Barbie play with paper dolls, and noticed that she often enjoyed giving them adult roles. At the time, most children's toy dolls were representations of infants. Realizing that there could be a gap in the market, Handler suggested the idea of an adult-bodied doll to her husband Elliot, a co-founder of the Mattel toy company. He was unenthusiastic about the idea, as were Mattel's directors. During a trip to Europe in 1956 with her children Barbara and Kenneth, Ruth Handler came across a German toy doll called Bild Lilli. The adult-figured doll was exactly what Handler had in mind, so she
Ellen Handler Spitz Magazine, taught art history and studio art to children and adolescents in Providence, Rhode Island and New York, where she was elected to membership in the Mamaroneck Artists Guild and exhibited woodcuts and drawings; she also performed with The Potpourri Dancers, a modern dance company based in Croton-on-Hudson. Ellen Handler Spitz was married on April 29, 2018 to R. Howard Bloch, Sterling Professor of French at Yale University. She divides her time between Manhattan and Hamden, Connecticut. Her website is: http://www.ellenhandlerspitz.net Ellen Handler Spitz Ellen Handler Spitz is an American writer and academic noted for her expertise on children, psychology,