Monica Yant Kinney | In the world of U.S. toys, China is a superpower

While officials from Mattel and the Consumer Product Safety Commission got grilled by Congress last week, I went shopping with a $10,000 credit limit and a question:

Is it possible to find any toys not made in China these days? And if so, is the non-Chinese, supposedly safe stuff anything that any kid would want?

In the parking lot of the Toys R Us in Langhorne, I spy Craig Voit. Any man with an American flag, a bald eagle and USA airbrushed on his white Ford F-150 pickup would be all over the made-in-China toxic toy crisis, right?

"Huh?" Voit says when I ask if he knows or cares where the item he just bought was made.

Voit reaches into a bag to show me the XPV 2.0 Shadow Hawk airplane he got for a buddy's 5-year-old kid.

"Made in China," the Penndel man reads on the back of the box, without a hint of concern. "I never thought about it."

Lucky him. Every mom I know is sweating over all the recalled toys she has had to throw away and freaking out about the potentially contaminated items the wee ones want for Christmas.

Mattel alone has recalled 21 million toys. While my daughter Jane was sleeping, we tossed a red caboose, a boxcar and a stop sign from a Thomas and Friends train set she adores.

Luckily, our Sing With Elmo Greatest Hits is a 2004 model. The new ones come coated in lead paint, the better for warping baby's brain.

Every story I've read says 80 percent of all playthings come from China. So shouldn't that mean two of every 10 items I pick up are made somewhere else?

Inside the superstore, I push the cart to the first rack, where a You and Me Doctor Visit Doll is on sale for $9.99.

The doll comes with a stethoscope, a thermometer, and "everything you need to keep baby healthy," except for a lead-testing kit. Too bad, since it was made in China.

Ditto for the Barbie Jukebox Karaoke Player below it. And the Little People Lil' Movers School Bus on the next shelf.

We own that one, too. Ten toys in, all of them Chinese. Some odds.

Big L Ranch Original Lincoln Logs are a $29.99 American classic made in China. So is Tonka's Mighty Fire Truck. And the Minnie Mouse Funkey Flashing Key Ring.

Both the Go Diego Go Talking Doodle Pro and Dora Floating Island Bathtime Adventure were Hecho en Chine. (Ay, caramba!)

Even the America's Original Dubble Bubble Gumball Bank is living the lie, since it, too, was made in China. Chew on that the next time you pop a piece.

In the preschool section, I meet Kelly Hinshaw, a Bensalem mother of three.

She's shopping with her youngest, Connor, allowing him to pick his birthday present. He will turn 2 at the end of the month.

"It's just too much to think about," Hinshaw confesses after I ask about the Song Magic Plastic Guitar the toddler is clutching.

It was made in China, naturally. Just like the Shake-n-Bubbles Fire Engine Racer that's his second choice.

"Anything that lights up" is probably suspect, Hinshaw reasons.

The more desirable the item, the more likely it came from afar.

"We're trusting the manufacturers," she says, skeptically. "We thought we were safe before 9/11, too."

In the game aisle, I learn that Monopoly boards are born in the U.S.A., but all those houses and hotels - that is, what kids put in their mouth - are not. Great.

Even Melissa & Doug, makers of beloved wooden puzzles with an old-timey feel, have succumbed.

But so has Radio Flyer, which has churned out its iconic red wagons and trikes in China for years.

Two hours later, I have touched dozens of toys and am more dubious than ever.

I found Moon Sand from Sweden (but "assembled in China") and a $99 Leap Frog Explorer Smart Globe from Mexico.

Hot Wheels says its cars hail from China, Malaysia or Thailand. How reassuring. The 2007 Holiday Barbie is Indonesian.

Jane isn't into baseball cards, and she doesn't need any more Crayola crayons, even if those are among the only items I spy that were made in the U.S.A.

I spend $2.10 on two packages of Tree House Kids construction paper and call it a day.