The Toy Book

The idea for the Hula-Hoop came from Wham-O, an Australian bamboo exercizer. Slinky got its name from the inventors' flipping through the dictionary. Full of such arcana, this well-designed survey of the toys of the baby-boom generation combines an engaging social history of toys with over 200 color shots of major memory-joggers--Erector sets, Frisbees, Barbie dolls, Monopoly, the Easy-Bake Oven, Silly Putty--and generic playthings like roller skates, backyard vinyl pools and gas-powered model planes. The book's front cover (not seen by PW ) is touted as interactive, with a Ken who whistles at Barbie when his lips are pressed, a car siren that sounds when the steering wheel is touched, etc. The authors are Denver-based journalists. (Nov.)