Made of beige open-weave jute with colored leather accents, Renate Muller's toy animals and shapes are some of the sweetest, most endearing and simply artistic toys that have ever been made. They were conceived in the early 1960s, as part of an endeavor launched by Helene Haeusler at the Sonneberg Technical College for Toy Design in Germany, and were designed to fulfill the need for large, brightly colored stuffed animals to enhance orthopedic exercises and balance coordination for mentally and physically handicapped children. Muller's toys debuted at the Leipzig Fair in 1967, were tested by...