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Classic gifts most memorable

BY EDIE GROSS

Date published: 12/16/2007

BY EDIE GROSS

Growing up in Queens, N.Y., during World War II, Stevanne Auerbach didn't have a lot of toys.

She made dolls out of clothespins and dollhouses out of shoe boxes.

Her prized possessions were balls and jacks.

Nothing was battery-operated or radio-controlled.

"We didn't have toys, so I had to use my imagination," said Auerbach, an author and child development expert known for the last 40 years as Dr. Toy. "Play begins with imagination."

The most classic toys follow that same tenet, she said.

Items like dolls, crayons, Play-Doh, blocks and even empty boxes inspire creativity, she said.

Many classics have evolved over the years. Yo-yos come with flashing lights and hula hoops feature beads and snazzy colors--but the principle is the same: they're kid-powered.

"Why I like classic is it builds the imagination. It allows the child to do the playing rather than the toy," she said. "When a child is involved in play, they're using their whole brains.

"If the toy is doing the tickling, the moving, the jumping around, the child is just an observer like they are when they watch TV."

On her Web site, DrToy.com, Auerbach lists the 100 best toys of 2007, those that raise what she calls a child's P.Q.--play quotient.

The collection is filled with variations on classics: puzzles and puppets, microscopes and kaleidoscopes, building blocks and board games.

When buying toys for children, Auerbach encourages shoppers to think back on the items they enjoyed the most, like her beloved balls and jacks.

True classics span generations, she said.

"There are so many simple, wonderful toys."

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Date published: 12/16/2007

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