5 comments about Tomart's Price Guide to Johnny Lightning Vehicles.

1. This is a great resource for JL's up to 2001. Good history of the company from the original topper era to the Playing Mantis era. A must have resource for anyone collecting Johnny Lightnings.



2. This wasn't for me, I gave it to my husband for his birthday. He loves it. Likes the pictures and likes how you can see the value of the cars as well as the Johnny Lightening Whites. He also uses it as a check list to mark off which ones he has already collected.



3. i'll give my review after i received the item .
   many thanks
   
   
   ari



4. This is a slick and attractive book, and I suppose great if you're into collecting the modern Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning cars, but there's precious little here on the original vintage JL cars: only two pages of photographs. At least you get a picture of each of the original cars.
   
   So, my three star rating probably reflects my disappointment both in the descriptions I read here as well as the book it self. It's almost useless to me as a vintage JL collector.



5. This book is everything I expected and more. Being a true J/L fan I appreciate the descriptions and color photos. One thing I noticed is it needs to be updated some what. But its an excellent resource if you are into selling,buying,or trading!!!!

5 comments about Marx Toys Sampler: A History & Price Guide.

1. What a wonderful trip down Memory Lane! I had a couple of uncles that worked for Marx when I was a little kid and had many of the toys featured in Michelle's book. I can only wonder what happened to my Mark toys. I guess they found their way to cousins or younger friends, but I sure would like to have them back now! Good job Michelle - I truly enjoyed paging through your book - it appears to have been a labor of love as opposed to a for profit project. Thanks for the memories!



2. I enjoyed this book because of it's detailed accounts of Marx toys that I grew up with. The price guide is also handy when I'm out looking for Marx items for my sisters' collections. History of a manufacturer is always interesting and the photographs help define the pieces I'm searching for. I appreciate a good book that shows great effort extended in presenting the information. I would recommend this book to the serious toy buyer and to new seekers of antique Marx toys. Kudos to the author!



3. I found this to be an ideal route to fond memories of my childhood. Many of the toys in this book were basis of several Christmas dreams. As a baby boomer, I have been collecting the dollhouses and furniture with the hope that my granddaughter will appreciate them, too! This is a good reference guide to have!



4. This book would be a great companion book. Most Marx toys collectors would benefit from information on part numbers, years of production and viewing the wonderful selection of photographs featured in the book. The book covers about 30 years worth of knowledge on toys produced at the Glen Dale plant site. There is even a partial price listing on items that Ms. Smith and Mr. Whipkey were familiar with. All in all. A good book.



5. This brand new (year 2000)192 page book gives you an inside look at one of America's favorite toy makers. It takes you behind the scenes at Marx to help you see and understand the company and its people. There is a beautiful 32 page full color section, in addition to more than 150 black and white photos. Many of the photos have not before been published. More than 1,200 individual items are listed, including many values. Major topics range from Play Sets, Doll Houses, Lithographed Items, to Johnny West, and Sandy Dolls. A Marx time line from 1896 to 1999 is provided along with a handy index. Toy collectors will be delighted with this new reference.

No comments about The Best of the Doll Reader: Article Reprints 1975-1981 (Best of Doll Reader).

1 comments about Rubber Toy Vehicles: Identification & Value Guide.

1. While not a toy collector, I was interested in refreshing my memory in search of toys from my youth. This book certainly was a blast from the past and an enjoyable read/flip through. Undoubtedly Leopard is the expert on the subject. There were some fantastic ancient photographs of the toys actually being made, as well as some super original advertisements. The brief history of the companies was interesting and useful, though centered more on Auburn, but that is probably the company most collectors will be interested in. I've had trouble in more exact dating of these toys, and while the book did have some pieces dated, and did offer an overview of dating of rubber toys (Auburn in particular), I wish there had been more. The book is about rubber toys, which were phased out in the 1950's. In auctions I find that dealers mingle the words rubber and plastic freely, so I would have liked to have seen a few plastic Auburn toys just to help with the dating. Never-the-less, it is ground breaking and the best book that I have found on the subject. I would love to see another book by the author take up where the rubber toys left off.

4 comments about Barbie: Four Decades of Fashion, Fantasy, and Fun.

1. my sister is 9 or 10 or something. its hers. i hope she liked it



2. This book is very good,really... I learned how to recognize Barbie head molds by period,learnd about the world's fashion history in the ultimate forty years and became much more a Barbie lover than before I knew this book...



3. THE BOOK HAD SOLID INFORMATION, WAS SUPPORTED. IT HAD GREAT PICTURES. I ALSO WANTED TO SAY THAT THE BOOK HELP ME LEARN MORE ABOUT BARBIE!



4. Since an Italian writer, he revolves a little more around the Italian part of Barbie (i.e., the fasions, models from Italy, excerts from Italian magazines, etc.) but he does go through a lot of the very famous styles that made Barbie "Barbie" like Enchanted evening, Solo in the Spotlight, Busygal, etc. There is also a 4 page visual on the steps in making a Barbie which I thought was pretty neat. He also shows about 16 of the around the world barbies. And lots of special edition ones too. A very good book; anyone who wants to know about the "special" barbies should get this book

No comments about Greenberg's Guide to M.T.H. Electric Trains.

5 comments about McDonald's Collectibles: Identification and Value Guide (McDonald's Collectibles: Identification & Values).

1. This beautiful 352 page identification and value guide has been updated with 1999 prices. It contains over 2,300 full color, large, sharp photos. Provides collector's tips, the McDonald's Story, the early days and more history. Nearly every type of McDonald collectible is included. Every category is clearly described. A valuable reference work that will be referred to often !



2. Why not have McDonald's have a substitute for a value meal instead of french fries, like your potatoe pancake. Have your express in Hempstead, Nassau County, Long Island, New York, have thick or milk shakes, like you do hot and cold drinks. PLEASE GIVE TO MCDONALD'S



3. Needs to be update



4. this book contains not just Happy Meals from the beginnings of McD, but all other types of McD collectibles like tableware, clothing, Christmas things, sports cars & cards, etc. etc.



5. What luck to run accross this wonderful guide the first time searching for such a book. This is a very large book, with color pictures of all type of McDonald's collectibles-in addition to all the happy meal toys. It also provides a facinating history of how the business got started along with pictures of the founders and the 1st restaurants, also included are pictures and values of memorabilia such as uniforms, paper french fry bags and the large ride on toys and Ronald figures used inside the restaurants. This books gets a A+ from me.

No comments about Miller's Teddy Bears: A Complete Collector's Guide (Miller's).

3 comments about 100 Greatest Baby Boomer Toys.

1. Reading this book was truly a passage back in time for me. As I was growing up, I played with so many of the toys listed in this book. The Slinky, Lincoln logs, the Spirograph, Cootie, Mousetrap, Etch a Sketch, Mr. Potato Head, Gumby and Pokey, Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots, Twister, Tinkertoys, Frisbees and the Hula Hoop all passed through my hands. With a large number of children my age in the neighborhood, the toys I didn't have were often owned by others. Therefore, reading this book brought back very fond memories of playing with Clive, Sandy, Dale, Rick, Paul, Terry, Cindy and all the other kids who grew up with toys that you physically manipulated. I strongly recommend this book to anyone with a background similar to mine.



2. This 208 page, softbound walk-through-the-past volume features 250 full color, very large, sharp photos that are a joy to behold. I enjoyed looking at the photos and reading each comprehensive write-up. A real memory jogger. I was quite surprised at the number of these things I actually owned as a child, and welcomed seeing them again in life-like color. Even many of the boxes are shown. There's plenty of interesting text accompanying the photos and year 2000 values. The toys run from Easy Bake Ovens, Slinky, Cootie, Thingmakers, Lincoln Logs, and Spirographs to Tootsietoys, Monster Kits, Pez, Colorforms, Life-Size Kitchens, Gilbert, Renwal Doll Stuff and Captain Kangaroo. You'll really enjoy seeing some of these toys you haven't thought of in years. I have many books on baby boomer collectibles, and this one ranks among the best. Get it and enjoy !



3. No generation is so defined by its toys as the Baby Boomers. They loved them as kids. They collect them as adults. 100 GREATEST BOOMER TOYS explores the phenomenon. It's fun and it's serious.

   First the fun. The books got hundreds of great pictures. It's like a Christmas catalog. Look up old favorites. Discover items you'd forgotten.

   And there's a ranking system which seems pretty much designed to provoke arguments. Wait until you see who's #1!

   More substantially there are short essays on many of the toys. Little studies in anthropology, in social history, they tell us about the 50's and 60's. The tie-in of G.I. Joe and the draft is, I think, very apt and really well done.

   Once you pick it up, you will be drawn in.

1 comments about Hollow-Cast Civilian Toy Figures.

1. MUST HAVE REFERENCE BOOK FOR ENGLISH HOLLOWCAST FIGURES, PLUS A FEW AMERICAN AND FRENCH. TOP NOTCH PHOTOS AND ACCURATE PRICE GUIDES!