The Tennessean
Tim Walsh - Interviewed by Ken Beck
December 2005
USA

These toy stories never get old - Classic Christmas gifts play on for children of all ages

The ghosts of Christmas toys past may not be so ghostly after all.

Many classic toys of yesteryear still fly off the shelves. And while these reproductions of toys and games you played with as a child may be updated versions, you can find the originals, perhaps at much higher prices, on Web sites, such as eBay, that sell collectibles.

Children of all ages, who might be satisfied to simply look at classic toys, would enjoy a trip to the National Toy Hall of Fame at the Strong Museum in Rochester, N.Y. This dear little girl and boy land boasts 34 members.

Last month, the hall added three new members: jack-in-the-box, Candy Land and the cardboard box. And as for that last item, well, I'm not toying with you.

So, what makes a toy a classic?

Tim Walsh, author of Timeless Toys: The Playmakers ($30, Andrews McMeel), says there are two major factors: It must be fun to play with and it must be intergenerational.

"Playability is all-important," said Walsh. "If a kid plays with a toy once and not anymore, it won't be timeless. And then it must become intergenerational. We tend to buy for our kids the toys we loved as kids, so that they get passed on from generation to generation."

Walsh knows his toys, his book, which took three years to research and write, tracks the stories behind about 75 of the greatest playthings invented by people outside of the toy industry. Basically, it's a celebration of the world's most wonderful toys and the people who made them.

Three fairly new toys that Walsh believes have the potential to become classics include Cranium (1998), Apples to Apples (2000) and Furby (1998), a plush, interactive toy. In the case of the latter, he warns it is harder for a high-tech toy to become a classic because in a few years, it will be updated.

We offer 10 toys from yesteryear that would fit right in at the Toy Hall of Fame and that you can still purchase new on the open market at reasonable prices.

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