. Size 2 included a 30 inch Mum and Dad, and a 25 inch Brother and Sister. Size 3 included a 39 inch Mum and Dad and a 28 inch Brother and Sister. They were all available individually, as was the 7 inch Ginger Baby, which came with it's own 'room', swaddling covers, pajamas, an outfit, and a tiny pacifier.

  The smaller sizes came in their underwear, while the other two sizes of the dolls wore casual clothes. Clothes and pajamas were also available for the smaller sized dolls, including Dad's pilot uniform, and Mum's stewardess (flight attendant) uniform.

  A few pieces of clothing and pajamas were sold for the bigger dolls.

The smaller version of the family even had a house, and furnishings available.

They could even go camping.

  I originally wanted the size 2 or 3 Ginger sister. I always balk at spending money though, so I kept putting off ordering her, and alas, she was no longer available by late last year. My second choice was size 2 or 3 Ginger Brother, and I am usually drawn to the boy dolls anyway. So while size 2 Brother was still available, and clearanced for $15.00, I snapped him up before Christmas last year. (When he arrived Ken commandeered him to give to me for Christmas.)

  Originally he was a bit expensive, as is everything from Maileg. So I shouldn't have been surprised by his quality. But I was. I assumed he was made of a smooth cotton fabric, like a Raggedy Ann or Andy. But he is made of a heavy cotton, with a woven texture.

Despite the texture of the cotton, Ginger Brother is soft. 

  He has long, thin arms and legs. 

They aren't dangly and floppy like a traditional rag doll. His legs are fairly moveable, but his arms are more firm. They don't want to stay moved away from his sides. They go, but they want very badly to return there. 

   His hair is a separate piece of fabric sewn into his head. It has a printed pattern.

I love his little 'Alfalfa' hair on the top of his head.

  He has a cute face, with embroidered eyes, and printed freckles, nose, and mouth.

And look at those ears.

He has fingers stitched into his hands.

  His feet are just an angle at the end of his legs.

  He has a little embroidered belly button! His polka dot underwear is part of his body, and can't be removed.

    His body tag is sewn into his body on his underwear.

His clothing is nice quality.  The soft grey sweatshirt is not super thin, and the fabric is nubbly on the back.

 The Gingers logo is printed  on the front of his shirt in metallic coppery coloured paint.

There's a Maileg tag on the side.

  His jeans are a fairly heavy weight fabric.

 They have sewn cuffs that can't unroll.

   The waist has a stretchy band so the pants can be removed easily by little hands, and still stay up when they need to. They are quite tight though, so very little hands may still need some help until his pants stretch out a bit.

   They have a real pocket on the side of one leg.

His arms obviously don't reach that far, so he can't put his hand in it. You could put something small in there though. 

  And look at his socks! 

  I love these socks! They're cute, stretchy, and have rolled down tops. And I love that he has socks! It makes me feel that his feet are cozy and warm. There don't seem to have been any shoes made for The Ginger kids though. (All sizes of the Mum and Dad come with sewn on soft shoes.)

  He comes with a double tag. The top tag, with The Gingers logo and pictures, is cloth. The second tag is heavy paper. According to said tags, Ginger Brother consists of cotton and polyester, and is surface washable only, and colour running is possible. From what I found on the Maileg website, the doll itself is cotton, so the polyester must show up in the stretchable clothing.

      Ginger Brother is cuddly and huggable, with a soft body that could be easily squeezed by tiny arms.

  I can see this guy lasting a child very well, and maybe being passed down. The fabric is sturdy, and his hair is part of his head, so it can't wear off. Even his clothing seems like it will wear well.

   Unfortunately, most of the Gingers collection is no longer available. At the moment there are a few pieces of clothing of various sizes, a size 1 Ginger Mum, and this guy, the size 2 Ginger Brother, still available.

  Included in the box was a Maileg catalog.

The catalog is beautifully photographed, and shows the current Maileg products.

     Maileg was founded in 1999 by Danish designer and illustrator Dorthe Mailil and her husband Erik. The name Mailig, (which is pronounced 'my-lay'.), comes from their last name, combined with the Danish word 'leg', which means play. Apart from Maileg's toy designs, Dorthe, who studied at the Danish Design School and  L'ecole D'art de Marsailles and Paris, also does illustrations for books, magazines, and TV.

  So do I recommend this Ginger boy? At the price I got him, yes. I think he's cute and quirky looking, which is something I love anyway. He's an excellent quality toy that seems like he will last through a childhood of play, (or two!) But he started out much more expensive. He had been $38 before he was marked down to the $15 I paid for him. Would I pay $38 for him? Hmm. I'm cheap, so I'd have to think about that. I think if one of my kids had fallen in love with a doll like this, I would have paid $38 for him if he were this quality. (If my kids had fallen in love with him, I would probably have paid that for him no matter what his quality was, but I would have preferred he was this good!) Actually, thinking about it, $38 isn't that bad if you compare him to mass produced toys. And this guy seems like he might outlast most mass produced dolls. For example, I think this cloth will outlast the thin cotton blend that Raggedy Ann and Andy tend to be made of. 

  That's it for this review. Coming soon are some fun finds I've made recently.

The Toys of the Past, Christmas and Otherwise: Lori and Family's Toys from the 40's, 50's, and 60's

  Remember back in December of 2018, when I showed you some very old Christmas photos belonging to my friend Lori? (You can find those posts by clicking Toys of Christmas Past in the sidebar. She got the best stuff! Well, I'm back, with a few more of Lori's old photos from Christmas, birthdays, and Easter. These pictures all have dolls and toys. Some of them need identifying, so if you recognize them, please leave a comment.

  The first picture is obviously Christmas, but Lori is cuddling a toy rabbit, and whatever that other toy is.

  

  Note the tiger slippers. I had several pairs of slippers as a kid in the 60's that had rubber animal heads on them. I had a few pairs with duck heads, and one with cat heads. Apart from the animals, I had a pair with clown heads. Everything wasn't licensed characters then.  

    As per most of the rest of Lori's gifts, the one she's sitting in front of here is pretty valuable these days. It's the Ding a Ling Bridge set by Topper Toys.

The Ding A Lings were a series of robot toys. You can watch a commercial for the Ding A Lings HERE. The huge structure they are running around on in the commercial makes me think of The Doozers from Fraggle Rock, and King Ding and his huge machine make me think of the Power Rangers Megazord.  The bridge set came with some Ding A Lings, but there were others that were available separately. Down in the bottom right corner, you'll see Lori's stuffed Lassie toy. My sister had one too, which I think she actually still has. Even more surprising, since Norma, Lori's mom, threw out or sold all of Lori's toys, Lori still has her Lassie toy too. Of course, Lori's Lassie is bigger than my sister's. because Lori had the best stuff.

  Here's another Christmas picture. In this one there's a Toss Across game on the right. Do they still make Toss Across? It was produced for decades, but I bet they don't make it any more. It was basically a bean bag version of Tic Tac Toe. These days it has pretty much been replaced by video games and 'corn hole'. There's a play pen with a doll. The doll looks like possibly an Ideal Snoozie Thumbelina or Snuggle Softee, or a Horsman doll. I can't find any doll online wearing that outfit though. It looks a lot like a Horsman Sofskin doll, but this doll looks like it has a soft, stuffed body. The Sofskin has a solid body. If anybody can recognize the doll or the boxes in the background and to the left of the play pen, let me know in a comment. **UPDATE** I don't know where my mind was, but Teresa F., a reader pointed out that the box in the background says 'knit'. I did some more looking, and it seems like it's probably a Kenner Knit-O-Matic automatic knitting machine.  

This picture from the same Christmas shows Lori with that doll, and her niece and nephew with something in a box, a helicopter, and an airplane. (Lori's sister is much older than she is, and her niece and nephew are closer to her age than her sister is.) The airplane looks like it might be remote controlled. The little rocking chair next to Lori's chair was really common back then too.

Speaking of Lori's older sister, here she is on her second Christmas in 1948. It looks like she was pretty spoiled too! Look at that haul! There's a doll with a stroller, a drum, an ironing board, a top, a wagon of blocks, a ball, another doll, a little red wagon, what looks like maybe Tinkertoys or Lincoln Logs, in the cannister right behind the smaller doll and the red wagon, a stuffed Panda bear, and a rocking horse. There are some other things I can't see well enough to recognize under the ironing board.   

Sister's second Christmas, 1948.

Here's her sister and a friend on Christmas 1955, There's a doll, a doll crib, and possibly some doll house furniture on the table in front of the doll. 

Christmas 1955.

This picture from January of 1956 shows her with what is probably that doll she got for Christmas.

January 1956.

There aren't any more Christmas pictures, but there are still plenty more pictures with toys. 

  This picture of Lori and her nephew features the same cowgirl outfit and toy German Shepherd I showed you in an earlier post.

That German Shephard looks pretty awesome.

  The doll in this birthday party picture looks like an Ideal doll, maybe a Belly Button Baby. (You can see my Belly Button Baby HERE and HERE.)

  Th next picture looks like Easter. The toy five year old Lori is holding looks like Mother Goose

  This picture is from another Easter. This time Lori has a cute pink poodle

Another Easter and a  bunny and...what is that cute thing? An elephant? (Those ears are pretty big.) 

  Here are Lori and her nephew on yet another Easter, with their bunnies.

Another Easter and another dog. (Or is that a lion? Hard to say really.) That's no surprise. These days Lori has EIGHT dogs! 

Her niece has some sort of plaid animal.

  Okay. The plaid animal is a bunny.

  It must be Lori's nephew's birthday. Charlie Brown is sitting behind them. Looks like the birthday presenst included a five piece truck set. Anybody recognize the toy right below the cake?

  That's it for today. Next time on The Toys of the Past we'll see some toys from my childhood pictures. There weren't many from Christmas, but there are pictures of my toys.