Dolls have a unique place in childhood. They are about play, empathy, and developing communication and socialization skills. Dolls are important symbols to children of what adults value, and handmade dolls convey that the individual is important and that to be unique—less than perfect—is just fine. These concepts guide award-winning children's author Laurie Carlson's Doll Crafts, which opens up the world of doll making to children. The emphasis is on following basic instructions that are clearly illustrated with line drawings in order to help children develop creative, open-ended projects that result in unique dolls and doll play. Using inexpensive, everyday, or even recycled materials, children make clever paper dolls, simple folk art dolls, soft cuddle pals, or 18-inch felt dolls as well as cute and easy doll clothing, accessories, and basic houses. Short, informative sidebars throughout explore dolls in various cultures and religions, relate doll trivia and fun facts, and expand readers' ideas about what constitutes a doll by examining the history of action figures, scarecrows, robots, and more.
