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This first definitive retrospective of the Easy Bake® Oven celebrates its journey from children’s toy to pop culture icon and inductee to The National Toy Hall of Fame. The book explores the innovation, history, economics, commerce, advertising, and marketing behind the toy’s 50 year history. This book is a must read for vintage toy collectors, nostalgia buffs, foodies, and anyone who has ever peered through the oven’s watch it bake window, eagerly anticipating the moment they will be able to serve and enjoy their very own culinary concoction.

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My review:

One of the best parts about having girls is being able to share my favorite things from my childhood. My oldest daughter shares the love of baking with me as well as my littlest. When my oldest was four her only wish for christmas was an Easy Bake Oven. She was in love with it and made us a bunch of delicious cookies as well as some questionable pretzels. My 7 year old has found the Easy Bake Oven app on my iPad and it’s her main source of entertainment when we go to doctor’s appointments and rides in the car.

So when I had the chance to review Todd Coopee’s new book Light Bulb Baking I jumped at the chance. The girls and I poured over the book. We were surprised at just how many different versions of the Easy Bake Oven there has been! We counted and we had 3 of the ovens. We had the Oven and Snack Center (2004), the Real Meal Oven (2003) and the Dual Temp Oven (1983). It was so much fun reading all the facts and the history behind the product. Did you know that in 1964 Kenner introduced a popcorn popper add on for the Easy Bake Oven to make it more appealing to boys? They tried again in 2002 with the Queasy Bake Cookinator and Mixerator. Between the awesome pop culture facts (Jim Henson helped with the Kenner Gooney Bird commercial) and retro recipes for the oven this book is so fun! It’s the perfect coffee table book for the holiday season or the perfect gift for a fellow toy aficionado!

To see my fond memories of toys I loved visit my Pinterest board : Things from my childhood.

About the Author:

Todd Coopee is a writer, award-winning business owner, toy historian, and pop-culture enthusiast. His affinity for nostalgia, vintage toys, and baking fed his passion for the Easy-Bake Oven, which led to his 2013 retrospective, Light Bulb Baking: A History of the Easy-Bake® Oven.