New Zealand Cereal Toys, 1950-2000

Book excerpt: Cereal toys are one of the few childhood items that held a place in almost every New Zealand household over the last five decades. After a trip to the local dairy or supermarket, cereal packets bearing the tempting wording "Free gift inside!" or "Collect the whole set!" were brought home to young eyes that widened with excitement and anticipation over what was hiding within... While the cereal toys of today are better crafted, their predecessors of the 1950s through to the 1970s come from an age when toys were not as easily available. For many children of that time, real toys were often still expensive and only obtained on special occasions, therefore give-away toys in cereal packets were one way o make a significant contribution to the toy box... New Zealand Cereal Toys 1950-2000 will not only be a useful reference guide as it contains information on over 100 cereal (and other) toy sets but also re-kindle childhood memories of excitement and anticipation of opening a packet of cereal with an unknown toy inside.