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Madame Alexander: The Creator of the Iconic American Doll



by
Susan Goldman Rubin
illustrated by
Sarah Dvorjack

Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Macmillan
Imprint
Feiwel & Friends
ISBN
9781250138590
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
None
$23.17   $19.31
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A picture book biography about Beatrice Alexander, founder of the iconic Madame Alexander doll.

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.

Beatrice'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 WWI broke out, she made cloth dolls modeled after nurses to support the war effort. After the war, Beatrice founded Madame Alexander, creating some of the first plastic and collectible dolls, dolls that never break.

More about Madame Alexander, with photographs. Bibliography. Full-color illustrations were drawn traditionally and colored digitally.

POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
None

Details

Format

Print

Page Count

48

Trim Size

11" x 8 1/2"

Dewey

B

AR

0: points 0

Genre

Nonfic

Scholastic Reading Counts

0

JLG Release

Feb 2023

Book Genres

Autobiography/Biography, Picture Book

Topics

Beatrice Alexander (1895–1990). Entrepreneurs. Madame Alexander Doll Company. Doll design and construction. American toys. Lower East Side, New York City. 

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Praise & Reviews

School Library Journal

School Library Journal

Library Journal

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?(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Praise & Reviews

School Library Journal

School Library Journal

Library Journal

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?(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Grades 2-6
Biography Elementary Plus
For Grades 2-6

Fascinating biographies and autobiographies will allow your elementary readers to look into the lives, thoughts, and accomplishments of the individuals who have shaped our world. And with 12 books per year, they'll discover a remarkable person each month.

14 books per Year
$297.36 per Year
Interests
Biographies,Diversity,Nonfiction,Science/STEAM
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Grades 2-6
Biography Elementary Plus
14 books per Year
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