Fletcher pulls together trends in technology, social structures, popular culture, marketing, and much more to provide vivid and valuable historical context for 50 landmark toys. With charm and insight, she carries the reader through the landscape of play in America and reveals fresh meaning for these memorable icons of childhood.

Christopher Bensch, Vice President for Collections, The Strong National Museum of Play

If you have cooked with an Easy Bake Oven, passed 'Go' and collected $200, or threw a Nerf football, you will love this deeply researched and wonderfully entertaining book! Public historian Susan Fletcher takes us on a journey down memory lane as she tells the stories of our favorite childhood toys.

John Fea, Professor of American History, Messiah College

Susan Fletcher’s engaging book deftly surveys the origin and influence of some of America’s most cherished games and play objects. Better yet, Fletcher situates each toy in its historical context to who how history has interacted with childhood.

Howard P. Chudacoff, George L. Littlefield Professor of American History at Brown University, and author of Children At Play: An American History.

Susan Fletcher brings historical toys to life, welcoming readers into the past with a blend of scholarship and wit that will appeal equally to professional public historians and fans of American Pickers. Like the toys it describes, this book is smart, fun, and hard to put down.

Annie Gilbert Coleman, associate professor, Department of American Studies, University of Notre Dame