The daughter of white Jewish immigrants, Beatrice Alexander grew up helping her father in his doll hospital on the bottom floor of their home on the Lower East Side at the turn of the 20th century. There, surrounded by cabinets bursting with doll parts, her father washed, repaired, built, and sold china dolls to wealthy customers. Beatrice loved to help care for the dolls during their stay in the hospital, dreaming up new ideas for dolls of her own—perhaps ones that would be unbreakable. As a young adult during World War I, when there was a shortage of materials to create and patch dolls, Beatrice crafted cloth dolls dressed as nurses or wearing old-fashioned dresses. After the war, she sold dozens of baby dolls modeled after her daughter to FAO Schwarz, and her business only grew from there. Professionally, Beatrice became known as Madame Alexander, the head of a company that designed and created countless iconic dolls for American children. Fascinating details underscore the artistry, labor, and skill required to make dolls in an account that shows great respect for dolls and the people who love them. (Ages 5-8)

An inspiring, uplifting picture book biography about iconic doll creator, Madame Alexander, whose love for dolls and bringing joy to others began at a young age and only continued to grow.

Someday, she thought, I will make dolls that don’t break so children will never be unhappy.

Beatrice Alexander’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 World War I broke out, she came up with the idea to make unbreakable, cloth dolls modeled after nurses to support the war effort and help keep children happy. After the war, Beatrice founded Madame Alexander and redefined the doll industry, creating some of the first plastic and collectible dolls, dolls that never break.

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.