NPR

Liane Hansen of NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday talked toys with me last week! They sent me to a local NPR station (in my case it was USF in Tampa) where they linked me to Washingotn via an ISDN line. The finished interview sounds like Ms. Hansen and I are in the same studio even though we were a thousand miles apart. Outstanding!

The story aired on Christmas Day so if you missed it, check it out here. Jesse Baker of NPR included the Timeless Toys quiz on the website to test your FQ (Fun Quotient)!

Timeless Toys on the Today Show

Gene Shalit of the Today Show picked Timeless Toys as one of his holiday favorites. Watch the segment here.

2XL Robot

A big toy hit this year is Hasbro’s iDog for the iPod. Today it’s the microchip processor that makes toys do more than ever before. In 1978 the height of technology was the 8-track!

I was on WGN last night, talking toys with an old friend and Baby Boomer Garry Lee Wright when a caller chimed in wanting help identifying one of his childhood favorites. After some snooping around I wasn’t too surpirsed to find that the little guy (the toy not the caller) had his own website at www.2xlrobot.com.

T.O.T.Y. Awards

There’s Emmy, Tony, Oscar and now Toty! It’s the Toy of the Year Awards and the nominees have been announced by the Toy Industry Association, the folks that put on the awards each year. Check out all the nominees at Playthings Magazine.

Here are the toys that got my vote!

INFANT/PRESCHOOL TOY OF THE YEAR
Weebles Weebly Wobbly Tree House — Playskool
Playskool goes old school with the ones that wobble but don’t fall down!

GIRL TOY OF THE YEAR
Pixel Chix — Mattel
I first saw these “virtual girlfriends” at Mattel’s toy fair last year. Very cool!

BOY TOY OF THE YEAR
Star Wars Ultimate Darth Vader Voice Changer — Hasbro
“Luuuuke! I am your FAAATHER!”

GAME OF THE YEAR
Apples to Apples — Out of the Box
You’ve got to check this game out. So simple. So fun.

OUTDOOR TOY OF THE YEAR
Banzai Falls Water Slide — Toy Quest
What says “fun” more than a 19’ inflatable water slide in your own backyard?

EDUCATIONAL TOY OF THE YEAR
FLY Pentop Computer — LeapFrog Enterprises
A pen that coaxes and encourages kids as they learn to write? WRITE ON!

ACTIVITY TOY OF THE YEAR
Magic Glow Doodle Bear — Play Along
Who would have thought to mix a drawing toy with plush? Neat!

ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT TOY OF THE YEAR
20Q — Radica Games
It’s almost eerie how well this thing can guess what you are thinking.

MOST INNOVATIVE TOY OF THE YEAR
FLY Pentop Computer — LeapFrog Enterprises
Sorry to be repetitive, but this thing is way cool. I just wish it came with more paper.

SPECIALTY TOY OF THE YEAR
Uglydoll — Prettyugly
I love the muted colors and shapes. They are very well made and so UGLY, they’re cute.

PROPERTY OF THE YEAR
Star Wars — Hasbro Inc./LucasFilm
May THE FORCE be with you in 2006 like it was in 2005.

USA Today!

So my Mom calls me at 7:00AM to tell me that she saw my book in USA Today. What she neglected to tell me was that they nearly covered the USA Today logo on the front page with a picture of the THE BOOK!

And on the inside…

Rare indeed is the reader who will be able to resist perusing this hefty, sweet-natured book that presents the history of dozens of classic toys. The list includes almost every plaything familiar to American children. Take Play-Doh, for example. Walsh points out that more than 2 billion cans of the stuff have been sold since 1955 — enough to snake around the world nearly 300 times.

A toy inventor himself, Walsh conveys his passion for creative people and his genuine love for toys. He writes the biographies of the toy creators with warmth — even when the background stories involve acrimonious wrangling over money and creative credit.

This is the kind of book you give to one person and find the whole family reading.

Thank you Deirdre Donahue (and Mom).