We are often surprised how spoiled modern kids are, how many toys they have and don’t appreciate them (and prefer a tablet most of all). Well, Soviet kids didn’t have such a luxurious life, so they sometimes had to entertain themselves by making toys themselves - including from the most available materials. In Russia, it was the potato.
So, parenthood can still be cheap, if you use life hacks from this 1931 illustrated book by A. Fedulov and Molodaya Gvardiya (Young Guard) publications.
The book has 11 pages showing different toys that you can make from potatoes. Just look how creative they are!
The book also has a brief instruction on how to make all the toys: “You can make all those toys from potatoes. Pick the appropriate ones and wash them carefully. Cut them and carve them with the knife as shown. You can make arms, legs, necks and tales from matches or sticks. You can fasten potatoes together using matches, too.”
The same year, A. Fedulov released a second part of the book called ‘The precocious handmade’, where he features another nine pages of potato toys.
Both books have been digitized and uploaded online and are available on the huge National Children Library online archive. To see the whole first book, click here and here for the sequel.
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