Hitty: An American Travel Doll

Rachel Field's Newbery award-winning book Hitty: Her First Hundred Years was inspired by a wooden doll which Field and illustrator Dorothy Lathrop found in an antique shop. Published in 1929, Hitty's "autobiography" has become a classic of children's literature. Sirocco Productions, which specializes in doll videos for collectors, presents the story of the "real" Hitty, recreates some of her fictional adventures using modern "Hitty's" crafted by men and women around the world, and includes a step-by-step demonstration of one artisan making a repro Hitty. As with the other titles in Sirocco's Master Artist Series, individual dollmakers are mentioned by name and their Hitty re-creations are featured in detail, but the tape avoids infomercial status by not mentioning prices and addresses. However, spending so much time on the collectibles limits the tape's appeal to adults, since children will primarily be interested in the Hitty of the story and her original antique counterpart. Public libraries with avid doll collectors might wish to consider purchase; optional elsewhere. Aud: P. (R. Reagan)