Goldie the Dollmaker

Rating:
Summary: Small and perfect.
Review: I am so glad to see one of Brooke Goffstein's books back in print!! All of her books are small treasures of perfectly and simply realized stories that go along so well with the simple yet rich line drawings that accompany them. I always find myself crying or close to it at the end of these stories which is a little hard to explain to my children if I am reading them "Natural History" or "My Noah's Ark"! I haven't read "Goldie the Dollmaker" to my children yet, it's still mine alone to cherish. If you've ever made or cared for anything with a great deal of love and attention to the fineness of details than you will understand Goldie. She starts off feeling as if she lives in "her parent's house" and is continuing "their" work of making dolls. These things don't truly belong to her until after she looks into her heart after being inspired by a kindred artist spirit in a dream. This story is a tiny gift from heaven.

Rating:
Summary: Beauty Reveals A Crime
Review: M.B. Goffstein created an exquisite universe in her children's books which explore what it means to be an artist, a craftsman and a human being. Anyone who has seen Schubert dancing to keep warm or struggled with a child becoming independent as explored in Two Piano Tuners or has experienced the aging of a loved one as reflected in Noah's Ark can only marvel at the delicacy and seriousness of these "children's" book. Each and every book, except maybe Natural History are written and illustrated exquisitely in a minimalist style which strips to its essence life and line. One of the joys of my second group of children's lives is enjoying the trove of Goffstein's left at home by their big sister. It is simply inexplicable that these exquisite books are out of print. This is a real crime. Perhaps the answer is to bring them all together as was done with the George and Martha stories, but much would be lost because the size of the books seems integral to their power. But for anyone who has not experienced this author/illustrator start here and clamour for more.Perhaps the gods of publishing will listen.

Rating:
Summary: Beauty Reveals A Crime
Review: M.B. Goffstein created an exquisite universe in her children's books which explore what it means to be an artist, a craftsman and a human being. Anyone who has seen Schubert dancing to keep warm or struggled with a child becoming independent as explored in Two Piano Tuners or has experienced the aging of a loved one as reflected in Noah's Ark can only marvel at the delicacy and seriousness of these "children's" book. Each and every book, except maybe Natural History are written and illustrated exquisitely in a minimalist style which strips to its essence life and line. One of the joys of my second group of children's lives is enjoying the trove of Goffstein's left at home by their big sister. It is simply inexplicable that these exquisite books are out of print. This is a real crime. Perhaps the answer is to bring them all together as was done with the George and Martha stories, but much would be lost because the size of the books seems integral to their power. But for anyone who has not experienced this author/illustrator start here and clamour for more.Perhaps the gods of publishing will listen.