Sasha's dad has cool job, but pals will marvel at Uglydoll
If Sasha Obama thought bringing her Uglydoll along on her first day of school would win points with her classmates, she was probably right: kids think they're cool.
The creatures were born in 2001, when illustrator David Horvath wrote his girlfriend in South Korea a love letter, ending it with a sketch of an orange, snaggle-toothed blob wearing an apron. Sun-Min Kim sent him back a plush doll based on the drawing.
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The Uglydoll family
Today, more than 1 million Uglydolls have been sold in specialty shops and high-end retailers worldwide for about $20. "They're for people who want something not produced by the big toy companies,'' said Kirby Kerr, owner of toy store Rotofugi, 1953 W. Chicago.
Today, there are some two dozen Uglydolls, each with its own backstory, plus a line of books and clothing.
Fans, who are said to like them because they look "vulnerable," are enthusiastic: Just hours after photos of Sasha carrying the cookie-munching "Babo's Bird" appeared on the Web Monday, the news was posted on an Uglydoll blog.
"Good taste!" one blogger wrote.