Synopsis
Mary yearns to play with the children she sees outside each day, but she is too sick to join them. In order to give Mary comfort and contentment, her father, the toy-maker, fashions three dolls that look like the children outdoors. Many years later, Mary and her granddaughter return to the toy shop and discover that her father's gifts live on!
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From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-- An offbeat and appealing book, The Toymaker is a story in two parts. The first part tells of Matthew, the toymaker, who lovingly makes three dolls for his invalid daughter, Mary, that resemble the children playing outside his shop. Mary plays with her dolls until she is well enough to play with their real counterparts. In the second part, Mary, an old woman now, comes to the deserted toyshop with her granddaughter, Jane. They find the three dolls tucked away and place them in the window. The three elderly friends see them, and Mary gives each one their doll to keep. She then makes one for Jane, a Matthew doll--"and she made it with love, for she had not forgotten. Milne's illustrations are done in soft pastel watercolors and pen and ink, reminiscent of the work of Edward Ardizzone or Louis Slobodkin and very English in character. They sketch the shop and the old-fashioned clothing, and then switch to the modern little girl and her surroundings. Through both words and pictures, the book suggests tender, caring relationships between Mary and her father, her friends, and her granddaughter. The sadness and happiness of the past are intermingled in this quiet, pleasant, but nonessential story.
- Judy Constantinides, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library , LA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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