When Doc the bear arrives at the dump from his former home in a children’s hospital, he’s not sure what kind of life awaits him. But the friends he finds there are determined to make his new home a welcoming one. In the gentle, classic style of The Velveteen Rabbit, the toys discover what it’s like to live on their own.

Julian Fellowes’s witty text and S. D. Schindler’s lovely, intricate art combine to make a beautiful gift book, sure to strike a chord with any child—or adult—who has ever loved a stuffed toy.