I love Fisher Price. I just think their toys have always been high quality and they were always cute as a button. I'm also happy that they seem to have had multiethnic characters throughout. Amongst them, there are Asian Pacific Americans.
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Asian Boy 1970s Little People Line circa 1975, Fisher Price In #2550 School set This is the only Asian Pacific American character in the original Fisher Price Little People design. While Fisher Price Little People have been around since 1959, this character was from the later years when they started using plastic bodies and heads. This particular character dates back to probably around 1975. The Asian boy came with the Fisher Price Little People school set.
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Sonya Lee Little People Petmobile Playset Line 1997, Fisher Price Petmobile Playset with Boat and Seal Most people call this character "Sonya Lee" because she appears to be the same Asian Pacific American girl named "Sonya Lee" in subsequent Little People playsets. I love this playset for many reasons. One, she's a sailor, which is not stereotypical of Asians. She isn't a computer expert or a martial artist. And, the packaging is great too because it features a little girl of unknown ethnicity playing this this toy. Usually, toy companies show Asian kids playing with Asian toys.
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Sonya Lee Little People Circus Playset Line 1999, Fisher Price Circus Playset with Horse, Wagon and Big Top Dancing Dog Again, another neat cool playset featuring "Sonya Lee." This time, she's a circus showgirl with dog and pony. Like the Petmobile playset, Sonya Lee is in an unstereotypical setting. Unlike the the Petmobile playset, the packaging does actually feature a smiling and laughing Asian Pacific American girl playing with her toy. Asian toy for an Asian child. But, still, a wonderful playset.
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Loving Asian Family Loving Family Line 1999, Fisher Price Comes as Set Aside from the Little People series, Fisher Price also has a doll house collection called the "Loving Family" line which it originally ran with caucasian and black characters. Then, in 1999, it introduced the Asian and the Hispanic families. Interestingly enough, the two families are almost identical except for a few minor changes. Both come with a mother, father, a little girl and a baby boy. I didn't catch the difference at first and then upon closer inspection, I saw that the Asian family had almond shaped full dark brown eyes while the Hispanic family had round eyes. I think the Hispanic family's skin tone is also slightly more tan. Other than that -- the same family. I think it's funny, though, that the caucasian and black family have the full breadth of the family line from children to grandparents. Oh, well...I'll stick to the Little People line.
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The following are items I still need to complete the set. If you notice any other items that should be added, please e-mail me.
- Nameless Asian Boy in #72355 Mainstreet playset
- Asian skater girl in #72573 U.S. Olympic Stars -1998 Limited Edition
- Sonya Lee in #72372 Little People School Bus
- Sonya Lee in #72693 Fun Sounds Garage
- Sonya Lee in Discovery City
- Growing Smart Vet Sonya Lee
- Growing Smart Telphone (featuring Sonya Lee)
- Growing Smart Keyboard (featuring Sonya Lee)
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