Favorite Toys

Somewhere in the midst of Internet link-clicking, I stumbled upon this beautiful set of photos of children with their toys from around the world. Taken by photographer Gabriele Galimberti, these photos depict kids with the toys they treasure most from countries like the USA, Italy, Iceland, Botswana, Costa Rica, India, Australia, and many others. Ultimately, I think it reminds us that kids are kind of the same anywhere you go, but according to the photographer, the way each of the children played revealed a lot about their countries. “The richest children were more possessive,” he said, “At the beginning, they wouldn’t want me to touch their toys, and I would need more time before they would let me play with them. In poor countries, it was much easier. Even if they only had two or three toys, they didn’t really care. In Africa, the kids would mostly play with their friends outside.”

This got me thinking about my most prized toys as a kid. I grew up in Long Island, New York in the 80's and early 90's. There were a few clear standouts: Magic Nursery Babies, Care Bears, Puppy Surprise, Maple Town figurines, Littlest Pet Shop, and Yum Yums. Were these toys important to any other kids of my generation? What were your most favorite childhood possessions?

Do you want to read more about toys of yesterday and today? Here are some books you may want to reserve:

Toys of the National Toy Hall of Fame: A Celebration of the Greatest Toys of All Time! by Scott G. Eberle and Strong National Museum of Play

Toys by Kevin Cunningham

Toys: 100 Years Ago by Allison Lassieur

Totally Tubular '80s Toys by Mark Bellomo

Turning Vintage Toys by Chris Reid

The History of Toys: From Spinning Tops to Robots by Deborah Jaffé

Or for more on photographer Gabriele Galimberti, check out his website.