Fisher Price Little People

Fisher Price Play Family "A" Frame House, Fisher Price, 1974

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit some friends and spend time with their family. Their youngest asked me if I wanted to play "Little People" and I seized the opportunity. Soon he was lugging a plastic tub of people and vehicles and next the castle appeared and what looked like a Main Street set complete with stop signs and a blue postal box. We started setting everything up and then I said, "Wait, I'm going to go out to my car and get my "Little People" house." The look on Griffin's face was priceless... his little kid brain was whirring.... She carries "little people" stuff around with her in her car??? In truth, I'd just picked up the A-Frame House at a garage sale and it came without it's door and any furniture or people. Though I just found a site where I can order those things piece by piece! I love its sliding glass doors, such a nice touch!

We created a park next door to the house.

They have the castle and so do I, but they seemed to have more of the pieces that went with it. Even in the Fisher Price playsets I had as a child I have managed to lose most of the beds, people, thrones, etc.

I'm not even sure which set this one is. But I love it!

Tupperware Toys -- Busy Blocks

Tupperware, 1971

All of I have of this toy from my childhood is a single green figurine. We were hard on toys and then when my mom had a house fire little was left of the things she still had at her place. Sadly, these blocks were a casualty. I remember bringing them with me in a little suitcase when I went over to Carlson's to babysit. We'd link them together and play with the figures. I didn't remember that they were alphabet blocks but now that makes the choices of the little green figures make sense.

Airport, Boat, Camel, Dog, Elephant, Fox, Giraffe, Horse, Indian, Jeep, Kangaroo, Lion, Monkey, Nurse, Owl, Pig, Queen, Rabbit, Seal, Train, Unicorn, Violin, Whale, Xylophone, Yacht, and Zebra.

I LOVE that there was a unicorn. Yay, Tupperware!

Raggedy Ann and Andy

Raggedy Ann and Andy in the Tunnel of Lost Toys
by Catharine Bushnell, illustrated by Vernon McKissack
Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1980

I was never all that into Raggedy Ann as a child, but as an adult I have a bit of a fascination with these sweet dolls. My Raggedy Ann was actually quite "raggedy" and had missing hair and a resewn on limb. I must have played with her because she was pretty worn out. What I love now are the stripey legs and that there was a red heart on her chest.

I remember reading some of the Catharine Bushnell books about Raggedy Ann and Andy at our school library, and I specifically remember this one. I was super excited to find a copy for sale at a local thrift store.

In this story, Marcella takes the Raggedies with her to an Amusement Park and they ride on all the rides, ending with the Tunnel of Fun. At first it seems tame and then a witch jumps out at them, and then vampires, monsters, pirates, and skeletons. "Even Andy's shoebutton eyes were very wide." When they see a dragon up ahead they assume he will be like all the other creatures they'd seen so far and she the dolls are surprised when the dragon steals them so quickly that Marcella didn't even notice.

The toys try to plot an escape but their efforts go unrewarded when the dragon returns and catches them. Ann talks to the dragon and discovers he's not mean, but lonely and with some of her clever efforts and the lost and found, all of the toys are set free and the Raggedies are reunited with Marcella.

My cousins used to have the Raggedy Ann and Andy doll house and I remember it fondly. Here's a 1977 version found on ebay:

Monchichi

Monchichi, Russ Berrie and Co, 1977

These toys originated in Japan much earlier than their 1980s TV cartoon debut in the US. The Saturday morning cartoon lasted only one season.

Monchichis were monkey-like creatures who lived in the forest land of Monchia at the very top of tall trees well above the clouds. The tribe's leader, Wizzar, was a magical wizard who could make up spells and potions to defeat their enemy, the evil Grumplins of Grumplor.

Simon Says.

Pocket Simon, Milton Bradley, 1980

It's a memory game that has players pressing the lit buttons in the sequence the machine plays for you. It speeds up and the sequences get longer after each successful turn. There was a full-size version which came out in 1978 but I remember playing with the pocket one. I guess this is the one my family had.

I Could Use a Little Sunshine.

Sunshine Fun Family, Mattel, 1974-1982

Meet Stevie, Stephie, Sweets and Baby Boy. They are pretty cute, I have to admit. I am pretty sure this was on my Christmas list one year and when I finally did get my own Sunshine Fun Family I was a little disappointed that all my Barbie clothes wouldn't fit Stephie. She was a different size and I only had her original clothes. Isn't half the fun of that sort of doll, being able to dress them? Ahhh well. I was never too much for Barbies and the like.

Magic Slate

Remember these? Magic Slates all seem to have that cardboard top with a fun cartoon character or TV show star and then small pics down the sides. I remember loving to draw on these and to be able to just pull up the grey plastic page and have it all be a "fresh slate."

These were originally published under the Whitman brand, and later under Golden Books. Each slate is a piece of stiff cardboard, with a sheet of cellophane over a soft waxy surface on the front. Using the included red plastic stylus, a child can draw on the cellophane, and then lift the page to erase and start over.

I've been trying to figure out when these first came out, but the more I read the less I know. I have discovered that the "concept" at least predates Western publishing, I think. Freud wrote an article about the idea of a mystic notepad in 1925. Here's an article about his article. Check it out. It's wild!

He Flies Through the Air, With the Greatest of Ease...

That daring, cartoon mouse, on his flying trapeze!

We had one of these "Tricky Trapeze" toys made popular in the 1960s. Produced in Hong Kong by Kohner. I'm not sure if ours was of the 1960s or 1970s. It looked more like this and this is different from the earliest version. They made Goofy and Donal Duck versions too, as well as some Tricky Trapeze toys for various superheroes!

Magical Musical Thing

Magical Musical Thing, Mattel, 1978

The version I had of this toy was blue and white--not sure I remember the orange stickers. (This image shows the book too... actually check out this site, it's terrific for vintage toy instruments and the like) I was actually searching for a picture of a different musical toy I had as a child but I still haven't tracked that down. When I saw this blast from the past I was nearly overcome with joy.

My mom stored, oddly enough, our MMT in the linen closet by our bathroom. I think she was HIDING it because it could be rather annoying especially when we weren't trying to play the actual notes and songs in the songbook but were going "freestyle" by rubbing the body of the instrument on our heads and sweeping our hands across all the keys and so forth!

Must-Have Monday -- Charley Harper Goodies

He Does NOT Live in Malibu with his Brother Alan. No, Charley Harper (1922-2007) was a Cincinnati-based modern artist whose specialty was wildlife prints and posters and books. Here are a few kid-friendly ABC, 123 sorts of books featuring his work. These are books I think would be wonderful additions to my collection. I learned about Harper not long ago when I saw a "memory game" featuring his illustrations marketed for kids at some popular retail shops-- Barnes and Noble, Old Navy and Amazon.

If this blog was a catalog of yummy expensive clothes and someone was looking for things to buy for me, I would be turning down the corners of the pages and circling THESE items with a ball point pen. You know, just in case.

"Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh... silly willy nilly old bear"

Walt Disney Productions, 1975
A mobile that once hung over my crib or my brother's.

It's seen better days and is missing its Tigger,
but it still plays that familiar tune!

Fashion Plates

Fashion Plates, TOMY Corporation, 1978

I still have mine. Though not the original box or the pencils. I loved the endless possibilities. You could mix and match the tops and bottoms and change the colors and patterns. Soooooo many options. There are some for sale on ebay and this site has lots more images of them.

Speak & Spell

My parents liked to invest in "educational toys" so we had one of these beauties, created by Texas Instruments in 1978. I don't remember much about it except that I could play a kind of hangman on it...I think it was called "mystery word." I guess the object was to improve spelling. There were also other versions called Speak & Math and Speak & Read. I know we had the math one too, and possibly even the reading version. Wikipedia has a pretty good article on this toy and it reminded me that an early version of the Speak & Spell was featured in the Spielberg film, E.T.

If you want to really relive this game, check out this link. It allows you to actually play with a Speak & Spell online.

My Advent Calendar

My Aunt Heather made this for me when I was pretty small. I actually think she was my Sunday School teacher one year and that she made these for ALL of the kids. I can't imagine cutting out all those little felt pieces and sewing the pockets and backgrounds. I still have mine after all these years but it is looking a little worse for wear with some discoloration on the white felt, though I still have all 24 items.

I never could figure out what that green pointy thing was. A 4th wise man? A bizarre shepherd? Or maybe a pine tree. I am settling on the tree and I put a little donkey beside it.

I put the baby Jesus in the manger even though I was supposed to wait until tomorrow. I wanted my pics to have the full effect. My favorite day was always the 23rd because that is the one with the hay. For some reason I just love that piece. I may have to create a new advent calendar along these lines for next year with updated felt or fabric pieces.

Thank you, Heather. This was a GREAT gift!

Sunny Day, Sweeping the Clouds Away ...

Push Button Sesame Street, Child Guidance, 1974

My old buddy Bert is all I have left of this childhood toy. I distinctly remember playing with this, though. I loved Oscar and his trash can. Five large buttons at the front of the set show pictures of Ernie, Bert, Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch. Pushing the buttons reveals the hiding places of the corresponding finger puppet. The buttons can also be removed to serve as stands for the characters. I also seem to recall there being a plastic Sesame Street sign but I don't see in in the picture.

In searching for info on this toy I ran across the Fisher Price Sesame Street Playhouse a number of times and I remember always WANTING to own that one. I am pretty sure my cousins had that one. They always seemed to have the coveted toys. Then just as this was floating in my mind I ran across the Sesame Street Playhouse for sale at a local antique store. Sadly it didn't have any of the toys that went with it. You can learn more about the Muppets from Sesame Street and other shows here.

Ouch! That smurfs!

Peyo, Schleich, 1980

What is with 80s animated icons using nouns as verbs or other parts of speech? Think of all the smurfy things happening in the cartoon. Or think of Strawberry Shortcake and her "berry" good friends. :)

from Wikipedia,
A characteristic of the Smurf language is the frequent use of the word "smurf" and its derivatives in a variety of meanings. The Smurfs replace enough nouns and verbs in everyday speech with smurf as to make their conversations barely understandable: "We're going smurfing on the River Smurf today." When used as a verb, the word "Smurf" typically means "to make", "to be", or "to do". The word appears to serve the same function as the Spanish verb "hacer" or the French verb "faire". It was implied a number of times that Smurfs nonetheless all understood each other due to subtle variations in intonation; one human character attempting the language asking for a "glass of smurf", implicitly "water", is misunderstood by every Smurf who each assumes another item.

So that the viewer of the animated series is able to understand the Smurfs, only some words (or a portion of the word) are replaced with the word "smurf". Context offers a reliable understanding of this speech pattern, but common vocabulary includes remarking that something is "just smurfy" or "smurftastic".

Peyo first created a version of the Smurfs in 1958 for a comic strip, but we are more familiar with the animated TV series of the 80s.

I have a few of these little figurines. I remember them on display in our local drugstore. If you are curious, you can still pick these up at places like this. Or just go there and explore the smurfs of old! Apparently in other countries, collecting smurfs has not yet fallen out of fashion. They are out there, people! :)

How Do I Measure Up?

Charles Schulz, United Feature Syndicate Inc., 1974

This is a height chart that used to hang on the door of "the middle room" as my siblings and I referred to the guest room upstairs. I guess it was the middle room because I had to walk through it to get to my bedroom. I've long loved Snoopy and here he is in all his felt, rick-rack glory. It's not in perfect condition, but hey, neither am I!

Wooden Nursery Wonders.

Portable lamp, Underwriters Laboratories Inc. issue no. 84,003
Nursery Plastics, Inc

I can't even remember where I found this lamp, but I didn't have it as a child. It's not in great shape, but I love it anyway. When I was a little girl I had a switch plate with Humpty Dumpty on it and he was this same sort of wooden wonder. He was a bit like this. I am really into this vintage wooden nursery look. I love the Flade figurines here. And truly, Sweet Lily's Etsy shop is filled with more lamps and the like. Check it out.

I Come From a Land Down Under.

Fisher Price, 1976-1977

I don't have Katie the Kangaroo anymore. But she sure is cute.
When you squeeze the yellow bulb she hops and her arms move too!

What is a "Tuffet," Exactly?

This is a plush, machine washable, fabric squeaky toy from Fisher Price featuring Little Miss Muffet.

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet
Eating her curds and whey.
Along came a spider
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.

The verse first appeared in print in 1805 in a book called Songs for the Nursery

Fisher Price, 1977