"The war takes away toys made of rubber and steel and plastics, toys made by machines and men needed for making urgent war supplies. The war sometimes means moving families into cramped quarters that make adequate play space hard to find. The war takes away fathers and makes mothers find extra work outside the home. In time of war it takes thought and careful planing by parents to see that children's needs are met as well as conditions will allow."

Suggestions for parents on how to make simple toys for children from babies to teenagers, using the materials they could still obtain during the Second World War in the US. Many of the ideas involve salvaging or recycling materials.

Contents include:
Toys for feeling, chewing, seeing, listening -- Blocks and building materials -- Gourds -- Things to pull -- Transportation toys -- Toys for war play -- Things to string -- Drawing, painting, writing -- Cutting and pasting -- Modeling and carving -- Weaving and braiding -- Dolls and doll houses -- Dressing up -- Sand, gravel, pebbles -- Water play -- Soap bubbles -- Stilts -- Kites -- Natural objects -- Work bench and tools -- Keeping toys -- Paints, pigments and dye