Raggedy Ann and Andy

Raggedy Ann and Andy in the Tunnel of Lost Toys
by Catharine Bushnell, illustrated by Vernon McKissack
Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1980

I was never all that into Raggedy Ann as a child, but as an adult I have a bit of a fascination with these sweet dolls. My Raggedy Ann was actually quite "raggedy" and had missing hair and a resewn on limb. I must have played with her because she was pretty worn out. What I love now are the stripey legs and that there was a red heart on her chest.

I remember reading some of the Catharine Bushnell books about Raggedy Ann and Andy at our school library, and I specifically remember this one. I was super excited to find a copy for sale at a local thrift store.

In this story, Marcella takes the Raggedies with her to an Amusement Park and they ride on all the rides, ending with the Tunnel of Fun. At first it seems tame and then a witch jumps out at them, and then vampires, monsters, pirates, and skeletons. "Even Andy's shoebutton eyes were very wide." When they see a dragon up ahead they assume he will be like all the other creatures they'd seen so far and she the dolls are surprised when the dragon steals them so quickly that Marcella didn't even notice.

The toys try to plot an escape but their efforts go unrewarded when the dragon returns and catches them. Ann talks to the dragon and discovers he's not mean, but lonely and with some of her clever efforts and the lost and found, all of the toys are set free and the Raggedies are reunited with Marcella.

My cousins used to have the Raggedy Ann and Andy doll house and I remember it fondly. Here's a 1977 version found on ebay: