Toy of the Year, Toy of the Century, Greatest Toy of All Time . . . there aren't many titles that haven’t been bestowed on LEGO toys, and it’s not hard to see why. From its inception in the early 1930s right up until today, the LEGO Group’s history is as colorful as the toys it makes. Few other playthings share the LEGO brand’s creative spirit, educative benefits, resilience, quality, and universal appeal. The LEGO name is now synonymous with playtime, but it wasn’t always so. This history charts the birth of the LEGO Group in the workshop of a Danish carpenter and its steady growth as a small, family-run toy manufacturer to its current position as a market-leading, award-winning brand. The company’s ever-increasing catalogof products—including the earliest wooden toys, plastic bricks, play themes, and other building systems such as DUPLO, Technic, and MINDSTORMS—are chronicled in detail, alongside the manufacturing process, LEGOLAND parks, licensed toys, and computer games. Learn all about how LEGO pulled itself out of an economic crisis and embraced technology to make building blocks relevant to twenty-first-century children and discover the vibrant fan community of kids and adults whose conventions, websites, and artwork keep the LEGO spirit alive. As nostalgic as it is contemporary, A Million Little Bricks will have you reminiscing about old Classic Space sets, rummaging through the attic for forgotten Minifigure friends, and playing with whatever LEGO bricks you can get your hands on (even if it means sharing with your kids).

The LEGO Group's history is as colorful as the toys it makes. This history charts the birth of the LEGO Group in the workshop of a Danish carpenter and its steady growth as a small, family-run toy manufacturer to its current position as a market-leading, award-winning brand.

Sarah Herman has brought together some of the world's most ambitious builders in a fact-filled showcase of truly mind-blowing models for this exciting illustrated book that will delight all AFOLs (adult fans of LEGO).

An adult LEGO fan's dual quest: to build with bricks and build a family There are 62 LEGO bricks for every person in the world, and at age 30, Jonathan Bender realized that he didn't have a single one of them. While reconsidering his childhood dream of becoming a master model builder for The LEGO Group, he discovers the men and women who are skewing the averages with collections of hundreds of thousands of LEGO bricks. What is it about the ubiquitous, brightly colored toys that makes them so hard for everyone to put down? In search of answers and adventure, Jonathan Bender sets out to explore the quirky world of adult fans of LEGO (AFOLs) while becoming a builder himself. As he participates in challenges at fan conventions, searches for the largest private collection in the United States, and visits LEGO headquarters (where he was allowed into the top secret set vault), he finds his LEGO journey twinned with a second creative endeavor—to have a child. His two worlds intertwine as he awaits the outcome: Will he win a build competition or bring a new fan of LEGO into the world? Like every really good love story, this one has surprises—and a happy ending. Explores the world of adult fans of LEGO, from rediscovering the childhood joys of building with LEGO to evaluating LEGO's place in culture and art Takes an inside look at LEGO conventions, community taboos, and build challenges and goes behind-the-scenes at LEGO headquarters and LEGOLAND Tells a warm and personal story about the attempt to build with LEGO and build a family Whether you're an avid LEGO freak or a onetime fan who now shares LEGO bricks with your children, this book will appeal to the inner builder in you and reignite a love for all things LEGO.

Explore four of Shakespeare’s comedies like never before—with LEGO bricks! This book presents Shakespeare’s most delightful comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Tempest, in one thousand amazing color photographs. This unique adaptation of the world’s most famous plays stays true to Shakespeare’s original text, while giving audiences an exciting new perspective as the stories are retold with the universally beloved construction toy. Get caught up in hilarious misadventures as brick Puck leads the lovers astray through the brick forests of Athens. Watch Cupid kill with traps in the plot to marry Beatrice and Benedict. Marvel at the changing disguises of the men vying for brick Bianca’s affections, and feel the churn of the ocean as Prospero sinks his brother’s ship into the brick sea. These iconic stories jump off the page with fun, creative sets built brick by brick, scene by scene! This incredible method of storytelling gives new life to Shakespeare’s masterpieces. With an abridged form that maintains original Shakespearean language and modern visuals, this ode to the Bard is sure to please all audiences, from the most versed Shakespeare enthusiasts to young students and newcomers alike!

Cinderella, the almighty Zeus, and LEGO? Respectively, Brick Fairy Tales and Brick Greek Myths were both huge hits. Now, for the first time, both of these books are available in a beautiful box set with two thousand full-color photographs depicting your favorite fairy-tale characters and the almighty gods of Mount Olympus. First, enter the magical world of fairy tales retold through LEGO bricks with Brick Fairy Tales. Filled with creative and whimsical settings built from this universally celebrated toy, the book presents an all-new retelling of the original Grimm’s fairy tales of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Hansel and Gretel, and more! Watch the clock strike twelve as Cinderella leaves her glass slipper behind at the ball, and see just how long brick Rapunzel’s hair can grow as she waits in her tower. Then, venture to Mount Olympus and meet the Greek gods as you have never seen them before in Brick Greek Myths. Watch Athena spring from the head of Zeus, and see Poseidon as he rules the seas with his mighty trident. Maintain hope with Pandora as her curiosity gets the best of her, and beware the Nemean lion as Hercules repents for his misdeeds. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

A counting book that leads readers through a day in the life of a construction worker building with bricks.

The phenomenal growth of the media and entertainment industries has contributed to a fragmented approach to intellectual property rights. Written by a range of experts in the field, this Handbook deals with contemporary aspects of intellectual property law (IP), and examines how they relate to different facets of media and entertainment.

Enter the magical world of fairy tales retold through LEGO bricks! Filled with creative and whimsical settings built from this universally celebrated toy, this book presents an all-new retelling of the original Grimm’s fairy tales of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Hansel and Gretel, and more! With one thousand color photographs, this inspired adaptation uses intricately designed brick sets to present some of the most cherished and widely told stories of all time. Watch the clock strike twelve as Cinderella leaves her glass slipper behind at the ball, and see just how long brick Rapunzel’s hair can grow as she waits in her tower. Watch the seven dwarfs plot against the evil Queen and her brick looking glass, and try to find your way home with Hansel’s path of brick breadcrumbs. This imaginative take on these age-old fairy tales maintains the authentic text of the Grimm classics but shines a creative new light with fun brick construction! Fairy tales in brick will be a welcome addition to your picture book collection, bringing a creative twist to readers both young and old. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Since the "Automatic Binding Bricks" that LEGO produced in 1949, and the LEGO "System of Play" that began with the release of Town Plan No. 1 (1955), LEGO bricks have gone on to become a global phenomenon, and the favorite building toy of children, as well as many an AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO). LEGO has also become a medium into which a wide number of media franchises, including Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Batman, Superman, Lord of the Rings, and others, have adapted their characters, vehicles, props, and settings. The LEGO Group itself has become a multimedia empire, including LEGO books, movies, television shows, video games, board games, comic books, theme parks, magazines, and even MMORPGs. LEGO Studies: Examining the Building Blocks of a Transmedial Phenomenon is the first collection to examine LEGO as both a medium into which other franchises can be adapted and a transmedial franchise of its own. Although each essay looks at a particular aspect of the LEGO phenomenon, topics such as adaptation, representation, paratexts, franchises, and interactivity intersect throughout these essays, proposing that the study of LEGO as a medium and a media empire is a rich vein barely touched upon in Media Studies.