I decided to get back into making soft dolls/plush toys, and picked up a few books to get an array of patterns and techniques. None of the modern books I looked through were even close to as clear, concise, and useful as this 1975 classic.Three doll types in particular -- the Alice, the Little Women dolls, and the Amy -- have patterns that are easily repurposed for a huge variety of human characters. They're adorable and well-proportioned, and their clothes are specifically designed to be repurposed in different fabrics. There are also selections of dogs, cats, and jungle animals.The only slightly weak chapter is the Noah's Ark section at the beginning, which has a lot of projects so simple I wouldn't expect to need a pattern for them and too small to be of real interest. It does include woodworking directions for the Ark itself, though, which is an interesting touch.Note that all of the dolls and toys in this book are plush, all-fabric toys, intended to be made with a combination of sewing machine and hand-stitching (they can be done entirely by hand, but require great care to be strong enough to be played with). Some materials may be harder to find now, like kapok, but substitution is easy and you can still find them if you look hard enough.