Tops and Bottoms Story Doll 5pc./6"

We illustrate Coldecott Honor Book Tops and Bottoms on this 5-piece 6" nesting doll with amazing detail. The humorous story of a bear entering into a gardening partnership with the wily Hare becomes your child's personal adventure as they open the doll while you read and each inner doll depicts one more episode in the eventful story. We sell the book alone (#001403) or the book paired with the doll (#001403-S). If you already have the book, order this item to get just the doll. The doll is initialed and dated by the artist and stamped on the bottom with Golden Cockerel's "Made in Russia " logo. Not familiar with the story, which has its roots in European folklore as well as slave stories of the American South? The tale celebrates the trickster tradition of overcoming hardship by using one's wits. Bear decides to enter into a gardening partnership with the wily Hare. Hare tells Bear to choose which half of the crop he wants at harvest time – the tops or bottoms. Bear chooses the tops, so Hare plants all root vegetables. The next time, Bear picks the bottoms, so Hare plants broccoli, lettuce and celery. Then Bear chooses both tops and bottoms, but Hare still outsmarts him and grows corn, keeping the ears and leaving roots and tassels for Bear. Hare is then able to buy some of his land back and open a vegetable stand. Enjoy this folk tale when you buy this nesting doll from the Golden Cockerel, home of your nesting doll specialists.

Production Techniques: Hand Painting/ Decoupage. This nesting doll was carved in the Upper Volga region, the Russian center of nesting doll carving. The carved pieced were assembled, doll inside a doll, then delivered to the Golden Cockerel workshop in St. Petersburg, Russia. Our artists first hand paint the background, then apply various detailed elements, such as faces, which we print on a very thin vinyl adhesive. Such elements are reproduced original works of art we make specifically for nesting doll design. It is the artist’s magic brush that blends the two forms of artwork together into a unified piece. Finally we baptize each doll in multiple layers of non-toxic water-based lacquer to make a marvellous matryoshka that will delight children and collectors. The bottom of the largest doll gets stamped with Golden Cockerel’s “Made in Russia” mark of nesting doll quality, initialed by the artist, and dated like a true collectible. We can only hope you will give it a good home.