Easy-Bake Oven: Ronald Howes


Book Description

In this title, readers will learn about the creator of Easy-Bake Oven, Ronald Howes. Follow his story from his service in World War II, to an engineering degree from the University of Cincinnati, to his employment at Kenner where he created the Easy-Bake Oven. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Big Buddy Books is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.




Made in Ohio: A History of Buckeye Invention & Ingenuity


Book Description

American Know How in the Heart of It All Ohio was and remains tailor made for commerce, transportation, invention, and manufacturing. Located between Lake Erie and the Ohio River, it was perfect for canals, railways, and, ultimately, highways, which allowed coal, iron ore, and oil into industrial centers such as Cleveland, Dayton, Akron, Youngstown, and Cincinnati. These powerhouses fostered the ingenuity and practical inventiveness that made Ohio a mecca for manufacturing. Beyond heavy industry, the state also nurtured the growth of All-American goods and brands like Quaker Oats and Smucker's jellies and jams, Diamond matches and Sherwin Williams paints, the Etch-A-Sketch and Play-Doh, and many, many more. Author Conrade C. Hinds places a spotlight on dreamers and builders in the Buckeye State.




Exploring the History of Childhood and Play through 50 Historic Treasures


Book Description

A full-color trip through the treasures of American Childhood from 1650 to today. Remember the toys you played with when you were growing up? Each of those objects has a story to tell about the history of American childhood and play. Construction toys like Lincoln Logs and Erector Set offer insight into America’s booming urban infrastructure in the early 1910s and 20s, and the important role toys played in preparing children for future careers in engineering and architecture. A stuffed toy monkey from Germany tells the story of young Jewish refugees to the United States during World War II. The board game Candyland has its origins in the dreaded polio epidemic of 1950s. Exploring Childhood and Play Through 50 Historic Treasures brings together a collection of beloved toys and games from the last two centuries to guide readers on a journey through the history of American childhood and play, 1840-2000. Through color photographs and short essays on each object, this book examines childhood against the backdrop of culture, politics, religion, technology, gender, parenting philosophies, and more. The book features ten categories of objects including board and electronic games, dolls, action figures, art toys, optical toys, animal toys, construction sets, and sports. Each essay tells the story of the individual object its historic context, and each passage builds upon one another to create a fascinating survey of how childhood and play changed over the course of two centuries.




HowExpert Guide to Toy Collecting


Book Description

If you want to discover how to find, buy, collect, and sell collectible toys, then check out HowExpert Guide to Toy Collecting. Toys are the one item that connects us all. They bring us back to our childhood and reconnect us to a simpler time in life. Toys carry some of our favorite memories. Some collectors choose toys that they dreamed of having but never did – until now. Today is the day to reach out and grab that special toy and build a collection all around it! You will find just what you need to do all that in HowExpert Guide to Toy Collecting. One of the essential aspects of collecting toys is to know their history. This book is chock full of historical dates and facts that all collectors should know, including information on identifying toys and their manufacturer. In addition, there are resources and tips on how to find collectible toys (both old and new) along with the safest ways to clean, display, and take care of these toys. Learn where to meet fellow collectors and the best ways to sell and trade collectible toys, all through the pages of this guide. Check out HowExpert Guide to Toy Collecting now! About the Expert Charlotte Hopkins is a freelance writer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is an author of nine books, including her children’s books, featuring Pixie Trist and Bo, and her “365 Days” series. She was also published three times in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, the Shadows & Light Anthology, and Authors for Haiti. She has released a line of journals and logbooks under “Kannyn Books.” She is also a collector of several items. Her first collection was keychains, and she collects penguins, wooden boxes, miniatures (including miniature books), journals, and pens. She just started collecting Magic 8 Balls and Pen Cups. She has a fondness for writing, photography, astrology, history, museums, and everything purple! HowExpert publishes quick ‘how to’ guides on all topics from A to Z by everyday experts.




Toys and American Culture


Book Description

Tracing developments in toy making and marketing across the evolving landscape of the 20th century, this encyclopedia is a comprehensive reference guide to America's most popular playthings and the culture to which they belong. From the origins of favorite playthings to their associations with events and activities, the study of a nation's toys reveals the hopes, goals, values, and priorities of its people. Toys have influenced the science, art, and religion of the United States, and have contributed to the development of business, politics, and medicine. Toys and American Culture: An Encyclopedia documents America's shifting cultural values as they are embedded within and transmitted by the nation's favorite playthings. Alphabetically arranged entries trace developments in toy making and toy marketing across the evolving landscape of 20th-century America. In addition to discussing the history of America's most influential toys, the book contains specific entries on the individuals, organizations, companies, and publications that gave shape to America's culture of play from 1900 to 2000. Toys from the two decades that frame the 20th century are also included, as bridges to the fascinating past—and the inspiring future—of American toys.




Cincinnati Magazine


Book Description

Cincinnati Magazine taps into the DNA of the city, exploring shopping, dining, living, and culture and giving readers a ringside seat on the issues shaping the region.




Collecting Gadgets and Games from the 1950s-90s


Book Description

Daniel Blythe takes a trip down memory lane with his first book for Remember When, focusing on toys, games and gadgets from our youth; from Simon to the ZX Spectrum, from the Walkman to the boom-box, from the Bat mobile to Bond's Aston Martin and the TARDIS. From gadgets everyone had to those they desired to own, this is the book on big boysÍ toys and their value. Whilst firms such as Sony focus on toys of the future, the latest Playstations and X-boxes, the author looks at the forgotten gadgets, the early MP3 players and radio sets and shows how to turn them into ready-money or future collectables. He also reveals what makes a future collectable and discovers which action heroes are better than others when it comes to the collectables world.




Crayola: Edwin Binney & C. Harold Smith


Book Description

In this title, readers will learn about the creators of Crayola Crayons, cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith. Follow their story from their early creation of wax pencils, slate pencils, and dustless chalk to the invention of the Crayola Crayon. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Big Buddy Books is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.




LEGO: The Kristiansen Family


Book Description

In this title, readers will learn about the creators of LEGO, the Kristiansen Family. Follow the family's story from making wooden toys, to the company's creation of the LEGO brick, to LEGOLAND theme parks. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Big Buddy Books is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.




America's Changing Neighborhoods [3 volumes]


Book Description

A unique panoramic survey of ethnic groups throughout the United States that explores the diverse communities in every region, state, and big city. Race, ethnicity, and immigrants' lives and identity: these are all key topics that Americans need to study in order to fully understand U.S. culture, society, politics, economics, and history. Learning about "place" through our own historical and contemporary neighborhoods is an ideal way to better grasp the important role of race and ethnicity in the United States. This reference work comprehensively covers both historical and contemporary ethnic and immigrant neighborhoods through A–Z entries that explore the places and people in every major U.S. region and neighborhood. America's Changing Neighborhoods: An Exploration of Diversity uniquely combines the history of ethnic groups with the history of communities, offering an interdisciplinary examination of the nation's makeup. It gives readers perspective and insight into ethnicity and race based on the geography of enclaves across the nation, in regions and in specific cities or localized areas within a city. Among the entries are nearly 200 "neighborhood biographies" that provide histories of local communities and their ethnic groups. Images, sidebars, cross-references at the end of each entry, and cross-indexing of entries serve readers conducting preliminary as well as in-depth research. The book's state-by-state entries also offer population data, and an appendix of ancestry statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau details ethnic and racial diversity.