One thing that struck me about the book on a first read-through was the incredible attention to detail. Everything from the photography lighting down to the typesetting contributes to a cohesive and appealing whole. The detail and quality of the photography are superlative. There are 13 base animals included, and they're all made to the same basic size, so their accessories are mix-and-match, leaving you with a -huge- number of possible permutations. Add in color differences and readers could literally customize a massive wardrobe for a lucky recipient.
The shaping details are clever and incorporated into the patterns. There book includes basic instructions toward the back, but I would not recommend absolute beginners begin with the dolls as a first project, especially if they're knitting in a vacuum. I would recommend starting with accessories first such as scarves or shoes before tackling the more difficult dolls, or at least have a local knitting guru on speed dial (I recommend having a local knitting guru on speed dial, anyhow)!
I do a great deal of charity knitting for the pediatric and neonatal ICU at the local hospital. I also do some knitting for a local shelter for older kids who find themselves in crisis . I'm always looking for new ways to customize the soft toys I knit and these are perfect. They are full of personality and sweet little details (like button holes for tails and ears). They're really well constructed with beautiful contour knitted forms.
I knitted a couple ears from two patterns, as well as a scarf and the French knickers (p. 108 in the eARC), and found them problem-and-error free.
Five very very enthusiastic stars. What a wonderful book!
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
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