In the normal children's room dolls are often just part of the pile of modern toys at a child's disposal - but how wrong that is! In this mixture of psychology, literary and cultural history Insa Fooken makes her case for the comeback of the doll in modern society.Dolls are indeed very ancient objects, both as toys and as cultural assets. However, more recently they have been replaced by the teddy bear, even though there is a lot more going for them than for their furry rival: They can help the child to take on developmental tasks, to come to terms with gender-specific roles and to further personal identity formation. They can open doors to inner worlds and allow therapeutic insights. This colorful, many-sided book encourages playing with dolls and opening up to the fascination they emanate.

Adapted by: Robin Lohmann