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In the 1950s, most children's dolls depicted babies. But when Handler, an industrial designer, noticed her daughter Barbara preferred to play with cutouts of older figures, she adapted a sexy German doll and created "Barbie". Executives at Mattel, which Handler helped start, were dubious at first, but in 1959, Barbie's first year, 351,000 dolls sold, and to date more than a billion have been sold. While some decry Barbie's impossibly curvy figure, Handler once said the "whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices. Over and over I've had it said to me by women [that] she was much more than a doll for them. She was part of them." Later, after a bout with breast cancer, Handler found she could not find a suitable prosthetic breast, so she formed a company to market her own design, which she dubbed "Nearly Me". She died April 27 in California from complications after abdominal surgery. She was 85. From This is True for 28 April 2002 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: J. Michael Augustyniak List Price: $29.95 Amazon Price: $19.77  By: Christy Webster List Price: $3.99 Amazon Price: $3.99  By: Mary Man-Kong List Price: $2.99 Amazon Price: $2.99 Editorial Review: THE STORY OF the beautiful butterfly fairy Mariposa™ is retold in the classic Little Golden Book format. Based on the bestselling Barbie™ direct-to-DVD movie, this full-color storybook will delight fairy fans everywhere. From the Trade Paperback edition.  By: Tennant Redbank List Price: $3.99 Amazon Price: $3.99 Editorial Review: Princess Barbie and her sisters dance the night away in a magical, musical adventure in Barbie in the Twelve Dancing Princesses! Barbie and her princess sisters love to dance and sing, but thier evil Aunt Rowena doesn't believe it's proper princess behavior. The princesses escape to a secret, magical palace--but when Barbie discovers that her aunt is plotting to rule the kingdom, she must return to save her father, the king! Girls will love to read all about the Barbie princesses in this beautifully illustrated hardcover storybook based on Barbie's 7th direct to DVD movie.  By: Reader's DigestMattel Photo Studio List Price: $7.99 Amazon Price: $7.99 Editorial Review: It’s Barbie sticker fun time! This exciting sticker play pack is based on the newest direct-to-video - Mariposa. Girls can follow along with the story and then create their own version with reusable stickers and a two-sided play board - sure to inspire hours of creative play.
Girls can read the story featuring favorites Elina and Bibble, as well as a new character, Mariposa, who is a butterfly fairy, and then create their own version of the story with reusable stickers and a two-sided playboard—sure to inspire hours of creative play.
• Set includes: 16-page full color storybook / over 20 reusable paper stickers to create multiple scenes / A double-sided vivid panoramic backdrop for sticker play that folds out from back cover • Interactive—kids place their stickers on the sticker board to recreate the story in the storybook. • Storybook and stickers are stapled into the sticker board to keep components together at retail. |
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