2 comments about Cracker Jack*r Toys.

1. After my grandmother passed away, we found a shoebox full of cracker jack toys. It was her special treat for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We took them and mounted them for memory reasons, but this book brought our love of the little toys to a reality of why we loved them as children and the precious value that they have for us today. A great part of our childhood in a great book!



2. This is an amazingly comprehensive collection of Cracker Jack prizes, with HUNDREDS of detailed photos showing THOUSANDS of prizes. While this book is a must-have for the serious collector of Cracker Jack prizes, it will delight anyone with pleasant memories of those special prizes.

   The accompanying prize lists with descriptive and historical information are presented chronologically, with prizes grouped by series where applicable. An elaborate identification system reflecting the prizes' date, composition, marking, type, size, color, and description is utilized, with estimated value for each prize given.

   Searching through CRACKER JACK TOYS for that fondly remembered surprise can be almost as much fun as originally digging for it in a box of Cracker Jack!

3 comments about Baby Boomer Toys and Collectibles (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. A great trip down memory lane! Two chapters deal with my own fields of interest and still has a nice cross-section of different items for everyone. Great pics, good descriptions. I can't call it a coffee table book because it never gets to stay on the table. Every visitor picks it up and can't put down. Thanks for the memories!



2. Forget the criticism - this is a great book stuffed with monsters, space toys plastics, kits - all the CLASSIC boomer stuff that the collectors go nuts for.



3. The book has some great photos of old toys but, they are not the type of toys I remember from my childhood. I was born in 1950. Maybe I just never had these toys in my toy box. As a collector of Boomer and 50's era toys..I was disappointed in the content of this book.

5 comments about Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls.

1. The author (who is now deceased) wrote this book with the information she had collected. Since then, it has been further researched, new facts were collected, new pictures taken, and now Elaine Pardee's "Encyclopedia of Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls" is the result of this research. This book was wonderful when it was published, and I still love it.
   Mary



2. THIS IS A GREAT BOOK ON NANCY ANN DOLLS. IT HAS A LOT OF PICTURES. THE ONLY THING IS THE PICTURES ARE IN BLACK AND WHITE. IT WOULD BE A LOT BETTER IF THE PICTURES WERE IN COLOR. IT WOULD BE EASIER TO FIND THE DOLL YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. WOULD BE GREAT IF SOMEONE WOULD WRITE AND UPDATE THIS BOOK ON NANCY ANNY STORYBOOK DOLLS WITH COLOR PICTURES. SEEMS A SHAME THAT THE TOY COMPANIES CAN'T BRING THESE DOLLS BACK FOR US TO BUY. THE LITTLE GIRLS MIGHT NOT LIKE THEM, BUT I AM SURE US ADULTS WOULD LOVE TO HAVE SOME NEW NANCY ANN'S. I KNOW I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE SOME MYSELF.



3. Considering how long ago the dolls were produced this is a helpful book for those trying to identify their dolls. It is true that 95% of the pictures are in black & white which makes it much more difficult to recognize but it is better then no picture. Also there are several mistakes in the discriptions of some dolls and wrong accessories on some of the dolls. Lets just hope that a new and improved version (with color photos) will soon be available.



4. I felt the book was incomplete, it only had two pages of color pictures and the description led me to believe it would have more of a complete listing and photos of the complete line.



5. I agree with the reviewer who said this book was a disappointment. The editors should be smacked for including all of those horrid b&w photos. As someone who was looking for help identifying Nancy Ann dolls and could have really used this book, it was a great disappointment because of the photos.

No comments about Britains Civilian Toy Figures.

No comments about Historic Vehicles in Miniature: The Genius of Ivan Collins.

5 comments about GI JOETM and Other Backyard Heroes 1970-1979: An Unauthorized Guide.

1. Anyone who collects action figures from the 1970's needs this book. Anyone who HAD action figures in the 1970's needs this book. Lots of pictures, lots of price values, and lots of information. Not just a price value or pictorial guide, the text is surprisingly fun to read with Marshall's oddly biting humor and obvious genuine fascination with the subject matter.



2. The first of a trilogy by John Marshall (he has two other, similar books; one about 60's toys, the other about the 80's), this is the one closest to my heart. ALL of the toys I collected as a kid are either pictured or mentioned. He must be around my age, because his memories of buying and playing with his toys somewhat mirror my own (and that's what collecting is all about; NOSTALGIA, not values and prices...right? RIGHT!?).

   More than just a price guide, this book is a funny, informative walk down memory lane that would make a great gift for any boy who played with toys in the seventies.

   PS. His chapter on the Micronauts is worth the price of the book!




3. Of all the many books produced about the timeless toy classic of G.I. Joe, none has reached the pinnacle of understanding, love and respect than Mr. Marshall's. His in-depth coverage of the development of America's Mobile Fighting Man is beyond any other writing on the subject. Combined with John Marshall's particular humorist style, the era of these action figures is brought back to life. If you love G.I. Joe, you MUST OWN THIS BOOK!



4. This is one of the most complete and comprehensive collection of material and facts that I have seen gathered and paying respect to the Adventure Team. This is a must for all who grew up the same era as I, the last of the baby boomers. Well designed and thought out. I have yet to see a more accurate and helpful source of information, dedicated to this beautiful time of Joe. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, its a true winnner.



5. For those of us that grew up in the 1970's The Adventure Team is the crowning glory of GI Joe. John's book is the only book on GI Joe written from the perspective of an Adventure Team fan. If you are a fan of the Fuzzy Head guys this is a must buy. No collection of hammerhead sharks, giant spiders or Kung Fu Grip is complete without this book.

5 comments about Tomart's Price Guide to Hot Wheels Collectibles.

1. As others have said before me....the guide is a rehash of previously error filled versions. I have collected since 1994 and would only use this book to identify what the car looked like and possibly the year it was manufactured. Strauss promotes his own limited editions with high prices over more valuable limited editions. Accuracy is not one of the attributes of this book.



2. This book is loaded with valuable information. Lots of pictures & needed specs, but as in previous editions, the incomplete index leaves much to be desired, and the pricing is out of this world. However, that said, it is a great addition to a collectors library.



3. I have an interest in older Hot Wheels, and was looking for values and prices. This is the only book that differentiates between the various colors of the early cars, and those colors make all the difference in value. As a result this book is almost indispensable. The color guide itself is only so-so, being particularly difficult to match up with some of the brighter colors. There were so many shades that sometimes the guide is only so-so too. But since this is the only book that even bothers to attempt to divide the cars by color, this is the one to get.



4. This book purports to be a guide to all of the hot wheels cars produced for the last thirty plus years. It's very up-to-date, and well written and thought out. It has lists of all of the cars, with the early ones priced by color so you can keep track of which ones are more or less expensive. The colors in the color guide don't look that good to me, and since there are so many shades, I didn't find it that valuable, but the price guides are very good. They aren't completely up to date in and of themselves (how could they be?) but they're as good as they can get, and you can use them to judge how much one color will cost as opposed to another.



5. Honestly the latest edition is just a tired rehash of the last one. No effort to clean up errors, just seemed to be rolling the same information over and smacking it with the lastest edition number on it. The pages fall out of every edition I have owned. If you are a Redline enthusiast, there's a new game in town. The Ultimate Redline guide by Jack Clark and Robert Wicker is it! It's a hardback, has really neat history of the cars. Beautiful pictures, and lists all variations.

   I like a little more substance than what the Strauss book has offered lately. Hopefully Clark and Wicker will release more books soon and put this guide out of it's misery!

2 comments about Marbles Illustrated (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. Book is totally disorganized. Beautiful pictures, but no way of researching values. The price list is in the back organized by lot no & auction no. NO reference to the illustration of the marbles in the front of the book, no way to look it up. Starts out promising, then becomes a total jumble. Totally impossible to locate anything. Too time consuming, and then still no resolve.



2. This book has fabulous marble illustrations, but absolutely no cross-referencing so a user can look up the description of the marble pictured. The author pre-supposes you are an expert and know what marble maker and type you are looking for. Illustrations are grouped together in one section of the book and each is identified only by the auction number and lot number it came from. Unfortunately, the descriptions of these marbles are not in the same order. Descriptions are ordered by marble manufacturer and type of marble. Even then, the auction numbers within the types are random. The book is only useful if you know what kind of marble you have and want to see what some similar marbles by the same manufacturer sold for. It bogles the imagination to understand why any sensible editor would not cross index this publication, so a person finding a marble they like in the illustrations, can then go read the description. It could take you a week to find the matching description. The sad thing is, that data was readily available to the author and the illustrations could have been keyed in a day! Worst example of editorship I have ever seen! Totally clueless! They never thought about, or cared, how a person might try to use the book. Save your money! I wish I had!

No comments about 125 Years Steiff Company History.

2 comments about Warman's G.I. Joe Field Guide: Values and Identification (Warman's Field Guides).

1. This guide is very incomplete! It only has the basic figures and uniforms only up to the 1990's even though it just came out in print in 2006.



2. The Warman's G.I. Joe Field Guide is not a comprehensive, all-encompassing guide to G.I. Joe figures. Writer Karen O' Brien makes this clear in the introduction. Rather, this small (5" by 4") book serves as a convenient, pocket guide to G.I. Joe figures and accessories and includes hundreds of clear, vibrant photographs. It's the kind of book you can pack along easily when you travel to garage sales, flea markets, or collectibles shows. While it may not be exhaustive, there is still a lot packed into its 512 pages. O' Brien provides a brief history of the figure line and the opening section of photos display the various copyright marks and facial and uniform variations on the early figures.
   
   Some figures are show loose while others are show still in their original boxes. For pricing purposes, only a MIP price is given. Another plus is that O'Brien provides the Hasbro item number for the figure (although not accessory sets). Some of the rarest Joe figures are pictured including the Soldiers of the World sets, the rare Canadian Mountie Sears figure, and the Action Girl G.I. Nurse, valued at $4000, perhaps the rarest figure of all. The various adventure sets were always my favorite as a kid and the book includes photos of these great sets including the Secret of the Mummy's Tomb, White Tiger Hunt, and Fight for Survival dog sled set. You know I still have those plastic husky dogs over thirty years later!
   
   The first 380 pages of the book are dedicated to the original G.I. Joe line while the last 130 pages are given over to the 3 ½" line. Only figures are pictured for the 3 ½" line, no vehicles or accessories are included. As a basic, carry along guide it serves its purpose well to provide some guidelines for pricing and identification. You can get more comprehensive guides but this fills the bill for being compact and inexpensive.
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson