I Had One of Those: Toys of Our Generation

by Robin Langley Sommer and Rubin Langley Sonner

Book Overview

A nostalgic look at a wide variety of perennially popular childhood companions, from teddy bears and tin soldiers to baby dolls and toy trucks, records their history and development in more than two... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0517069776
• ISBN13: 9780517069776
• Release Date: August 1992
• Publisher: Gramercy Books
• Weight: 2.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 9.3" x 12.3"

Customer Reviews

From The Inside Flap:

Never was a generation of children welcomed as warmly as that born after World War II. The children of the baby boom years has more attention, more playtime, and more playthings, than any previous generation in history. New parents living in cozy suburban houses were eager to put the austerity of the war years behind them and to create a world of security and prosperity for their offspring. Toymakers responded by producing a mind-boggling array of new products catering to the every whim of the new generation. This book looks back at all those toys and games that made growing up in the 1950's and 1960's so much fun. Some of today's classic toys were born in the immediate postwar years. Richard and Betty James introduced Slinky in November 1945, the first plastic FRISBEE was flung in 1948, and Silly Putty took its first bounce in 1949. But the toy explosion didn't start in earnest until the early 1950's, when the first baby boomers reached school age. For the next two decades, a profusion of toys and games flooded the market, to the delight of millions of eager little consumers: Hula Hoops, Howdy Doody puppets, LEGO, Twister, Mouse Trap, Matchbox cars, Tonka Trucks, GI Joe, Barbie, Easy Bake Ovens, Play-Doh, Etch-A-Sketch, Spirograph, Mr. Potato Head, Colorforms, Incredible Edibles...the list goes on and on. Such old favorites as Lincoln Logs, Erector sets, Monopoly, Lionel and American Flyer train sets, and yo=yos, found a fresh audience. With Atari's introduction in 1974 of Pong, the first video game, the age of innocence had ended. Never again would a Davy Crockett coonskin cap or a 007 briefcase be a prized possession. Yet, a great many toys that first captured children's hearts in those happy decades are still winning children over today. This entertaining book brings back memories of all those toys we lived with and loved when the world was a simpler place. Browse through the lavish selection of over 250 pictures, most in color, and see how many times you'll say, "I Had One Of Those!"