Favorite Toys from Around the World
Julia, 3 (Tirana, Albania) When my daughter was born I bought her two hefty Tonka trucks, one a grader and the other a gigantic dump truck. I was going to make sure she had choices. I didn't want my daughter to be conditioned to be a Barbie lovin', pink wearin', prissy little girl; she was going to play with trucks and baseballs and soccer balls and dolls and then decide what she liked best. Well, the Tonka dump truck soon became a bassinet for her Cabbage Patch dolls and her little brother gladly traded her the grader for a plush lamb that just wasn't macho enough for him. Are girls conditioned to want dolls? Are boys conditioned to want trucks? Are girls naturally attracted to more nurturing, mothering type toys, while boys want guns to go out and bring dinner home? Henry, 5 (Berkeley, California) An interesting book was just released called Toy Stories: Photos of Children From Around the World with Their Favorite Things by Gabrielle Galimberti.