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Just Can't Get Enough: Toys, Games, and Other Stuff from the 80s that Rocked
In this fond trip down memory lane, Just Can’t Get Enough celebrates all the awesome products kids collected, begged their parents for, threw tantrums about, and obsessed over in the 1980s. From Hit Stix to Hungry, Hungry Hippos, My Little Pony to My Buddy, this book has all the toys and games that made the ’80s one of the gnarliest decades of the century.
Packed with colorful photographs and illustrations and written in an entertaining, irreverent style, Just Can’t Get Enough is filled with personal anecdotes, funny facts, and random trivia, along with special features like the Redonkulous Meter, which measures how beyond ridiculous each product truly was. Hilarious and original, this book is a must-have for anyone who ever snuggled with their Care Bear, staged epic battles between He-Man and Skeletor, played with their Lite-Brite for hours, or all of the above.
Packed with colorful photographs and illustrations and written in an entertaining, irreverent style, Just Can’t Get Enough is filled with personal anecdotes, funny facts, and random trivia, along with special features like the Redonkulous Meter, which measures how beyond ridiculous each product truly was. Hilarious and original, this book is a must-have for anyone who ever snuggled with their Care Bear, staged epic battles between He-Man and Skeletor, played with their Lite-Brite for hours, or all of the above.
216 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2007
2 people are currently reading
131 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 1, 2014
*RRRRIIIPPPPPPP*
The distinctive sound epitomises the 1980s. Velcro. This book is opened and closed from a flap held by velcro. Velcro secured shoes were hip and not purely the domain for old people. There were velcro catching discs for tennis balls. Everything was better with velcro in the 80s.
This book is just right for people like me. Kids who grew up with a greater amount of Masters of the Universe action figures than hairs on their head. People who lamented that they only had five fingers on each hand and therefore could only keep track of the last five decisions in a Choose Your Own Adventure. It was a time when toys were run purely on 9V batteries, over-sized elastic bands and no matter what it was it transformed into something else.
Matthew Robinson and Jensen Karp take us on a nostalgic journey back to our childhoods and look at a variety of toys and books that defined us, frustrated us, obsessed us and most importantly entertained us with a subsequent cartoon series. And these guys are funny. There are stories about toys not gotten, toys broken and toys causing injury. Matthew and Jenson reminisce about greats such as Care Bears, Rainbow Brite, Pogo Balls, Lite Brites, Scratch and Sniff Stickers and lots more. Along with the personal stories are the stories of what company made the item and it's influences along with some background story of the various created universes.
On M.U.S.C.L.E. Men: "A two inch pink warrior that Mom WILL let you play with."
So plenty of humour, plenty of nostalgia and plenty of plastic.
"The 1980s were a strange and wonderful time to be a child. We had it all. As a result, our generation was raised differently than any generation before. We had everything and everything was marketed toward us. We were the demographic of the decade. If you wanted to make money, all you had to do was create a fantasy-laden cartoon, come up with a few hundred action figures to go with it, slap its commercial up on TV, then sit baqck and wait for all of us to run out and buy all your toys."
The distinctive sound epitomises the 1980s. Velcro. This book is opened and closed from a flap held by velcro. Velcro secured shoes were hip and not purely the domain for old people. There were velcro catching discs for tennis balls. Everything was better with velcro in the 80s.
This book is just right for people like me. Kids who grew up with a greater amount of Masters of the Universe action figures than hairs on their head. People who lamented that they only had five fingers on each hand and therefore could only keep track of the last five decisions in a Choose Your Own Adventure. It was a time when toys were run purely on 9V batteries, over-sized elastic bands and no matter what it was it transformed into something else.
Matthew Robinson and Jensen Karp take us on a nostalgic journey back to our childhoods and look at a variety of toys and books that defined us, frustrated us, obsessed us and most importantly entertained us with a subsequent cartoon series. And these guys are funny. There are stories about toys not gotten, toys broken and toys causing injury. Matthew and Jenson reminisce about greats such as Care Bears, Rainbow Brite, Pogo Balls, Lite Brites, Scratch and Sniff Stickers and lots more. Along with the personal stories are the stories of what company made the item and it's influences along with some background story of the various created universes.
On M.U.S.C.L.E. Men: "A two inch pink warrior that Mom WILL let you play with."
So plenty of humour, plenty of nostalgia and plenty of plastic.
"The 1980s were a strange and wonderful time to be a child. We had it all. As a result, our generation was raised differently than any generation before. We had everything and everything was marketed toward us. We were the demographic of the decade. If you wanted to make money, all you had to do was create a fantasy-laden cartoon, come up with a few hundred action figures to go with it, slap its commercial up on TV, then sit baqck and wait for all of us to run out and buy all your toys."
April 7, 2021
Funny, sentimental book full of interesting facts and photos!
May 12, 2009
Two guys have a toy collection, then an art show, then this book. The result is a wispy piece of nostalgia that is great for a laugh (and ultimately, led to hours of of my husband and I combing YouTube for old cartoons and 80s commercials).
I loved the book's design (a Trapper Keeper!! covered in Scratch-N-Sniff stickers!!), the backgrounds given of each toy, the plentiful sarcasm, and the short chapters (I am a child of the 80s, after all, and therefore, have no attention span to speak of).
Both authors are male, which could have resulted in a lopsided book, but they do a good job covering all the "girl" toys, too. I suppose a female author wouldn't have overlooked certain girly toys (c'mon guys, was Jem not truly outrageous?), but I'm sure a guy could claim a ton of toys were omitted, too.
What surprised me - I didn't know that Strawberry Shortcake was more popular than She-Ra. I had both, but I was far more interested in protecting the honor of Grayskull than I was playing with a toy that smelled like my Grandma's perfume bottle. To each their own.
Favorite quotes:
"And when we say 'played with," we mean we've thrown them off of second-floor balconies, burned their arms off, or dissected them to a medical degree that would make Doogie Howser, Bunson Honeydew, Dr. Huxtable, and Dr. Feelgood rather jealous. Our toys have scuffs, missing parts, broken components, chipped paint, loose limbs, and smashed boxes. We're not here to look pretty. We're here to play."
"Velcro in the 1980s was like 3-D in the 1950s or Wilson Phillips in the 1990s; people assumed that adding it to something automatically made that thing more awesome."
I loved the book's design (a Trapper Keeper!! covered in Scratch-N-Sniff stickers!!), the backgrounds given of each toy, the plentiful sarcasm, and the short chapters (I am a child of the 80s, after all, and therefore, have no attention span to speak of).
Both authors are male, which could have resulted in a lopsided book, but they do a good job covering all the "girl" toys, too. I suppose a female author wouldn't have overlooked certain girly toys (c'mon guys, was Jem not truly outrageous?), but I'm sure a guy could claim a ton of toys were omitted, too.
What surprised me - I didn't know that Strawberry Shortcake was more popular than She-Ra. I had both, but I was far more interested in protecting the honor of Grayskull than I was playing with a toy that smelled like my Grandma's perfume bottle. To each their own.
Favorite quotes:
"And when we say 'played with," we mean we've thrown them off of second-floor balconies, burned their arms off, or dissected them to a medical degree that would make Doogie Howser, Bunson Honeydew, Dr. Huxtable, and Dr. Feelgood rather jealous. Our toys have scuffs, missing parts, broken components, chipped paint, loose limbs, and smashed boxes. We're not here to look pretty. We're here to play."
"Velcro in the 1980s was like 3-D in the 1950s or Wilson Phillips in the 1990s; people assumed that adding it to something automatically made that thing more awesome."
July 9, 2011
This was my 100th book and it was a blast of nostalgia. I was a child of the 80s and I knew 95 percent of the toys in this book and
owned a good 80 percent. From care bears to guess who, the most memorable toys
and books of the 80s are covered in depth. If you are in your late 20s to your early 30s, this book is a trip down memory lane.
owned a good 80 percent. From care bears to guess who, the most memorable toys
and books of the 80s are covered in depth. If you are in your late 20s to your early 30s, this book is a trip down memory lane.
May 4, 2010
Fun book on toys of the 80's. Written by two boys, so the girl stuff was a bit less detailed (although one of the authors admitted to LOVING the Baby-sitters Club, squeal), but still really good!
February 3, 2025
A very fun collection of some of the biggest toys/fads/books of the 80’s that gets bonus points for its Trapper-Keeper inspired Velcro cover. The writing is mostly enjoyable (it gets pretty corny at times) and each entry gets a few pages with great color photos dedicated to it. It doesn’t cover EVERY big toy of the 80’s so you might be a little disappointed to not see your favorite in the book, but it is still worth the read for all 80’s kids out there.
December 11, 2021
Fun look down memory lane. I remember some of these things from my childhood and my brother's. I liked seeing the origins of these toys and fads.
July 11, 2021
What a cute concept! A book about the 80s in the form of a classic 80s object: the Trapper Keeper, complete with a Velcro closure. I enjoyed this colorful guide as well as the commentary. The male authors, who are not much older than I am, clearly tried to balance traditionally male and female toys, but there was more of a bias towards "boy toys." They originally intended to just showcase their art and toy collections.
Traditionally boy toys include: GI Joe, Masters of the Universe, MASK, Muscle Men, Thundercats, WWF, and Transformer action figures; traditionally girl toys include: Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony, and She-Ra. Other coverage includes: Pogo Ball, Hit Sticks, scratch and Scratch N' Sniff stickers.
The full-color photo spreads and art are enjoyable. It's almost like looking through an old 80's Christmas toy catalog. Remember how satisfying that was? This book is a keeper for the nostalgic voyages to be taken again and again.
Traditionally boy toys include: GI Joe, Masters of the Universe, MASK, Muscle Men, Thundercats, WWF, and Transformer action figures; traditionally girl toys include: Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony, and She-Ra. Other coverage includes: Pogo Ball, Hit Sticks, scratch and Scratch N' Sniff stickers.
The full-color photo spreads and art are enjoyable. It's almost like looking through an old 80's Christmas toy catalog. Remember how satisfying that was? This book is a keeper for the nostalgic voyages to be taken again and again.
February 4, 2008
This book is sooo amazing for anyone who was a kid in the 80's! Between me, my sister and my husband, I think we had nearly every toy in this book. My husband and I had a great time flipping through it and reminiscing about when we were kids. I sat down and read the entire thing on Saturday afternoon. It really is laugh-out-loud funny. The authors were obviously passionate about their toys. One of the best parts about the book is that it isn't for collectors. It's for people who had the toys, played with the toys, destroyed the toys. Even the photos in the book are of toys that were obviously played with - missing pieces, chipped and worn paint, etc.
I can't wait to share it with my fellow 80's friends!
Did I mention it's shaped like a Trapper Keeper? How cool is that?!
I can't wait to share it with my fellow 80's friends!
Did I mention it's shaped like a Trapper Keeper? How cool is that?!
September 9, 2016
Fun-filled facts, recollections, and pictures of stuff children of the 1980s were obsessed with, including He-Man, Choose Your Own Adventure books, the Star Wars Ewok Village, the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark book, Garbage Pail Kids cards, Trapper Keepers, Transformers, Thundercats, Rainbow Brite, and the Baby-Sitters Club books. Brought a lot of nostalgia looking back at what we used to do for fun thirty years ago when we didn't have the internet on our phones or anywhere else.
January 13, 2008
I am probably a few years too old to really appreciate this book - it's all about toys from the 80s like He-Man, the Ewok Village, Strawberry Shortcake, etc. I appreciated the snarky writing and the unadulterated joy these guys get from their old toys. I was most blown away by the 7-foot GI Joe aircraft carrier - did anyone have one of those?
September 25, 2014
This was great fun, but could have done with being longer. Where were the Popples? And Seawees? And my personal favourite, the Wuzzles? Even without them, this book gave me major warm fuzzies and left me really missing my Lisa Frank unicorn Trapper Keeper that was covered in scratch ‘n sniff pickle stickers. Ah, the good ol’ days!
April 20, 2020
From the unique design of the book cover (which is engineered to open like a Trapper Keeper) to the imitation notebook paper background used for the pages, this book is just plain fun. Pure 80s nostalgia, written in a lighthearted style by two authors who obviously has a lot of affection for the decade.
Did I like it? Totally.
Would I reread it? For sure.
Would I recommend it? Most definitely.
Did I like it? Totally.
Would I reread it? For sure.
Would I recommend it? Most definitely.
June 10, 2017
A quick, light, fun little read that made me chuckle out loud a couple of times. I thought G.I. Joe was a bit under represented especially compared to Transformers, but I suppose that is just their favorite vs mine.
February 13, 2016
Such an amazing trip down memory lane.
I found myself laughing out loud and even occassionally exclaiming "I did that too!" or "I know, right?" even though I was reading by myself.
Definitely worth every dollar.
I found myself laughing out loud and even occassionally exclaiming "I did that too!" or "I know, right?" even though I was reading by myself.
Definitely worth every dollar.
January 22, 2010
Nicely illustrated and provides a good overview of cartoons from the 1980s, including Rainbow Brite ;)))
November 13, 2011
Anyone who grew up in the 80s has to read this book! For the nostalgia alone it's worth at least 4 stars. But then the format is super original, and the writing is funny and interesting.
January 26, 2013
A cool blast from the past.
March 13, 2013
Great package design, clever layout, but alas, I think I'm a decade too old to get excited about the drek of the 1980s. The drek of the 1970s? NOW you're talking!
May 11, 2015
Funny, but should've been longer--many more 80's items could've been covered in this book!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews