The Toy Book Top 10: The Hottest Stories of April 2022

It’s officially May, so the Toy Book Top 10 is hitting the rewind button and taking a look back at some of the hottest stories of April, as chosen by you, the readers.

Four months into the year, our 2022 BIG Book is still a must-read for those interested in the toy industry, and while it technically secured a slot within the Top 10, only news that was published in April qualifies for an official designation. That means that other top reads for the month from Funko, Burger King, and He-Man didn’t make the list despite their traffic.

With that in mind, the “big two” — the East Coast/West Coast rivals of Hasbro and Mattel — absolutely dominated the most-read items here at the Toy Book last month.

Bonus: Check out “Declassiying G.I. Joe: A Roundtable with Hasbro” at our sister publication, the Pop Insider.

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About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.