Goldie the Dollmaker

by M.B. Goffstein

Goldie Rosenzweig makes dolls. She makes them carefully, seriously, lovingly--and they are irresistible. Children who own them treasure them and keep them for years and years. Many children will feel the same way about his book.
Here M.B. Goffstein creates Goldie's world, a world whose center is the little house in the forest where she lives all alone, a world alive with warmth and love. In the simple words and pictures of Goldie the Dollmaker there is the same gentleness and quiet joy that endear Miss Goffstein's earlier books to a growing audience.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Picture Books, Art

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Marilyn Brooke Goffstein
Also published as Brooke Goffstein

American Author and Illustrator
Grew up in St Paul Minnesota
Graduated from Bennington College in Vermont in 1962
Lived in New York
Taught Children's Book Illustration at Parsons School of Design
Works in pen, watercolor and pastels

Reviews

[Denice Fraser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my very favorite books. When Chase saw the book somewhere, he would say "Mama, isn't that the book that makes you cry?"

[Melainebooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lecture recommandée par Eduscol.

Ce livre parle de la beauté qui jaillit des mains et des yeux de ceux qui veulent bien prendre le temps de la voir et de la ressentir.

[SadieReadsAgain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was always on my shelves as a child, and it resurfaced last year. So when I had a reading challenge prompt to read something that made me nostalgic I immediately went to this book. The illustrations are so simple but so charming, and that is what always captivated me as a child. But I didn't actually remember what the story was about, beyond being about a dollmaker. It's actually a really touching story about the power of art, the beauty of creating just for that one person who will love what you have made. Lovely wee book.

[Iya Gozum]

I really loved this book when I was a kid; kept borrowing this from the library. :)

[Talea · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a very sweet little book about the value of art for art’s sake. Goldie buys a little lamp that has no practical value, but it makes her happy. When she is teased about it she decides to return it, but a dream helps her change her mind. She realizes that the person who made the lamp made it with the same love and attention that she uses in her dolls, to bring happiness to others.

[Dianne Ludwig · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my precious favorites

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published in 1969.

I do not remember why this book impressed me so much when I was 7 or 8 years old, but it was indelibly etched in my mind, and I think somehow that I took it as a model for living.

Goldie is possibly a little too selfless & ascetic to be an effective model for me in general, but when it comes to doing art or school work or work, her spirit & attitude & expectations are 100% right on, in my mind.

She gives 100% of her attention to her task, and she puts her entire heart & soul into the effort - believing completely that this kind of focus & attention is necessary to her craft. That it makes all the difference.

The simple b&w line drawings convey just enough of her environment, life, and art to allow readers to imagine the wondrous colors she creates, and the rich atmosphere of her little house & the woods around her.

I feel like I have a memory as if I experienced it myself; how the box of wood that she carried home felt, and the way her boots crunched through the woods, how she cried because she was lonely and unsure, and then she had an epiphany, and it all made sense, and she was confident & humble & focused again - and joyful!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grabbed this book from my daughters room. What a surprise. It is an amazing book. I never heard of this author - she was born 3 years before me. It seems to be a simple book with simple illustrations (very nice indeed though lacking color - line drawings). I want so much to color in the illustrations myself - but I'm not sure I'll do it.

There is a lot of depth to this little story. It ended too soon. I want to know what happens next. To me that is a good story.

[Karen Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. its has a warmth like that of a fireplace on a chilly winter night.

The book teaches one to be true to yourself.