Let's Call Her Barbie
THE USA TODAY BESTSELLER ∙ She was only eleven-and-a-half inches tall, but she would change the world. Barbie is born in this bold novel by USA Today bestselling author Renée Rosen.
As featured in The New York Post ∙ RuPaul's Book Club ∙ Book Riot ∙ The Nerd Daily ∙ Chicago Review of Books ∙ and more!
“A fresh and fun take on Barbie lore…clever and satisfying.”—Shelby Van Pelt, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures
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.
Includes a Reader's Guide and Exclusive Vintage Barbie Photos!
As featured in The New York Post ∙ RuPaul's Book Club ∙ Book Riot ∙ The Nerd Daily ∙ Chicago Review of Books ∙ and more!
“A fresh and fun take on Barbie lore…clever and satisfying.”—Shelby Van Pelt, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures
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.
Includes a Reader's Guide and Exclusive Vintage Barbie Photos!
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Community Reviews
“Naming a toy is like naming a baby. A name attaches a personality to that child…You could call it the Barbara doll. Or the Babs doll. Or hey, even better–what about Barbie?...It’s fun spirited, bouncy, and perky. It’s got a certain pizazz and presence. It’s perfect.” Ruth’s daughter, Jack’s wife: “A tribute to both our Barbaras…Let’s call her Barbie.”
“Barbara Millicent Roberts–the full name they cooked up for Barbie along with the fictitious hometown of Willows, Wisconsin” was inspired by the Bild Lilli doll based on the adult risqué German comic strip character in the Bild-Zeitung tabloid. However, unlike her predecessor, the invention of Barbie “helped shape a whole new way of thinking about what girls can do, what girls can become.”
For inventor and entrepreneur Ruth Handler, “the doll was more than just a business opportunity.” She wanted Barbie to be a role model and show girls what it meant to be feminine and strong. “Barbie was supposed to deliver a new, fresh message for the next generation to grow into.” She “helped to reset the expectations and lift some of the limitations” and “unlock the imaginations of little girls. They can pretend they're grown-up, just like their doll. And they can make their Barbie do whatever they want. She can be anything they want. She can be a career girl, a fashion model, she can travel the world. She can take those girls beyond their bedroom walls” and “pave the way for young girls to explore all kinds of possibilities.”
“Barbie is certainly a mononymous figure.” The story of Barbie and Mattel is as complex and controversial as it is fascinating and “includes an ensemble cast of Barbie heroes and villains as well as a timeline spanning three decades.” “There are definitely three sides to the Barbie story: Ruth [Handler]’s, Jack [Ryan]’s, and the truth.” While Let’s Call Her Barbie is a work of fiction, it is based on the facts as Rosen found and interpreted them.
While there’s talk about a Barbie sequel, storyteller Lynn Rymarz brought her story to life through her reenactment of Ruth Handler and the Barbie story at Messenger Public Library. “One thing is certain: Barbie is evergreen.”
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