Refuse, Realism, Retelling

Abstract

The world that the Fisher Price toy company has created for its Little People—small plastic figures designed so that two- to five-year-olds might engage in “imaginative play”—includes many familiar aspects of American life: a mechanic’s garage, an airplane, a school bus, and a family home. One anomaly in the mostly modern collection is the Noah’s ark set, which includes one boat, two elephants, two lions, two zebras, and one bearded Noah, in tunic and sandals, carrying a staff on which is perched a dove. Yet Noah and his menagerie are somehow consonant with the Little People universe. The imaginative player who chooses to combine his playsets can introduce the ancient patriarch to modern amenities: Noah fits in the seats of the garage’s cars, the airplane, and the school bus. He can also be made to sit, quite comfortably, on the toilet on the second floor of the dollhouse—no doubt a relief, as the Little People ark has no facilities.