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Raggedy Andy Stories
It is the air which we breathe that fills our lungs and gives us life and light. It is that which refreshes us if pure, or sinks us into stagnation if it be foul. Let me for awhile inhale the breath of an invigorating literature. Sit down, Mr. Mackinnon; I have a question that I must put to you. And then she succeeded in carrying him off into a corner. As far as I could see he went willingly enough at that time.
86 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1920
About the author
Johnny Gruelle
341 books43 followersJohnny Gruelle was an American artist, political cartoonist, children's book author and illustrator (and even songwriter). He is known as the creator of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy. He had such confidence in his design that often he would create the final ink work without first sketching in pencil.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_G...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_G...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
August 10, 2026
My Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls have sat on a high corner of my desk for quite a while now. I knew my grandmother adored them but I never understood the dolls beyond a surface level.
So, when I stumbled upon the collection of Raggedy Andy stories, I was intrigued and picked them up to see what all the fuss was about. And verdict? They're really, really sweet. I am glad I read them and I feel like I've gotten to "know" my dolls a little bit better.
There's a short section at the end written by a grandchild of the author, explaining that the author (Johnny Gruelle) lost his own daughter, Marcella, after two long years of battling an illness caused by an infected vaccine in the early 1900s. Throughout her sickness, her steadfast companion (and favorite doll) was Raggedy Ann.
Her father then created a wonderful world where Marcella played with her dolls and Raggedy Ann got into various sorts of mischief and set off for adventures with her friend, Raggedy Andy. The dedication of this book was to "Marcella's Mama."
I cannot imagine what he went through but knowing the background had me giving my Raggedy Ann a hug today.
How Raggedy Andy Came - ★★★★☆
The Nursery Dance - ★★★★☆
The Spinning Wheel - ★★★★☆
The Taffy Pull - ★★★☆☆
The Rabbit Chase - ★★★★★
The New Tin Gutter - ★★★★☆
Doctor Raggedy Andy - ★★★★☆
Raggedy Andy's Smile - ★★★★★
The Wooden Horse - ★★★★☆
Making "Angels" in the Snow - ★★★★☆
The Singing Shell - ★★★☆☆
Overall Thoughts
I've read Raggedy Ann's stories and now Andy's as well...and they are both extremely cute. I like the balance of whimsy when it comes to the dolls and their adventures (though, sometimes I cannot help but think that if this happened in real life that it would be rather creepy!).
But I also really feel for the origin story of Raggedy Ann and that love for a daughter and her doll does eclipse any fear from the dolls moving when I am not around (haha).
So, when I stumbled upon the collection of Raggedy Andy stories, I was intrigued and picked them up to see what all the fuss was about. And verdict? They're really, really sweet. I am glad I read them and I feel like I've gotten to "know" my dolls a little bit better.
There's a short section at the end written by a grandchild of the author, explaining that the author (Johnny Gruelle) lost his own daughter, Marcella, after two long years of battling an illness caused by an infected vaccine in the early 1900s. Throughout her sickness, her steadfast companion (and favorite doll) was Raggedy Ann.
Her father then created a wonderful world where Marcella played with her dolls and Raggedy Ann got into various sorts of mischief and set off for adventures with her friend, Raggedy Andy. The dedication of this book was to "Marcella's Mama."
I cannot imagine what he went through but knowing the background had me giving my Raggedy Ann a hug today.
How Raggedy Andy Came - ★★★★☆
Here we get a (very) short origin story about Raggedy Andy. When Gran'ma was young, her mother made her a Raggedy Ann and the neighbor's mama made her a Raggedy Andy. We get to see the two dolls reunited once again!
"One evening, just as Daddy was finishing his day's work, a messenger boy came with a package; a nice, soft lumpy package."
The Nursery Dance - ★★★★☆
After being reunited with Raggedy Ann, Raggedy Andy is introduced to the rest of the dolls in the nursery. At first he was very shy but soon starts to share what it was like for him to have been kept up in the attic for so many years with a lovely mouse family for company.
"When Raggedy Andy was first brought to the nursery he was very quiet."
The Spinning Wheel - ★★★★☆
The dolls go on an adventure which quickly spirals out of control - requiring needle and thread to conceal their misadventures! On the one hand, it was rather cute but on the other hand, I do wish there was more to this story!
"We've been quiet all day," said Raggedy Andy. "Let's have a good romp!"
The Taffy Pull - ★★★☆☆
While Marcella and her family are out, the dolls decide to raid the pantry and make something delightful. I wanted to love this one, but as an adult...the thought of the dolls secretly breaking into the cooking ingredients and appearing in other places from where the child left them creeps me out a bit!
"We take sugar and water and butter and a little vinegar and put it all on the stove to cook."
The Rabbit Chase - ★★★★★
The dolls get up to some mischief with the dog, Fido, and let a rabbit into the house! But turns out that this rabbit isn't the ordinary sort. I think I'm liking the stories where the author leans into the magical realism. I thought this was a cute take on an Easter Bunny tale!
"...the rest of the dolls peeping over their shoulders, so when something came jumping through the door, it ... sent them flying ..."
The New Tin Gutter - ★★★★☆
Marcella's family is getting new gutters and the dolls are immensely interested - though their curiosity causes a LOT of chaos for the family! One thing that I like about this series is how I'm able to see all of the different kinds of dolls from this era. It's cool to learn about how the toys were back then!
"All day Saturday the men had worked out upon the eaves of the house and the dolls facing the window could see them."
Doctor Raggedy Andy - ★★★★☆
Marcella is playing a game with the dolls about doctors and medicine, which (of course) the dolls take very seriously. It is quite fun to see them act out the process once Marcella had to leave them. But soon the consequences of medicine in dolls becomes rather apparent!
"The medicine which was given the dolls had great curing properties."
Raggedy Andy's Smile - ★★★★★
Poor Raggedy Andy has lost his smile! Marcella's younger brother, Dickie, fed Raggedy Andy orange juice and the once-happy smile was gone. Luckily a certain St. Nicholas comes to the rescue! As with the Easter Bunny tale, I really enjoyed the branching out into holiday territory.
"If one looked at Raggedy Andy from the right side, one could not see his smile."
The Wooden Horse - ★★★★☆
Raggedy Andy is the welcoming committee for Marcella's present from Santa - a darling toy horse hooked up to a wagon. Soon all the dolls get to know the newcomer and many adventures are had. This was a sweet story!
"You will like it here in the nursery very much! ... We have such jolly good times and love each other so much I know you will enjoy your new home!"
Making "Angels" in the Snow - ★★★★☆
Marcella takes Raggedy Andy on a winter wonderland of an adventure. Now that he's home, he gets to let all the other dolls know exactly what he got up to. He was a good sport about it - even when he was left outside to freeze solid!
"I was frozen into one solid cake of ice all the way through."
The Singing Shell - ★★★☆☆
Okay, I can get the logic of the dolls that come to life and play around...but a shell? That felt like a bit of a stretch, especially considering there was a snail that must have once lived in the shell...and yet it was the shell that spoke to the dolls. Maybe the world just isn't ready for ghost snails yet...
"So one day, Gran'ma gave the beautiful shell to Marcella to have for her very own..."
Overall Thoughts
I've read Raggedy Ann's stories and now Andy's as well...and they are both extremely cute. I like the balance of whimsy when it comes to the dolls and their adventures (though, sometimes I cannot help but think that if this happened in real life that it would be rather creepy!).
But I also really feel for the origin story of Raggedy Ann and that love for a daughter and her doll does eclipse any fear from the dolls moving when I am not around (haha).
December 7, 2015
I don't usually expect to get all misty-eyed in the very first chapter of any book, especially an innocent children's book like Raggedy Andy Stories. But that is what happened, all because of the way we are introduced to Raggedy Andy.
First we read a letter written to the author. Was it a real letter? I don't know, but wouldn't it be lovely to believe it was! In the letter the writer tells how when she was a little girl she had a favorite doll named Raggedy Andy, which had belonged to her mother when she was a little girl. The writer of the letter had seen the Raggedy Ann doll and book in a toy store window, and remembered her Raggedy Andy. She hopes to inspire Gruelle to write a book about Andy so she sends her doll and the letter, signing herself simply 'Raggedy Andy's Mama'.
Next is a letter written to Gruelle by his mother. She was told of the arrival of Raggedy Andy and writes to her son that when she was around four years old her mother made her the Raggedy Ann doll, and her little girl playmate next door received a Raggedy Andy right around the same time. The two girls played together with their dolls for the next four or five years until the neighbor girl moved away.
So here we are all prepared for a wonderful meeting between the two dolls, and the first story is where I got misty-eyed, which in a way is kind of silly because there is nothing all that dramatic about the chapter. Marcella's father is at his office and receives a package with a letter and a doll bundled together with a rubber band. He had Raggedy Ann with him at the office that day so that he could look at her happy face and write about her. So when he is ready to go home for the day, he sets the two dolls up on his desk and....well, I am getting misty so I will quote:
Daddy then took the rubber band and placed it around Raggedy Ann's right hand, and around Raggedy Andy's right hand, so that when he had it fixed properly they sat and held each other's hands.
Daddy knew they would wish to tell each other all the wonderful things that had happened to them since they had parted more than fifty years before.
So, locking his studio door, Daddy left the two old rag dolls looking into each other's eyes.
The next morning, when Daddy unlocked his door and looked at his desk, he saw that Raggedy Andy had fallen over so that he lay with his head in the bend of Raggedy Ann's arm.
It really didn't matter to me then what happened in the rest of the book, that moment was just so sweet. But of course I kept reading and discovered that Raggedy Andy brought a wonderful sense of 'Little Boy' to the nursery. He was full of energy and always ready for fun. Of course that meant that sometimes he got into trouble: once he got stuck down in a new drainpipe on the roof, and another time his arm came off in a huge pillowfight the dolls had. But he had a good heart, even if it wasn't a candy one like Raggedy Ann's.
Raggedy Andy was the one who figured out how to cure the French doll when she had been given too much 'medicine' and it filled up her head and made her eyes stick closed. That was a little creepy: the dolls had to pull of her glued-on wig to get to the hole in the top of her head, but then Andy cleaned her out as good as new and even managed to get her hair glued back on properly. But still....ick.
The illustrations for this book as just as cute as they were in Raggedy Ann stories, but I couldn't figure out for the longest time why Andy's arms looked so funny: fat and long compared to Raggedy Ann's. Finally I saw that Raggedy Ann's sleeves go all the way to her wrist, but Raggedy Andy's stop at the elbow. So he looks a little out of proportion and Popeye-ish sometimes, but he is always smiling just the same.
Here is the link to see this book at Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17371/...
First we read a letter written to the author. Was it a real letter? I don't know, but wouldn't it be lovely to believe it was! In the letter the writer tells how when she was a little girl she had a favorite doll named Raggedy Andy, which had belonged to her mother when she was a little girl. The writer of the letter had seen the Raggedy Ann doll and book in a toy store window, and remembered her Raggedy Andy. She hopes to inspire Gruelle to write a book about Andy so she sends her doll and the letter, signing herself simply 'Raggedy Andy's Mama'.
Next is a letter written to Gruelle by his mother. She was told of the arrival of Raggedy Andy and writes to her son that when she was around four years old her mother made her the Raggedy Ann doll, and her little girl playmate next door received a Raggedy Andy right around the same time. The two girls played together with their dolls for the next four or five years until the neighbor girl moved away.
So here we are all prepared for a wonderful meeting between the two dolls, and the first story is where I got misty-eyed, which in a way is kind of silly because there is nothing all that dramatic about the chapter. Marcella's father is at his office and receives a package with a letter and a doll bundled together with a rubber band. He had Raggedy Ann with him at the office that day so that he could look at her happy face and write about her. So when he is ready to go home for the day, he sets the two dolls up on his desk and....well, I am getting misty so I will quote:
Daddy then took the rubber band and placed it around Raggedy Ann's right hand, and around Raggedy Andy's right hand, so that when he had it fixed properly they sat and held each other's hands.
Daddy knew they would wish to tell each other all the wonderful things that had happened to them since they had parted more than fifty years before.
So, locking his studio door, Daddy left the two old rag dolls looking into each other's eyes.
The next morning, when Daddy unlocked his door and looked at his desk, he saw that Raggedy Andy had fallen over so that he lay with his head in the bend of Raggedy Ann's arm.
It really didn't matter to me then what happened in the rest of the book, that moment was just so sweet. But of course I kept reading and discovered that Raggedy Andy brought a wonderful sense of 'Little Boy' to the nursery. He was full of energy and always ready for fun. Of course that meant that sometimes he got into trouble: once he got stuck down in a new drainpipe on the roof, and another time his arm came off in a huge pillowfight the dolls had. But he had a good heart, even if it wasn't a candy one like Raggedy Ann's.
Raggedy Andy was the one who figured out how to cure the French doll when she had been given too much 'medicine' and it filled up her head and made her eyes stick closed. That was a little creepy: the dolls had to pull of her glued-on wig to get to the hole in the top of her head, but then Andy cleaned her out as good as new and even managed to get her hair glued back on properly. But still....ick.
The illustrations for this book as just as cute as they were in Raggedy Ann stories, but I couldn't figure out for the longest time why Andy's arms looked so funny: fat and long compared to Raggedy Ann's. Finally I saw that Raggedy Ann's sleeves go all the way to her wrist, but Raggedy Andy's stop at the elbow. So he looks a little out of proportion and Popeye-ish sometimes, but he is always smiling just the same.
Here is the link to see this book at Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17371/...
December 4, 2012
There is wisdom in this children's story book. Why do as adults we feel it frivolous to occasionally read a child's book? We can gain wisdom. My favorite quote from this one is "They who are the most unselfish are the ones who gain the greatest joy; because they give happiness to others."
- Johnny Gruelle
- Johnny Gruelle
May 6, 2023
Mostly plotless, quite didactic stories about a group of dolls that come to life when their little-girl owner and her family are asleep or away from home. This is a collection of 11 Raggedy Andy stories, each originally published as a separate illustrated story book. As a child, I had all the Raggedy Ann and Andy story books and both dolls. I remember them as childhood favorites.
But re-reading the stories as an adult I am appalled. Chock full of troublesome stereotypes, it's abundantly clear these stories belong to a very different era. There's an openly racist remark in one of the stories, uttered by one of the dolls. It's definitely time to let this one go in favor of appropriate role models for today's children.
But re-reading the stories as an adult I am appalled. Chock full of troublesome stereotypes, it's abundantly clear these stories belong to a very different era. There's an openly racist remark in one of the stories, uttered by one of the dolls. It's definitely time to let this one go in favor of appropriate role models for today's children.
May 21, 2012
I am reading this with my two youngest (8 and 5)...and their older brothers keep sneaking over to listen.
One of the aunts made a Raggedy Andy doll for the 5-year-old so we got some books to learn about him. So far, the boys love them and ask for more than 2 stories a day. Last night my little guy came to me with the book and said, "Can we read some more? I'm finding that I really love this book." Oh, bless his heart....he knows how to make a mama smile!
March 22nd - Holy Cow! Raggedy Andy fell down the gutter and was stuck in there for days. My youngest was so worried the whole time and almost started crying a time or two. Fortunately, it all worked out well. Who knew Raggedy Andy would be so full of suspense?
March 27 - They pulled the French doll's head off, to get all the sticky sugar out. My boys wouldn't even look at the page. They were very upset. Luckily her eyes work again and they glued her hair back on, but they did not like that story at all!
May 21 - We finished! We alternated with with the Raggedy Ann & Andy Treasury. There were several duplicate stories. Overall we really enjoyed the sweet simplicity of this book. There were lots of giggles and questions and even suspense. I wish I had read this with my older boys before they got too big to cuddle with me.
One of the aunts made a Raggedy Andy doll for the 5-year-old so we got some books to learn about him. So far, the boys love them and ask for more than 2 stories a day. Last night my little guy came to me with the book and said, "Can we read some more? I'm finding that I really love this book." Oh, bless his heart....he knows how to make a mama smile!
March 22nd - Holy Cow! Raggedy Andy fell down the gutter and was stuck in there for days. My youngest was so worried the whole time and almost started crying a time or two. Fortunately, it all worked out well. Who knew Raggedy Andy would be so full of suspense?
March 27 - They pulled the French doll's head off, to get all the sticky sugar out. My boys wouldn't even look at the page. They were very upset. Luckily her eyes work again and they glued her hair back on, but they did not like that story at all!
May 21 - We finished! We alternated with with the Raggedy Ann & Andy Treasury. There were several duplicate stories. Overall we really enjoyed the sweet simplicity of this book. There were lots of giggles and questions and even suspense. I wish I had read this with my older boys before they got too big to cuddle with me.
April 25, 2007
This book makes me shudder. Johnny Gruelle is so very syrupy that it makes me want to gag but my girls like the stories. And listening to the book did encourage them to get out and play with the Raggedy Dolls my Mom made for them.
August 4, 2014
I read and re-read this book as a young girl. It occurred to me I'd not read them in a very long time, so I picked them up for a re-visit. What a delightful group of stories.
September 19, 2017
The girls and I agree that Raggedy Andy isn't quite as wonderful as Raggedy Ann, but sharing this book was a sweet experience for all of us and a nostalgic one, for me.
October 28, 2024
I grew up with Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy and I had The Raggedy Andy Stories by Johnny Gruelle as a child. Reading this collection of children’s classics fiction stories was heartwarming and nostalgic. Out of the 8 stories: How Raggedy Andy Came, The Nursery Dance, The Spinning Wheel, The Taffy Pull, The Rabbit Chase, Raggedy Andy’s Smile, The Wooden Horse, and Making Angels in the Snow, I have to say the 6th story, Raggedy Andy’s Smile is my favorite. I loved my dolls. I loved to help them or other children’s dolls or blankets when their smile wore off or some other repair needed to be made. I love that Santa came to the rescue of all of Marcella’s dolls and repaired them all because she loved her dolls and played with them every day.
This beautiful fantasy picture book is filled with love and friendship and is perfect for any story time. I really enjoyed reading this book.
This beautiful fantasy picture book is filled with love and friendship and is perfect for any story time. I really enjoyed reading this book.
May 20, 2020
There were a lot of things happening, And all of them were nice to each other.
1. Ordinary life: Ragady andy sitting on the shell.
2. Called to adventure: Going to a new home and meeting the other dolls.
3. Entering the unknown: doing what the other dolls did.
4. Meeting the mentor: Meeting Raggedy ann.
5. Allies and helpers: all the other dolls.
6. Road of trials: getting up every night and playing.
7. final showdown: when they fixed one of the dolls.
8. Having charged: Having so many new friends and so many new memories!
my mom and I read the first part and then forgot about it and so a wial later I went where we left off so I don't know if I got the beginning right.
1. Ordinary life: Ragady andy sitting on the shell.
2. Called to adventure: Going to a new home and meeting the other dolls.
3. Entering the unknown: doing what the other dolls did.
4. Meeting the mentor: Meeting Raggedy ann.
5. Allies and helpers: all the other dolls.
6. Road of trials: getting up every night and playing.
7. final showdown: when they fixed one of the dolls.
8. Having charged: Having so many new friends and so many new memories!
my mom and I read the first part and then forgot about it and so a wial later I went where we left off so I don't know if I got the beginning right.
May 6, 2024
This book is a reprint of the original one. Johnny Gruelle is the author of the original stories. In reading this book, it took me back to my own childhood. Raggedy Ann and Andy are as American as apple pie. Too bad I don't have grandchildren to read it to. The stories are timeless.
June 15, 2022
My copy is from 1920. All about the adventures of Raggedy Ann and her new friend, Raggedy Andy.
August 13, 2022
A fun selection of stories about Raggedy Ann's little brother, Andy. I especially liked the story of how Andy got his smile back.
September 16, 2022
Very Creepy... There was a reason I kept my dolls locked up at night!!
January 12, 2023
Delightful stories of Raggedy Andy and how he came to be part of the story series.
March 17, 2024
Great book, I listened to the audiobook version on YouTube. I will share the link below so that everyone can enjoy it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akGw1...
March 28, 2024
Youtube
June 27, 2024
Kids loved it.
July 28, 2024
Read this together as a family and as a follow up to Ann’s story. We all preferred Ann’s story than Andy’s. Andy’s had a bit more adventure(?) but other than that it wasn’t as engaging.
May 20, 2025
Wonderful children’s book.
December 30, 2025
I edited some of it as I read aloud. But it was otherwise a good read aloud.
Read
February 12, 2026review text for 624
July 10, 2023
These tales will be too gentle for some, but I love them, as a bit of a palette cleanser between larger, newer, more grown-up books. There is very little danger when smiles can be painted, or arms sewn back on, and in today's world I find that enormously comforting.
The illustrations are lovely, full colour, plentiful, and necessaary: you can download this book for free via Project Gutenberg with all its pictures, pop your little one on your lap (if you have one), and read on the computer or iPad. It's not the same without the charming illustrations.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful.)
The illustrations are lovely, full colour, plentiful, and necessaary: you can download this book for free via Project Gutenberg with all its pictures, pop your little one on your lap (if you have one), and read on the computer or iPad. It's not the same without the charming illustrations.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful.)
February 8, 2010
Read this at work (I work in a child care program) and found it interesting. Although it is a children's book, it is much longer than one would expect and with very little pictures. The chapters are long and detailed, and the illustrations it does have are very vibrant and colourful. What I thought was neat about this book was that it is a classic from 1920 and the reader gets a first-hand glimpse of what childhood was like in the United States in the early 1920's. Not bad!
November 7, 2016
Never enough Raggedy Ann and Andy. My favorite is Raggedy Andy's Taffy Pull. The idea of Raggedy Andy leading all the dollies in making taffy and buttering their hands to keep them from getting sticky? Too much. After that: Doctor Raggedy Andy. Lesson learned: don't pour brown sugar and water "medicine" down the French Dolly's mouth because it might make her blinking eyes stick shut. Hahahaha!
June 6, 2012
These are cute and sweet. It's a perfect book for a child who likes some pictures but a more involved story. I can't say any one story stood out or any one character, but they are stories full of kindness and goodness which is what little ears love to hear.
March 22, 2011
I read this to my daughter and might have given it two stars, but she liked it...and that was the purpose of reading it. I can see the influence this book had on movie Toy Story.
December 18, 2011
This wasn't as cute as the Raggedy Ann book, but still pretty darn cute.
January 7, 2014
Aaron (6) really liked this one! Much more than expected! Off to read Raggedy Ann Stories next
January 16, 2016
by Johnny Gruelle
First published in 1918....this book is a reproduction with original sketches....
"totally delightful"
First published in 1918....this book is a reproduction with original sketches....
"totally delightful"
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews