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Toys and the Changing World of American Childhood
Harvard University Press
November 1999
352 pages
ISBN: 067450335X
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
To sort out who's who and what's what in the enchanting,
vexing world of Barbies® and Ninja Turtles®, Tinkertoys® and
teddy bears, is to begin to see what's become of childhood
in America. It is this changing world, and what it unveils
about our values, that Gary Cross explores in Kids' Stuff, a
revealing look into the meaning of American toys through
this century. Early in the 1900s toys reflected parents' ideas about
children and their futures. Erector sets introduced boys to
a realm of business and technology, while baby dolls
anticipated motherhood and building blocks honed the fine
motor skills of the youngest children. Kids' Stuff
chronicles the transformation that occurred as the interests
and intentions of parents, children, and the toy industry
gradually diverged--starting in the 1930s when toymakers,
marketing playthings inspired by popular favorites like
Shirley Temple and Buck Rogers, began to appeal directly to
the young. TV advertising, blockbuster films like Star
Wars®, and Saturday morning cartoons exploited their
youthful audience in new and audacious ways. Meanwhile,
powerful social and economic forces were transforming the
nature of play in American society. Cross offers a richly
textured account of a culture in which erector sets and baby
dolls are no longer alone in preparing children for the
future, and in which the toys that now crowd the racks are
as perplexing for parents as they are beguiling for little
boys and girls. Whether we want our children to be high
achievers in a competitive world or playful and free from
the worries of adult life, the toy store confronts us with
many choices. What does the endless array of action figures and fashion
dolls mean? Are children--or parents--the dupes of the film,
television, and toy industries, with their latest fads and
fantasies? What does this say about our time, and what does
it bode for our future? Tapping a vein of rich cultural
history, Kids' Stuff exposes the serious business behind a
century of playthings.
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