ZIGZAG: The Story of a Doll Who Found Happiness
By Robert D. San Souci
Illustrated By Stefan Czernecki
August House
Hardcover
ISBN: 0-87483-764-2
Price: $16.95
10" x 10"
Page count: 32 pages
Ages 3-7

Lesson plans for this book are available as downloadable PDF files for four different grade levels!

When the dollmaker creates Zigzag from scraps, she promises him, "Some child will love you". This gives the strange-looking doll hope. But the other dolls and stuffed animals in the shop don't want such an ugly toy around. They force Zigzag to leave. Clinging to the promise that a child will someday love him, little Zigzag sets out to find a home. His journey is not an easy one. A hungry owl tries to make the doll his dinner. Escaping the fierce claws, Zigzag finds himself lost in the countryside far from the familiar city. Other adventures lie in wait for him. Will he ever find his dreamed-of child and true happiness?

Teacher's Pick -- A Best New Book
"With nothing but hope in hand, Zigzag chases his dream. Just like Zigzag, Czernecki's patchwork illustrations are touching." -- Scholastic Parent & Child

****/4 [Four stars out of four] "Highly Recommended." -- CM: Canadian Review of Materials (publication of The Manitoba Library Association)

" . . . [N]icely composed, and the happy ending should please young readers. . . . Eye-catching illustrations fabricated from cloth scraps create captivating, colorful collages set against a bright, white background." -- School Library Journal

Chocolate Lily Book Award Nominee 2006-2007

To get a sample of the creative response this book has been getting, look below at the felt dolls created by Muriel Feldshuh as a project for the Books for Kids Foundation in New York. Muriel Feldshuh is also the publisher of UP FRONT WITH STORYTELLING, newsletter.

Left to right: The Dollmaker, Zigzag, and the Little Girl who adopts him.

About the author
Robert D. San Souci is the author of more than 60 books for young readers. The Talking Eggs, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, and The Faithful Friend, illustrated by Brian Pinkney, were both Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Honor Books. He also created the screen story for the animated film, Mulan. A lifelong resident of California, he resides in the San Francisco Bay area.