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From dolls to CD-ROMs, holiday gifts come in shades of brown

IT's the last Christmas of the century and unlike the first, there are brown books, games, puzzles and dolls for children who thirst. Today, unlike Christmas 1899, Black heritage toys are not just a dream, and there are even Black CD-ROMs for the computer screen.

African-American children leaving the 19th century could scarcely imagine they would have playtime, much less toys that looked like them. But today's space-age children are entering the 21st century with unlimited opportunity and toys that celebrate their heritage.

Toy choices for little girls have expanded from the traditional baby doll to include a variety of offerings. A brightly colored girl's diary celebrating friendship is offered by the Oakland, Frederick Douglass Designs, an African-American, family-owned company. The diary contains scripture messages and also has a lock and key to ensure that a little girl's secret thoughts remain her own.

Little girls still love to serve tea, and now African-American girls can have their own tea set. Washington, .-based Mind Design, an African-American creative products company, produces its "Fun for Two" porcelain tea set. Designed for girls from 3 to 12 years old, the tea net can be passed down from generation to generation.

Speaking or generations, Mattel is debuting a new African-American doll, Nichelle. One of the new Generation Girls series, Nichelle is an African-American doll who is an aspiring model headed to New York. The company also is celebrating both the coming millennium and Barbie doll's 40th anniversary with African-American versions of its 40th anniversary Barbie and Millennium Princess Barbie.

Brown baby dolls still remain popular gift items, and this year Hasbro has the McDonaldland Birthday Girl doll that lets girls pretend it's a birthday party at their favorite restaurant. Mattel's Make-Up Pretty Susie doll is based on the only African-American character on the Nickelodeon program, Rugrats.

Sugar and spice goes high-tech with gadgets from Girl Tech. Older girls might enjoy the company's line of technology-based gadgets for girls that use voice recognition, infrared light and motion detection. Password Journal is a nontraditional diary that only opens when it recognizes the password as spoken by the owner.

Little brothers who are busy with their own toys might be too busy to bother big sisters. Toys for boys are action-packed in 1999. The Mighty Omega Man, the first African-American action figure produced by an African-American independent Black comic book company, continues his crime-fighting adventures. The Omega 7 Comics of Kansas City, Kan., also produces comics and a limited edition Omega Man watch.

History-minded parents will enjoy the replica of the cap worn by the famous 54th Massachusetts, the first Northern regiment of free African-Americans mustered into the Union army during the Civil War. The cap is the second in the "CAPtive Readers" series--a collection of history-inspired headwear paired with oversized laminated bookmarks--created by Milwaukee-based Round Robin, an African-American company. The cap has been awarded the Parents Choice Recommended Seal.

The classic . Joe action figure celebrates his 35th birthday this year with 22 new 12-inch figures. Among the highlights are a female African-American Vietnam War nurse, and a male police officer and firefighter. African-American sports figures are also highlighted in five-inch figures featuring articulated movement so kids can make the big plays with their Favorite top professional athletes. Among the many superstars featured are baseball player Sammy Sosa and football players Randall Cunningham, Nell Smith and Deion Sanders.

Reaching for the stars will be easier this year with the action-figure assortment based on the movie Star Wars, Episode I The Phantom Menace. Samuel L. Jackson's character, Mace Windu, is among the new figures that come with a patented audio microchip that lets the action figure actually talk. Other hot toys for boys include Patch Products Inc.'s Light Tracker products, the Soccer Ball, Turbine football and Midnight Hoopball set--all glow in the dark for endless, evening games; Matchbox by Mattel offers the Mega High Powered Space Station and Deep Sea Explorer and Millennium Rigs; Hasbro continues its Batman action-figure collections with the new Batman Adventures along with the new Pokemon toy craze, which is sweeping the country. Hasbro has a whole Pokemon toy line from micro playsets to Power Bouncers to cuddly plush items.

African-American parents seeking a diverse collection of books, games and videos might turn to Colorful World, the Burke, African-American mail-order catalogue business for parents, educators and others. Featured this year is a CD-ROM software, "Africa, The Mother of Civilization," the Black Americans of Achievement board game, and many video and audio tapes. Among popular book choices this year are Kevin and His Dad, A Band of Angels, Grandpa, is Everything Black Bad? Cherish Me and Something Beautiful. The company also features Amazing Grace Paper dolls and the African-American Figures of History Giant Floor Puzzle.

Philadelphia-based WB Adams Puzzles & Games--the country's largest African-American-owned puzzle manufacturer--is adding a challenging 500-piece puzzle by artist Synthia Saint James to its line of puzzles. Adams also features the artwork of Brenda Joysmith in 300-piece puzzles as well as the Kwanzaa postage stamp.

Kwanzaa Holiday Bingo, a game to learn about Kwanzaa's principles and purpose, is offered by Washington, .-based ..O. Works. Electronic games are now part of every child's standard tare with Sony Playstation and Sega Dreamcast touting new offerings, Hasbro's Ballzerko Electronic handheld game is an electronic twist on the pinball maze games, and the Bop It craze continues with a new enhanced version, Bop It Extreme, to challenge players with spoken and musical commands. CD-ROM computer games are popular this year. Popular ones by Hasbro are Trivial Pursuit, Atari Arcade, eMail Games/Scrabble, Tonka Raceway, Tonka Workshop and Monopoly Jr.

Preschoolers don't have to feel left out when the games begin. A new line of preschool games by Hasbro encourages parents to spend meaningful and constructive time together with their preschooler. Sonny the Seal Ring Toss game, Clue Jr. and the Mr. Potato Head game are all set up with simple-to-understand rules.

Plush toys that are popular with the under-5-year-old set sing, giggle, walk and talk. Fisher-Price's hot new interactive toys for the holiday season include Chat Pals and a barrage of sing 'n giggle Winnie the Pooh toys. Rock & Roll Elmo and Ernie by Fisher-Price's Sesame Street toys will have children rockin' throughout the holidays. Magic Talking Kermit the Frog is a limited edition toy in honor of Sesame Street's 30th anniversary.

Disney Toys by Fisher-Price offers a Walk 'n Wag Baby Pluto and a Dreamtime Carousel for infants that attaches to the sides of the crib to entertain the baby dining the daytime and to play soothing music to lull the baby to sleep at bedtime.

The Blues Clues phenomenon continues this holiday season. Based on a popular Nickelodeon children's television show, this year Fisher-Price offers Goodnight Blue, featuring the popular character and a talking storybook.

From toddlers to teens, this year's wide selection of African-American heritage toys won't leave Black parents blue in the new millennium.