Family Room

Turn your iPhone into a wand! There's a new Harry Potter app out now called "Spells," which lets you join a Hogwarts school, learn spells (from Stupefy to Expelliarmus), and duel with other "students" (via wifi or Bluetooth).

Wimpy Kid zombie parody. Publishers Weekly is calling this graphic-novel parody of the Wimpy Kid books "lightning in a bottle." Tales from the Crypt #8: Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid has apparently gone back for its second and third printing.

"Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical." School Library Journal talks to Mo Willems about his Knuffle Bunny series, and especially the upcoming musical appearing in the Kennedy Center's 2010 season. ("The Kennedy Center was foolish enough to let me write the script and song lyrics, although they did give me a fantastic dramaturg named Megan Alrutz to help me focus on the emotional through line of the story instead of spending all my time figuring out the giant puppet man-eating brassiere.")

2009 Winter Blog Blast Tour. Chasing Ray sponsored and scheduled last week's 2009 Winter Blog Blast Tour, a ton of author interviews across a smattering of great blogs. If you missed it, go back and check it out.

PBS Booklights' Thursday Three: Thanksgiving. Hopefully Pam gets to take *next* Thursday off, but last week she was kind enough to serve up some seasonal selections, with three picks for Turkey Day: Thanksgiving in the White House by Gary Hines, This Is the Turkey by Abby Levine, and ’Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by good ol' Dav Pilkey ("The book is blunt at times about the fate of these birds, but always funny, especially when the kids leave the farm considerably fatter and with feathers sticking out from their coats.").

A middle-grade H1N1 novel. Wha? It's true: Publishers Weekly has the story on Finn Reeder, Flu Fighter, a new novel about a 13-year-old coping with the pandemic. ("Somehow, he survives infection. As their class size dwindles, Finn and his friend Amy face down the school bully, draw comics, catch the principal ordering pizza, and even manage to study once in a while. And when finally, Finn is the lone student remaining in school, he manages to win—and lose—the most intense game of solo dodge ball ever.") You can download it for free before the January 1 release date.

"Hollywood Takes a Closer Look at Picture Books." In which we learn, among other things, that there's going to be a Where's Waldo? movie(!).

Jason Schwartzman interview. Speaking of Hollywood, Jason Schwartzman (currently Ash in the Fantastic Mr. Fox, based on the book by Roald Dahl) was just interviewed by ReadKiddoRead, about his favorite books as a kid:

(via Fuse #8) --Paul

enough said.

1.  The Chemistry Set - Nothing better than a chemistry set to inspire the next generation of cancer fighters and inventors of just about everything. Here are a few good ones.

Thames and Kosmos The Dangerous Book for Boys Chemistry Set

Scientific Explorer's My 1st Science Kit - The Science of Color

2. Robots- Every geek needs a robot, a friend, a compadre, someone to bring them another Jolt cola...  Here are a couple we like.

Pleo Dinosaur - A UGOBE Life Form

3. A building set - It is well known that nerds love to build stuff.  Future engineers need the tools to get started.  Here are a few sets we love.

Eitech Deluxe Solar Powered Metal Building Kit

Toobeez 57-Piece Building Kit

4. Stuffed Creatures- Even nerds need something to hug.  Correct?

Giant Microbes

Bunk Bots

5. Math Games - Playing is the best way for children to learn so why not play with numbers?  Math games can be fun, educational, geeky-goodness.

Sum Swamp Addition and Subtraction Game

Learning Resources Totally Tut Math Operations Game

Learning Mates Monkey Math

Mythmatical Battles Norse/Egyptian Double Deck Set

6. Electric Circuit Toys - These toys are great for safely exploring electricity (and keeping young explorers from tearing up the walls to explore your home's electrical network).

Snap Circuits SC-300

Snap Circuits RC Rover

I hope this list helps my fellow nerds to buy some awesome presents this year.  I am sure I forgot some nerd-o-rific gifts, so help me out and leave me a comment with suggestions.  Also, don't forget to check out our Holiday Toy List for all kinds of great gift ideas.

Happy Holidays!

--Laura M.

For your New Moonparty consider these activities for loads of fun:

• Play Twilight Jeopardy
• Read favorite excerpts from the book
• Edward can run fast. As dusk falls, provide flashlights and have races to see who can keep up with Edward’s speed. Set up races or a game of flashlight tag for fun.
• Make Twilight bracelets using glow in the dark string and charms.
• Alice Cullen is super hyper … how does she get this way? See who can become Alice Cullen by holding a food-eating contest. Serve candy bars and ice cream. How much will it take for you to get hyped?
• Have a vampire taste-test. Put out all sorts of red foods and see if your guests can guess what they are. Ideas include red hots, red icing, ketchup, chilis (these are hot … watch out!), red bell peppers, French salad dressing, etc. Make sure to blindfold your guests to make it more difficult.
• Vampires are (often) ice cold. Have your guests go bobbing for apples in ice-cold water. See who captures an apple!
• Play a game of baseball with apples
• Act out a favorite scene from the book. Make sure all of the Twilight characters are covered, but instead of playing the scene out as the book does, create your own ending—it will be a surprise as it unfolds! The only rule: it can’t turn out as it does in the book.
• How about Jacob the werewolf? How about a howling contest! Who can do it best? Give out prizes for most original, loudest, and oddest howl.
• A great prize would be a copy of one of the books. It would be a splurge, but great fun!

Make fabulous swag bags with items that represent each character. Have your guests guess which character goes with what as they head out into the New Moon night:

•     Cake mix (fudge marble)
•     Jaw breakers
•     Eclipse gum
•     Red finger nail polish
•     Vampire teeth
•     Tennis ball

--Lisa Kothari
Peppers and Pollywogs, Inc.
www.pepperspollywogs

Quick links...
Phillip Hoose wins the National Book Award in the young readers category for Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice.

Shona, a blogger, starts the Rory Gilmore Books Project, in which she sets out to read 260 books mentioned, shown, or joked about on the Gilmore Girls. (via Book-a-rama.)

Variety calls New Moon, the movie, "as good as Twilight and arguably a shade better."

The Daily Beast compiles a photo gallery of the Best Twilight Tattoos. (via GalleyCat.)

Tired of vampires yet? You're not the only one. Stephenie Meyer tells Oprah.com: "I'm a little burned out on vampires right now."

Happy reading!--Heidi

How many artists or non-fashion designer names do your kids know? Have they ever heard of Calder or Noguchi? What about power couples like Mary and Russell Wright or Charles and Ray Eames? I suspect that the answer is probably a resounding "no" to any of of the aforementioned. Thankfully, the design guru Todd Oldham appears to be on a laudable mission to up the ante on our cultural literacy and arts-and-crafts know-how among the next generation. His super new book, Kid Made Modern is just the ticket. Designed just for the up and coming generation-D.I.Y., this large format book introduces the age 5-13 set to pioneering design ideas and techniques through a combination of clever short rhyming introductions and really cool projects requiring a mercifully modest list of supplies. Here's a snippet from the introduction to architect Gio Ponti:

Italian Gio Ponti was an architect of great note.  He designed buildings, rugs and tiles, even the inside of a boat. With his clear vibrant colors and geometric forms, He made bright modern rooms, sunny and warm.

Projects are developed around different kinds of materials (paint, paper, tape, cardboard) and creative techniques and media (painting and printing, stitiching, drawing, even working with simple color dyeing methods and decoupage). In keeping with Oldham's design ethos, the projects are witty and colorful, and leave plenty of room for individual creativity. That seems to be the other part of Oldham's mission: to inspire young kids to express themselves by experimenting with color, line, form, and everyday materials to make usable stuff. For kids bored by traditional methods of learning arts and crafts, this book will be a very welcome surprise. They'll learn to make a brightly colored pile rug inspired by the color genius Verner Panton, paper sculptures and light cubes a' la Noguchi, zines, cork boards, neck-a-roni (a stylish variation on painted pasta necklaces), and a cardboard casa inspired by architect Luis Barragan.  This is a great holiday gift for kids.  And yet, I suspect that Oldham's grown-up fan base will eat this uber-hip book up as well.  I can't recall the last time I got to make a kaleidoscope film or design a cork jug.  

Recommended for fans of Oldham's must-have monograph on Charley Harper, Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life, D.I.Y. Kidsby Ellen and Julia Lupton, and Amanda Blake Soule's bestseller Handmade Home.

Grand Prize includes a trip for four to Orlando, Fl., five days at Disneyworld with lodging at Animal Kingdom Lodge and a $2,000 Disney Gift Card for use at the resort’s restaurants and gift shops. Additional items in the Wish List include Disney movies,  storybooks,  video games (and a Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DSI to play them on), and more.

--Wendy H.

"Andy Warhol, Children’s Illustrator." Educating Alice makes quite the auction find, some Andy Warhol children's book illustrations(!):

Neil Gaiman interview. The author of Odd and the Frost Giants talks to School Library Journal. This being Gaiman, it's great. (E.g.: "If you write well for kids, you may be changing lives, in a way you probably aren’t for adults. For adults you’re giving them a wonderful vacation, maybe educating them. But for children you’re giving them part of what made them.")

Who are current kids' movies really meant for? "Will 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' be too scary for youngsters? Too confusing? Maybe, for some." A.O. Scott muses on the recent crop of children's movies--mostly kid-lit inspired, including Where the Wild Things Are and Coraline.

Septimus Heap reviews. Jen Robinson just wrote up the two most recent books in the Septimus Heap series: Queste and Syren. ("The Septimus Heap books are a solid middle grade fantasy series, well-suited to kids who like the early Harry Potter books or Sarah Prineas' Magic Thief series.... Sage has a knack for capturing bad guys and characters of decidedly mixed motives.")

New Notes from the Horn Book. The November installment of the Horn Book's monthly newsletter is out. Highlights include a Q&A with Jim Murphy and four novels about war.

"Little Critter Comes to the iPhone." An iPhone adaptation of a Mac game adaptation of Mercer Mayer's Just Me and My Dad is coming to a phone near you....

Little Books boxed set. Twenty by Jenny reviews a great new boxed set of some classic board books. ("Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace's books are spot-on because they begin with the everyday routines that even youngest readers can recognize, and upend the logic. Little Pea hates sweets, Little Hoot loves bedtime, and Little Oink keeps his room spotless. It's the adults who break the rules.")

Heads up: more Snicket, incoming. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers just announced a five-book deal with Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, with the first Snicket book due out in 2012.

The Bad Beginning, free online. Speaking of Lemony Snicket: In case you hadn't heard, his first book is now available free online (feel free to read below). Not everybody is happy about it:

--Paul

I was in a brick and mortar store last night, one of the big box stores that I just love to go to late at night without the kids, and just walk around in the peace and quiet.  Honestly, as a full-time working mother of two, this is about as much quiet time as I get and I try and savor it.  So anyway, I was walking around, enjoying some quiet time and *bam!* here come the Christmas tunes.  Now I am no Scrooge, but the amount of Christmas that seems to be seeping into the stores before it is even Thanksgiving is a little over whelming. 

In the interest of getting the shopping over with so  you can enjoy the better things about the holiday- such as playing in the snow, making hot chocolate, decorating the tree, and enjoying the wonder in your children's eyes,  I have a few suggestions of toys under $20 that you can buy now, stuff in a closet to hide until wrapping time comes, and then not think about shopping for toys again until the next birthday rolls around. 

1. Easy Bake Oven & Snack Center by Hasbro (Includes 3 Mixes) - Currently 40%, this little wonder will have your children baking up a storm!  The little cakes are perfect for a tea party.

2. Speaking of tea parties, the Green Toys Tea Set is a must for pretending.  It is also made of recycled milk cartons, and a great value at over 30% off.

3. For older girls, the Paperoni Deluxe Studio is a great value at 50% off.  This tested really well with our toy testers in our Days of Play event.  It was easy and fun for tween girls.

4. A great family game, Sorry! Sliders is an update of an old favorite.  Right now it is marked down 40% and is a great addition to your family game night. 

5. Tween boys will love the Tech Deck Build a Park with Board Pack. This set lets them live their skating dreams indoors and on a smaller scale.

6. A great toy for preschoolers is the GloDoodle.  Great for long car rides at night, and also as a wind-down toy before bed, this is a fun and creative way to encourage some quiet play. 

7. Have a Hot Wheels fan?  The Color Shifters Blaster lets your little racer change the color of the car with ice cold water.

8. Need an activity for preschoolers? The Wild Planet Crayola Crayon Town Zoo Set will entertain multiple kids with it's cross-over playset and arts and crafts activities.

9. Bop It is a great game for teens and families.  It also makes a great party game, you could even take it to a holiday party as a hostess gift that everyone could enjoy while at the party.

10. Another great family games is Farkle. Right now you can get it for under $10.

11. Have a LEGO fan on your list?  How about the LEGO City Camper? For under $20 your little builder can go on a camping adventure with their mini-figs.

12. A very popular preschool learning toy this season is the LeapFrog Scribble and Write.  It's never too early to get a little education included with their play time.

13.  A very hot new doll line this year are the Moxie Girlz.  This Best Friends 2 pack is under $20 and would be great for two sisters or two best pals to share.

14. If you have a future fashion designer on your list, the Project Runway Design Projector kit is a great value and a great way to get her started on her future career.

15. A classic that was updated a bit for the movie Toy Story, The green Toy Soldiers set makes a great traveling toys and a great gift.

16. Another classic game that every child should play is Operation.  Right now, it is also a great value at $10. 

17. The GI Joe Movie Ninja Snake Eyes Figure would make a great gift for any of your action figure fans.  He is also just the right size to fit in a stocking.

18. Combining computer play and dinosaurs, the Xtractaurs Starter Kit, is creative fun that knows no bounds.

19. Another hot line of fashion dolls this year at the Liv Dolls.  They have a unique style and each come with a code that lets girls play online.  They also come with a long and short wig to let girls change the hair style of the dolls.

20. If you have a girl who likes to build, how about trying the Best-Lock Girls' Container Twinpack?  It comes with castle pieces and horses and is under $15.

Happy shopping and have a great weekend!

--Laura M.

Let me paint a picture for you, and if you are a parent, or have helped a young child with opening a present, I think you will be able to relate:

Little Sally just got a present!  Boy is she happy!  She is begging you to open it, she can't wait to play with the pink-princess-pony-rainbow-sparkle-extravaganza that she just unwrapped.  She is bouncing up and down, she starts to get a little higher pitched in her requests.  She says "Please?  Please?  PLEASE!".  You say "yes, yes, I will open your little present now, settle down."

Then you say the fateful words you will soon regret.

"This will only take a minute."

Thirty minutes later, you are still undoing twist ties, cutting through plastic, and trying to understand why each little piece is tied down so tight you would think they were made of crystal and not plastic.  You have used about 15 tools, 2 pair of scissors, your teeth, and a box cutter.  You now have three bandages on your hands, and you have had to tell little Sally you are very sorry for using "that bad word" five times already.  In between begging Sally to stop crying, you are trying to stop the bleeding on your fourth hand wound, and you are slowly adding to the huge pile of waste packaging from just this one toy. 

Shouldn't there be a better way?

Lucky for you, there is.  Amazon Frustration Free Packaging is here to help. 

But just how easy is it?  We here at Toy Whimsy decided to find out.

First up was the Fisher-Price Imaginext Ocean Boat:

Fisher-Price Imaginext Ocean Boat...

next up, the Fisher-Price Camera Kid-Tough Digital Camera

Fisher-Price Kid Tough Camera...

So what did we learn? With Amazon Frustration Free Packaging, when you say, "This will only take a minute.", you mean it.  It took us 45 seconds with the Ocean Boat and even less, 18.29 for the Kid-Tough Camera.  And as a bonus, the only packaging is a fully recyclable box that is easy to break down and put out at the curb.

To see more Frustration Free Packaging toys you can click here, and to see the full list Amazon.com offerings for Frustration Free, you can click here.

--Laura McMullan