Book Blurb:
When Ruth Handler walks into the boardroom of the toy company she co-founded and pitches her idea for a doll unlike any other, she knows what she’s setting in motion. It might just take the world a moment to catch up. In 1956, the only dolls on the market for little girls let them pretend to be mothers. Ruth’s vision for a doll shaped like a grown woman and outfitted in an enviable wardrobe will let them dream they can be anything.
As Ruth assembles her team of creative rebels—head engineer Jack Ryan who hides his deepest secrets behind his genius and designers Charlotte Johnson and Stevie Klein, whose hopes and dreams rest on the success of Barbie’s fashion—she knows they’re working against a ticking clock to get this wild idea off the ground. In the decades to come—through soaring heights and devastating personal lows, public scandals and private tensions— each of them will have to decide how tightly to hold on to their creation. Because Barbie has never been just a doll—she’s a legacy.
My Review: 5 stars
Let’s Call Her Barbie by Renee Rosen is the perfect escapist novel as you dive into the creating, designing, naming, marketing and selling of the iconic Barbie doll. Whether you owned Barbie or you didn’t, she is an all-American staple millions of little girls’ lives since 1956.
This story will grab you in from the very first page where you’ll meet Ruth Handler. She was an A+ feminist well before her time and had a creative vision so many tried to tamp down. Her work ethic was hearty, yet she sadly put work over her family’s needs and demands. Her kids suffered from this and the book shows many of examples this. It often broke my heart.
I loved the ins and outs of all the characters’ lives and boy, some of them were juicy. Jack, the man who wore lifts in his shoes, was the lover boy at Mattel and I loved learning about how the designers created incredibly detailed outfits for Barbie. Who knew they were made by real fashion designers? Not me!
The statement of feminism was clearly made in the book yet there were many parents who refused to let their girls have a Barbie doll. Barbie worked outside the home and many parents planned for their girls to be homemakers, not working women. I’ve facilitated book clubs for this book and have found it so interesting how many women had either positive or adverse opinions about Barbie that were fed to them by their mothers. Her perfect body proportions could lead to eating disorders, but on the flip side, her impeccably groomed attire and brushed hair could influence their daughters to look better, thus, find a husband.
There’s just so much to dissect in this fun, easy, informative read! Book clubs – get your copies – you’ll love it.
Quotes I liked:
They have to be able to see themselves in this doll. That’s the whole point of her. Little girls have to look at this doll and be able to picture their own futures.”
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