Have you seen my Peek-a-Pooh?

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We’re only two weeks into the new school year and life has been defined for many kids by the latest craze. Many remember Pet Rocks, Cabbage Patch Dolls and GameBoys. This year, the Peek-a-Pooh, a tiny rubber Winnie-the-Pooh character attached to a small string, is the must-have item for the elementary school set.  Ingeniously sold at $1 each out of a vending maching, the trick is “buy the entire collection.” Of course, they are all “collectible.”

For the last 72 hours, every third sentence out of my daughter’s mouth has been about Peek-a-Poohs: Where to get them, how to collect them, why you shouldn’t trade them (some kids put them in their mouths), and, of course, WHEN WHEN WHEN can we get to the store to buy them.

Curse Walt Disney for making such a tiny, tiny instrument of torture.

Happily, less than a week into the fad, our school put the hammer down. A school assembly was called to caution everyone on the dangers of Peek-a-Poohs and to reaffirm the no-toys-at-school policy. Sometimes, it’s nice for someone else to exert authority and crack down. I’m just hoping that the rules against them don’t make them even more enticing to my little kids so unused to wages of envy and greed.

While this is new to our house, perhaps you’ve already seen the phenomomen come and go. If so, please add your thoughts in the comments section. 

For more information, see the following press release from July 2006 from the manufacturer:

Newport Beach, CA – TYC couldn’t be more pleased with the instant success of the Peek-a-Pooh Figure Collections number 1 and 2. Since being introduced in October of 2004 the Peek-a-Pooh Figures have become one of the best selling items and most sought after item to every hit the TYC product line up. Peek-a-Pooh is so fashionable in Europe, known there as Winnie the Pooh Animal Wear; even a European Princess was spotted with one dangling off of her cell phone; and in Japan & Asia the Animal Wear collections are so trendy, they are already on series #10! The popularity and demand for Peek-a-Pooh in North America is no doubt following the footsteps of Europe, Japan, and Asia!

TYC presents the third Peek-A-Pooh Figure Collection consisting of 8 new figures: Horse Pooh, Blue Dolphin Pooh, Squirrel Pooh, Rooster Pooh, Pink Dolphin Pooh, Ladybug Pooh, Seal Pooh, and Sheep Pooh. The interchangeable ABS Pooh figures come with five different facial expressions and each fit snuggly in the variety of adorable rubber animal suits. Extending from each Peek-A-Pooh figure is a string that has been most popularly used to attach them to cell phones. Girls also love to dangle the figures from the zippers of purses and backpacks. The Peek-a-Pooh product line is designed to vend at a suggested $1.00 price point, in 2 inch capsules.