Littlest Pet Shop

Littlest Pet Shop Toys Give Kids Animal Pals

The Littlest Pet Shop toy franchise has been going strong for over two decades. Since Hasbro first introduced the toys in 1990, over 3,000 different pets were created and sold to countless children from shops like Mr Toys.

This classic toy is really more like a play set, and usually features a small plastic animal plus several accessories including a bed, cage, or other home, as well as pet toys like bones, balls, food dishes, etc. In other words, everything you would need to care for a real pet is included in the sets. This makes for hours of engaging play that just might help silence those constant demands for a real live pet.

Over the years, almost every type of pet you can think of has been offered, from the traditional dogs, cats, birds, bunnies, gerbils, and hamsters, to more exotic pets like tigers, chimps, polar bears, and penguins.

Many of the pets had moving parts and interactive features. For example, some of the dogs would raise a paw for a shake when you pressed their tail. Magnets were used in many of the Littlest Pet Shop play sets, so that kids could make the gerbils run through their tunnels or the kittens chase a toy mouse on a string.

More recently the Littlest Pet Shop toy franchise got a reboot, with the pets taking on more of a cutesy look via oversized heads. Plush pet dolls and online pets were added to the product line, giving kids even more ways to play.