Aesthetically I am not a fan of plastics. As materials go, I feel plastic turns to waste quickly and is typically not made to last. I have made a few exceptions over the years as I could not imagine a future where my son didn’t have Legos to modify design and Magnatiles to house his imagination. Batteries have also been on the list of toys that entertain vs. toys that educate. It follows that plastic toys with batteries are most likely to end up on the do not buy list. I’ve made an allowance: Electronic Snap Circuits.
Category Archives: Children
Boo Hoo Bird
Another wonderful book by Jeremy Tankard. I love this Bird. On this day in Bird’s life he is playing catch with Raccoon and accidentally gets bonked on the head with the ball. Even though it was an accident, much drama ensues. Raccoon takes him to each one of his friends to try and get him to feel better but nothing works. Not a kiss from Raccoon:(my daughters favorite illustration… she laughs and points it out to me every single time), or a hug from Rabbit, or a cookie from Beaver, a game from Sheep or a bandaid from Fox will do the trick. Bird’s friends are sad because they can’t seem to help Bird feel better. When Bird sees that his friends are now sad he realizes that he’s over it. Unfortunately no one can hear him because now THEY are crying. Bird finally stands on his head to show them he is allright and his friends stand on their heads too. After that Bird says “let’s play catch”. There is a little twist at the end that’s very funny. What I love about this book is that although the illustrations and characters are whimsical, the situations and the way the characters interact are all too real. Children and adults will be able to see themselves in this story and it never hurts to be reminded that if we let ourselves get too wrapped up in the drama, we will fail to see the truth staring us in the face.
Grumpy Bird
I love this book. The illustrations are colorful and imaginative. The prose has a wonderful message about friendship. In a nutshell, Bird wakes up on the wrong side of the bed, or nest I suppose. He is so grumpy that he’s “too grumpy to fly”. So he walks. As he is walking he runs into his friends and one by one they join him on his walk. He tries to ignore them but their joy is catching and by the end he has forgotten all about being grumpy. This book is so much fun to read for me and the illstrations never fail to crack my daughter up.
The Cat Who Walked Across France
This is a lovely book about Love and Loss and Home. The illustrations, as always, are gorgeous. Kate Banks’ books often read more like poetry and each page makes one want to linger and discuss what’s unsaid on that page and what the words mean. Depending on your child, this book might be better for an older child, maybe 4–8 because in beginning the old woman dies and we spent time when my daughter was 4 talking a little about what death means. It’s not scary it’s just a fact of life. This story is also about strength and perseverance through difficult times. Once again this team delivers a heartwarming story that can be read again and again.
Blockus
Recently the kid and I got into playing Blockus. We have the two player travel version, though there are also bigger and multi-player versions. I personally like the travel size and have taken it with us on family trips. This summer we took it backpacking, as it was light and everyone can play it from my son to his grandparents. My five year old plays a very different game from my father, and therein lies the fun. The object of the game is to place all your pieces on the board. Within the game you must use strategic planning, as well as economy of space. That said, you can also just put pieces down (for the younger set) and at the very least it enhances fine motor skills in placing the piece. It also encourages understanding of spacial relationships as all the pieces are different shapes. There is one drawback, in that the game cannot be played if a piece gets lost. In fact, we lost a piece. Here’s the good news; I called Mattel and surprise! an operator answered the phone right away and gasp! I was transferred to the right department immediately and faint! Mattel sent me the missing piece immediately, no charge. Pretty cool.
If…
If… is an extremely original book that never fails to spark creativity and thought. Each page is a “what if”, such as, what if cats could fly. Accompanying the “If” is a lovely illustration of cats with wings. Then there are more disturbing Ifs like “If mice were hair” or “If toes were teeth” and beautiful Ifs like “If music could be held”. Ever since our first reading my daughter will turn to me out of the blue somewhere and say “I have another one for the if book!”. We have started keeping a log of her ideas and, because she loves to draw, she has now started illustrating some of the Ifs herself. Example: If (tree) bark were chocolate. If ears were flowers and flowers were ears. Sometimes what she comes up with makes absolutely no sense and that’s okay too. If I have one complaint it’s the quality of the art. I can’t tell if it is the printing or the original but, especially for a children’s book, it’s a bit drab. I would think Getty could do better but it’s still better than 90% of what’s out there.
Close Your Eyes
This wonderful book by Kate Banks and illustrated by Georg Hallensleben is one of our all-time favorite books. I have been reading it to my daughter since she was 18 months old and she is now 5 1/2. The illustrations are so beautiful and sweet. The prose is calming and reassuring and I think it goes without saying that I am 100% behind any book that promotes SLEEP!
Puzzle Roll Up Mat
Yesterday my son and his friend were working on a 100 piece puzzle. Monsters! (It’s a great puzzle.) Anyway they were running out of time on their play date and it was causing them quite a bit of anxiety because they didn’t want to leave the puzzle half finished. “We can’t leave now! Our puzzle isn’t done! Don’t move it for the week, o.k.? Promise?”
If only I had this and our problems would have been solved. It’s a mat on which you work your puzzles, and if not quite finished, roll it up for next time. Genius!
Handy Card Holder
For months we have been trying as a family to play card games. And, for months my five year old ends up annoyed and upset because he has a hard time holding all the cards in his hand in a fan shape. His solution was to lay them on the table, and then accuse us of cheating by looking at his cards. Then, as though somehow cosmically linked to her grandson, my mom sends this. A card holder that allows him to stack as many as fifteen or more cards on this disk he can hold with one hand. I see there are others on the market and have not tried them. This one is remarkably easy to use as far as adding and removing cards, and seems to be quite sturdy. My son is now an official card shark.
Connectagons
Now that my son is five, I try hard to keep my living room a sanctuary of peace. Sure we have the occasional tent city made from couch cushions and legos under the T.V. console, but we try to retain a sense of order after the kid goes to sleep. We clean up. We straighten, organize, and put away. Connectagons are the one toy I might consider leaving out. They are beautiful sculptures no matter what shape they end up becoming. There are many different styles, seen here and here, and I am featuring a homemade picture of the butterfly version. They make for a lovely gift for any age. I’ve seen two year olds mastering fine motor skills just working to put two pieces together. For the older children, the fun comes from balancing as you build. No matter if the structure topples. A new perspective is seen in the new sculpture and shape.