Toys

Just when you think you’ve got a good handle on what’s popular with the next generation, they flip your expectations on their head. I don’t know what I thought would be in the list of bestselling toys this week, but it certainly wasn’t these!

Andre Cassagnes, the man responsible for inventing the venerable Etch A Sketch, a toy that inspired countless children ever since it was introduced in 1960, has died at age 86 in France.

Ever since it was introduced in 1963, the Easy-Bake Oven has been marketed exclusively to girls, leaving aspiring boy chefs out in the cold. But that's about to change thanks to a campaign led by a teen girl on behalf of her four-year-old brother, who loves to cook.

Scandinavian Toys"R"Us licensee Top-Toy has taken a new approach to making sure kids get what they really want for Christmas: a fully gender-blind catalog that erases the line between boys' and girls' toys.

From the Magic 8-ball to Sidewalk Chalk, the annual list of nominees for possible induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester was released this week.

Remember when playing meant hours on the floor or outside playing with toys that were rugged?  Every kind of toy today is tied to a movie, a show, a video game and has it's own website so that the company can make even more money by selling you something else.  Even Legos have their own action cartoon and of course a website with games.  Toys are not just toys anymore.  I wish toys were simply jus