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Hello Fisher-Price
Toy Fans! If you are a collector, or just
enjoy Fisher-Price toys in general, here are some toy collecting books
that showcase the many toys produced over the years.
On this page, we look at 3 popular
toy guide books. One by Brad Cassity (the "yellow book"), and
two by Fox and Murray.
Fisher-Price Toys by Brad Cassity (2000)
Fisher-Price: 1931 to Present 3rd Ed. (2002)
Fisher-Price: 1931-1963 1st Ed. (1987)
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This book was published in 2000, in soft cover format.
And WOW - this is every Fisher-Price Little People Collector's dream!
It shows full color photos of just about every Fisher-Price toy
made from the mid 60's until around 1989. Along with the
Little People/Play Family sets, it shows Little People,
Dollhouse Decorator Sets, Adventure People, Huskys, Dolls, and
so much more. Many photos in the book were from the private
collections
of our members of the Fisher-Price Collectors Club.
The book is arranged by
set number, with full indexes in the back to help you hunt down
the exact page number of your favorite sets! For each toy, there is
a price range listed for what the toy is worth, though of course these
prices are from years ago, and prices change over time!
This book is an absolute favorite of Little People collectors, since
it lists all parts and pieces for most sets! Even lists many
rarer color variations, which are valued by collectors and sell
well on Ebay.
This book has been out-of-print for many years.
If you want to get a copy, you may have to look on Amazon.com's
used books or maybe Ebay.
It has been speculated that the future
value of this book may go up A LOT,
since there are no other Fisher-Price books with such
individual detail about sets, parts, and variations.
As many of these soft cover books wear out, it
can make finding a new one a challenge.
It's unlikely the book will be reprinted
(though we wish it would!), so get one while supplies
still last!
The index is arranged first by type of toy (Little People sets,
Adventure People, Dolls, etc), and then by set name. This is
a nice index for Little People collectors, since most of the sets
are listed together, so it's easy to see which ones you have and
which ones you are missing!
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Here are some sample pages from the book, to
show all the layout and detail.
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| The overall layout has sets listed by
set number, with
color photos showing all the parts. Many also show the
original box.
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Book has close-ups of the different sets,
along with a description of the parts, too!
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Here is a close-up of a Little People set, the Camper #992.
Parts are shown, plus the box.
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Some sets are shown unopened in the original packages
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Adventure People sets are shown in detail, plus Huskys,
dolls, puzzles, pull-toys, you name it!
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The index is arranged by type of toy. Listed
here are Little People sets alphabetically
by set name, with the page number to find that set
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This book showcases Fisher-Price toys arranged by the
year they were first produced. It spans from the year 1931 to 2001.
The pages show group photos
of the toys of each individual year, plus descriptions, history,
and toy trends that were happening at Fisher-Price at that time.
The book does not show individual playsets in fine detail
(aka does not show every Little People set with all the parts).
This book is a great overview of the toys, which can make it
very useful to take with you to rummage or antique
sales, since it shows older toys as well as newer ones. We
find this book is a very nice compliment to Brad Cassity's
Fisher-Price book (the above-mentioned "yellow book") since they
show the toys organized in two completely different ways.
This book is currently out of print (as of this writing in 2010).
The value of this book has been going up on Ebay and Amazon -
it can be tricky to find one for a price close what it originally sold for
(like in the $20 range).
Like the photos, this book's index is also arranged by
year first produced. Within each year, the sets listed by set number. This
can be a tough index to use to locate a toy if you don't know
the year it was first produced! Also shows a rough price range
of the worth of a toy (based on values from the year 2001).
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Here are some sample pages from the book, to
show all the layout and detail.
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The book is arranged chronologically by year,
showing group photos of the toys first produced during that year
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Book has text describing the highlights of each individual year
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| Group photo of some of the toys from 1962
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Close-up of some toys from 1974
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The book goes beyond the classic Little People and Wooden Toys.
Here are the "chunky" toys from 1991.
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Close-up of the index, organized by year first produced
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This is the first version of John Murray and Bruce Fox's Fisher-Price
books.
This first version covers toys from the very beginning starting in 1931, until
the year 1963. A majority of the toys shown in this book
are wooden pull toys.
Only the oldest Little People sets are included, since the
"classic" Little People (the ones we are most familiar with) were
first produced around 1965. The book is similar to the "purple"
book above, with the toys arranged by year, starting in 1931.
Each year has highlights of toy trends of that year, plus
colored photos of some of the new toys produced for that year.
The toys are shown in more close-up detail than in the 3rd edition
(the "purple book") mentioned above.
This book is not hard to find for a decent price on
Ebay or Amazon (as of this writing in 2010). Classic
Little People toys (the ones from 1964-1989)
tend to be the most collected nowadays. This book does
not cover them, which makes it less desired.
But it's still a great book to have for any Fisher-Price fan,
since so much history is showcased.
Like the "purple book" above, this book's index is also arranged by
year first produced. Within each year, the sets listed by set number.
Values of the toys are listed on a scale of "1" to "5", with "1"
being the most valuable, and "5" being more common and
worth less. Of course, these values were from 1983, so
value and rarity could be very different today!
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Here are some sample pages from the book, to
show all the layout and detail.
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| Book shows the toys in group photos
organized by year. Shown here are toys from 1949
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Shown here are toys from 1961
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| The only "classic" Little People sets shown
are the very oldest ones, like the Amusement Park
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The earliest toys are from 1931 - shown here are Dr. Doodle and
Granny Doodle pull toys
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The book has pages and pages of the history of Fisher-Price
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The index is arranged by year, then by toy number. Above
is the index for 1957
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| Thanks for stopping by! Hope this helps you pick out
the right book for your collection!
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