Wednesday, April 18, 2012

BOOK REVIEW: Whatever Happened To Pudding Pops? by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper and Brian Bellmont

Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops?  The Lost Toys, Tastes & Trends of the '70s & '80s

  • Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Perigee Trade; First Edition edition (June 7, 2011)
  • Language: English

If you owe a couple cavities to Marathon candy bars, learned your adverbs from Schoolhouse Rock!, and can still imitate the slo-mo bionic running sound of The Six Million Dollar Man,Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes & Trends of the '70s & '80s is for you.

The book, by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper and Brian Bellmont, takes you back in time to the tastes, the smells, and the sounds of childhood, when the Mystery Date board game didn’t seem sexist, and exploding Pop Rocks were the epitome of candy science.

But what happened to the toys, tastes and trends of our youth? Some vanished totally, like Freakies cereal. Some stayed around, but faded from the spotlight, like Sea-Monkeys or Shrinky Dinks. Some were yanked from the market, revised and reintroduced...but you'll have to read the book to find out which ones.

So flip up the collar of that polo shirt and revisit with us the glory and the shame of those goofy decades only a native could love.

This was a great book to peruse and if your the kind of person who enjoys reading in the bathroom, then this book is definitely right up your alley.  Filled with many interesting tidbits about the things we have come to know and love.  It's an easy read, which doesn't have to be read in order or in one sitting, its one of those books that you can read whenever you wish to & always find something to enjoy.

There were many icons from the era that I had forgotten about and it was really interesting to be reminded about these blasts from the past.  The book reads in alphabetical order which makes it easier to find what your looking for, such iconic pleasures like, metal pudding containers, K-Tel, Hugo (Man of a 1000 Faces), Big Wheel, Fantasy Island, Bazooka Joe and so much more.  

If you have lived thru the times, then there is something in this book that you will enjoy reading and remembering about.  Its written with clarity and an easy-to-read format and though the reading levels states 18 and older, I feel that anyone with a reading capacity could easily understand the prose found within.

I would give this a 4.5 out of five stars.  I thought the authors did a remarkable job in their research, but I would've loved to have seen more information with each of the icons as well as a few coloured photos would've been nice.  However, it's a fun and entertaining read and I am sure everyone will get a kick out of remembering those "good ole days".


post signature**  Reviewed by me...as I see it~!!  **

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