Provides the reader with all the information needed to collect toys in the new millennium. Special sections have been added to commemorate Barbie's and G.I. Joe's anniversaries. The new Star Wars toys will also be featured in this edition. As always, our guide to grading toys, Hot Toys of 1999, Market Update, Toy/Company Anniversaries, State of the Industry, dealer listings, toy club listings, toy manufactures and year 2000 show calendar have been included.

The all-new Toy Shop Annual 2001provides everything you need to successfully collect in the new millennium. How do the packaging, material, age, appearance and the function of a toy all work together to influence its value? How has the Internet affected the toy business on the secondary and primary markets? Collectors will find the answers to these questions and much, much more. In addition to feature articles, a guide to grading toys, market update, the auction year in review, toy/company anniversaries, state of the industry, dealer listings, toy manufacturers' directory and the 2001 show calendar, collectors will find special new sections devoted to the hot collectibles of 2000 and top Baby Boomer toys. Features: Market update; Guide to grading toys; Hot Toys of 2000; Top Baby Boomer toys.

Get all the need-to-know toy hobby information for 1998! You'll know where to turn for collecting success with national directories to toy clubs and toy dealers, detailed show calendars, and helpful toy hints and histories. Plus you'll capture the inside stories from the country's top toy dealers on the hot toys of 1997, the 25 greatest toys of all time, the latest toy trends and the best toy investments.

The 1999 "Toy Shop Annual" includes a section devoted to Beanie Babies and Barbie dolls as well as chapters focusing on the hot toys of 1998, the not-so-hot toys of 1998, and more.

Get all the need-to-know toy hobby information for 1998 with this book that shows where to turn for collecting success. The guide features national directories to toy clubs and toy dealers, detailed show calendars, and helpful toy hints and histories, plus the inside stories from the country's top toy dealers on the hot toys of 1997, the 25 greatest toys of all time, the latest toy trends, and the best toy investments. 70 photos.

Keep the information you need on playthings and pop culture at your fingertips! The Dictionary of Toys and Games in American Popular Culture is an A-to-Z reference guide to the playthings that amused us as children and fascinate us as adults. This enlightening—and entertaining—resource, complete with cross-references, provides easy access to concise but detailed descriptions that place toys and board games in their social and cultural contexts. From action figures to yo-yos, the book is your tour guide through the museum of sought-after collectibles and forgotten treasures that mirror the fads and fashions that helped define pop culture in the United States. The Dictionary of Toys and Games in American Popular Culture is a historical, yet current, reflection of society’s ever-changing attitudes toward childhood and its cultural touchstones. The book is filled with physical descriptions of each entry, including size, color, and material composition, and the age group most often associated with the item. It also includes biographical sketches of inventors, manufacturers, and distributors— a virtual “Who’s Who” of the American toy industry, including Milton Bradley, Walt Disney, and Jim Henson. With a brief glimpse through its pages or a lengthy look from cover to cover, you’ll discover (or re-discover) real hero action figures, toys with commercial tie-ins, fast-food promotional giveaways, penny prize package toys, and advertising icons and characters in addition to beloved toys and board games like Etch-a-Sketch®, Lincoln Logs®, Colorforms®, Yahtzee®, and Burp Gun, the first toy advertised on nationwide television. The Dictionary of Toys and Games in American Popular Culture presents easy-to-access and easy-to-read descriptions of such toys as: Barbie®, bendies, and Beanie Babies® Monopoly®, Mr. Machine®, and Mr. Potato Head™ Pez®, Plah-Doh®, and Pound Puppies® Scrabble®, Silly Putty®, and Slinky® Tiddly Winks®, Tinker Toys®, and Twister™ and looks at the people behind the scenes of the biggest names in toys, including LEGO® (Ole Kirk Christiansen) Fisher-Price® (Homer G. Fisher) Mattel® (Ruth and Elliott Handler) Hasbro™ (Alan, Merrill, and Stephen Hassenfeld) Toys R Us® (Charles Lazarus) Parker Brothers® (Edward and George Parker) F.A.O. Schwartz (Frederick Schwartz) Kenner® (Albert Steiner) Tonka® (Russell L. Wenkstern) The Dictionary of Toys and Games in American Popular Culture also includes an index and a selected bibliography to meet your casual or professional research needs. Faster (and more entertaining) than searching through a vast assortment of Web sites for information, the book is a vital resource for librarians, toy collectors and appraisers, popular culture enthusiasts, and anyone with an interest in toys—past and present.