Beloved Belindy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammy_archetype
Mammy archetype doll created by Raggedy Ann doll and story creator Johnny Gruelle. "Beloved Belindy," appeared in 1927 and was a popular character until 1965, when modern sensibilities retired her. She is, said Green, a prized trophy in some folk art collections. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1986/08/24/its-raggedytime/e6b16ead-82c7-4406-a7dd-bf8e65a1782c/?utm_term=.a2c7146f6710
Beloved Belindy’ is written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle, forming part of ‘The Raggedy Ann Series.’ Gruelle created Raggedy Ann for his daughter, Marcella, when she brought him an old hand-made rag doll. He drew a face on it, and from his bookshelf, pulled a book of poems by James Whitcomb Riley, combining the names of two poems, ‘The Raggedy Man’ and ‘Little Orphant Annie.’ From this moment on, the much-loved children’s series went from strength to strength. This particular text, focused on the adventures of Beloved Belindy, provides entertainment as well as moral lessons for young audiences; to be kind to those you meet, to always be generous, and to help those that need it.
John Barton Gruelle (1880 – 1930), was born in Arcola, Illinois, in 1880. He was an American artist and political cartoonist, as well as a children’s book illustrator and author. His most famous illustrated works include Grimm’s Fairy Tales (1914), All About the Little Small Red Hen (1917), and of course, the Raggedy Ann series. http://www.pookpress.co.uk/shop/beloved-belindy-written-and-illustrated-by-johnny-gruelle/
" Beloved Belindy, a black Mammy doll sporting a red kerchief, is clearly the star here, for it is she who orchestrates many games for the nursery brood and organizes rescues when necessary. Each chapter is a complete tale in itself--delightfully illustrated with bright, cheerful drawings which make it easy for children to visualize each doll’s distinctive features. The real humans (Marcella, Mamma, Daddy, Grandma) are frequently referenced, but do not interact verbally with the dolls. For toys of course must remain limp and wherever their little mistress has left them; they may only speak and move when the “folks” are gone or asleep. However the dolls can communicate verbally with Hairy, the puppy dog, and Dickie bird, the canary. In this book they even speak with a wooden cuckoo and two tiny elves.
Now the style is a bit saccharine for contemporary taste and even dummied down. Kids quickly catch on that Cleety is the clown, and Percy the policeman, yet every time these dolls are mentioned, Gruelle adds the repetitious professional tag. The gender-specificity is blatant; for females (girls and therefore toys) had not achieved any degree of self sufficiency. Imagination and compassion yes, but leave it to the boy dolls to do the heavy lifting. The villains in these syrupy pages are: mean boys, rats, ants and plants that plot to eat tiny creatures.
On a more serious note is the flagrant racial stereotyping throughout. True--the heroine and clever thinker of this book is Black, but clearly an Aunt Jemima—to whom more famous Raggedy Ann plays second fiddle. Clearly modeled after the family’s Black cook, Dinah, Beloved Belindy (as well as the dolls and humans) says I ‘spect” instead of “Expect.” The way Dinah is drawn is also offensive: she is fat and ugly, but we do admire her role-modeling generosity and compassion for all creatures—whether stuffed or
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3666950-beloved-belindy
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