Read this because we were planning to visit Arcola, IL, the birth town of Johny Gruelle which boasts this connection to the famous children's book. (In fact, Gruelle left the town when he was 2.)
That's a nice heartwarming story about dolls secretly knowing how to talk and move and exploring the world and acquiring certain values (love your friends!), just as children would do.
That's still very much a product of the American white middle-class culture of the early 20th century that perpetuates racial and gendered hierarchies. Sigh.