moominmuppet | Cool toys/books/etc for kids (recommendation list)

OK, returning to the giant post of nifty stuff for kids:

Now I'm at work, and back to window-shopping. I figured I'd share the results of my hunting with those who might be interested.

FYI, although I was doing most of my hunting for a just-turned-three-year-old, I wandered quite a bit, and also did some shopping for an 10-year-old and a 14-year-old. There's a focus on toddler-level stuff, but also a good deal else. I've tried to divide things into some different categories. Lots of the links are from Amazon, for convenience, but don't forget about your local small businesses! If you have suggestions for anything I (and others reading this) definitely just shouldn't miss, please let me know!

General Advice:
A Curriculum of Toys (Using toys to teach maker basics)

Pink and Green Mama: Making Art At Home: My Favorite Art Supplies for Toddlers -- This is awesome and full of good ideas!

Thinking of Trying Toddler Art?

If you don't know about Dover Publications, you need to. Kid, adult, doesn't matter. So much cool stuff, so inexpensive.
Dover's massive selection of activity books, coloring books, sticker books, cut and assemble books, etc
I especially loved the Cut and Assemble books -- I had a Cut and Assemble Emerald City of Oz, amongst others, when I was a kid.

Fat Brain Toys has a ridiculous number of awesome toys -- they also use an interesting way of sorting by ages -- instead of listing based on the manufacturer's recommended ages, they list a bar graph showing the ages of the children it was purchased for (they survey their customers). Only frustration is that you can't ungender any of the searching.

Assorted random stuff, mostly for younger ages (3 and under):
Tobbles Stacking Spheres -- Katy, these were the toys I was telling you about. (they look like awesome fun for 1-2 year olds)
Monster Bowling -- These look adorable and fun, although possibly also a bit young for Kidlet.
Tortoise shell and sand toy, swing and spinner, cradle for dolls and substitute for sleds – Bilibo is all this and much more. So what exactly is a Bilibo? Well one clue is the fact that it does not come with an instruction manual. Kids can do what they like with it! -- Again, he's just barely on the older side of the range with this one, but he's very active, and it looks so cool and fun I think he'd enjoy it.
PLAYSKOOL PLAY FAVORITES Sit'n Spin -- Hoorah for the classics!

Music (Albums):
Leadbelly Sings For Children - Leadbelly; Audio CD
Songs to Grow on for Mother & Child - Woody Guthrie; Audio CD
Birds, Beasts, Bugs & Fishes Little & Big: Animal Folk Songs - Pete Seeger; Audio CD
Smithsonian Folkways Children's Music Collection - Various Artists; Audio CD
The Johnny Cash Children's Album - Johnny Cash; Audio CD
Here Come the ABCs [CD/DVD Combo] - They Might Be Giants; Audio CD
Here Come The 123s [CD/DVD] - They Might Be Giants; Audio CD
Here Comes Science - They Might Be Giants; Audio CD
No! - They Might Be Giants; Audio CD
The Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem, and More! - The 25th Anniversary Collection [Soundtrack]
Justin Roberts' kids' music -- Justin was part of a band on my campus that I absolutely adored (Pimentos 4 Gus). They broke up a few years after college, and he's been working in kids' music since. He's pretty awesome.

Music (Instruments):
Boomwhackers: C Major Diatonic Scale Set
Boomwhackers: Chromatics Set
Band in a Box
Musical Hand Bells
Rhythm Sticks
Chimalong

Water Trumpet -- musical tub toys! Awesome! (Also, Water Flutes and Water Drums!)

Construction Sets:
Toobers & Zots Bend & Build Foamstruction Set
Melissa & Doug Deluxe Jumbo Cardboard Blocks (also fun for knocking over without doing major damage to the surroundings!)
Reptangles -- really nifty looking assembly and construction toy.
Twig construction blocks -- Neat variation!

Puppets:
Toys & Games › Puppets & Puppet Theaters (the entire general category)
Beleduc brand puppets -- I have a particular fondness for realistic animal puppets, and they've got a great line of them.
Wild Republic brand puppets -- same thing, slightly different animal selection (including a penguin! Kidlet is currently obsessed with them)
Folkmani brand puppets -- Yet again, more cool realistic animal puppets.
The Puppet Store animal puppets -- more expensive, but really remarkably detailed (take a look at the variety of butterflies and turtles!) They also have a wide variety of other sorts of puppets and marionettes.
Sunny Puppets -- Again, slightly pricier, but wow! Lots of different domestic dog and cat breeds, too, for kids who'd be more into that.
Penguin Glove Puppet 7" by Wild Republic (purchased for Kidlet's Christmas)
Melissa & Doug Deluxe Fuzzy Make - Your - Own Monster Puppet -- OK, I totally want one of these for my own.

Masks:
These are an interestingly different take on kids' animal masks; they use a headband instead of a string
Animal nose masks (I still have some from my childhood, and Kidlet LOVED them)
Foam Hat animal masks

Science kits and other nifty science stuff (mostly for older kids):
If you want to get hardcore, Carolina Biological Supply Company
American Science and Surplus -- Sillier, cheaper, and much more random, but chock full of goodies.
Gifts for the mad scientist in us all
Tedco science education and hobby stuff -- Anatomical models of dogs and sharks and cows, oh my! All sorts of awesome sciencey goodness.
Thames & Kosmos: Science Kits Galore!
(The kiddo I was shopping for is getting Tedco 4D Vision Dog Anatomy Model and Thames & Kosmos Sophisticated Science Optical Science and Art, since she's a budding scientist/vet)
Toys on my list for when Kidlet is a touch older:
4'' Acrylic Equilateral Prism
Glass Lens Set, Set of 6
Lens & Mirror Kit
Toys on my list for Kidlet now:
12 Plastic Transparent Prisms
Insect Lore Creature Peeper (ordered for Christmas)
Melissa & Doug Mombo Snake Magnifying Glass (ordered for Christmas)
Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Happy Giddy Binoculars (ordered for Christmas)
Safari Science: How Insects See!
Dowling Magnets Simply Science Floating Magnet Rings
Beleduc Your Body - Boy 5-Layer Puzzle
Scientific Explorer My First Water Wonders Kit
Scientific Explorer's Mind Blowing Science Kit for Young Scientists
Nature Backpack allows kids to explore nature -- These look awesome, although for an older age than Kidlet. Same basic concept as the "Explorer's Kit" I'm assembling for him, though.
This is the kind of case I want to get, and then I want to get some science and wild animal stickers, and some alphabet stickers, and decorate it up to say "Kidlet's Exploring Kit"
Along with the stuff I've gotten for him so far (magnifying glass, bug catcher with magnifying lens, binoculars, and a few books on science), I'd like to add some Plastic Spice Jars (Or maybe these jars instead, for a variety of size options) for collecting "samples". As he gets older, other things can go in there, too -- notepad, tweezers, etc.
Also relevant to this project:
Using Field Guides With Your Children
Vtech Kidizoom Camera -- At some point I'd like to add a cheap, tough digital camera to the Explorer Kit.

Assorted Crafts and Random:
Usborne Cut-Out Models -- Similar to Dover's Cut-and-Assemble models, but a different variety of buildings and construction projects. (sadly, most of the coolest options seem to be out-of-print)
Bonus for Pterry fans: The Unseen University Cut-Out Book
Beautifully crafted, thoughtfully designed, Inchimals are 12 wooden animal blocks measuring 1” (the tiny ladybug) to 12” (the towering giraffe). With exact inch segments, written numerals, representative dots, and cute animals too - this learning toy is a sure winner.
Growing Tree Toys: Wild Animal Toys and Zoo Animal Toys
Craft Kits and Art Supplies for Kids (also they're a local company to us, and seem to have a good set of policies about environmental impact, etc)
Waterproof Coveralls For Year-Round Play!

Books:
Fairy Tales:
Katy, these are the books we were discussing, expanded with some other interesting titles I found:
Not One Damsel in Distress: World Folktales for Strong Girls (Jane Yolen is magic, and a good name to trust for children's lit)
Mightier Than the Sword: World Folktales for Strong Boys -- And because Jane Yolen is indeed full of awesomesauce, check out what else she put together!
Compassionate Fairy Tales: A Mother Einhorn Collection -- Neat idea!
Tatterhood and other tales: Stories of magic and adventure [Paperback] -- This is the book I had as a child (and still have, and still adore).
Others that look interesting:
Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the World
The Serpent Slayer: and Other Stories of Strong Women
The Maid of the North: Feminist Folk Tales from Around the World
Clever Gretchen and Other Forgotten Folktales
Poetry:
A Children's Book of Verse (Classics for Young Readers) [Hardcover]
Eric Kincaid (Illustrator) -- Out of print, but a family favorite that's well worth chasing down. The illustrations are just gorgeous, and it's a great collection overall.
Science Goodness:
Great science books for preschoolers (an Amazon listmania list with some cool recs)
Related: Amazon's general "Preschool Science" search results
Alice Bell on Science Books for Children
Politics and History:
Stories of solidarity: Children's books about labor and organizing
Biography Collections -- biographies that I read at an early age often laid the foundation for a lifelong interest in various historical figures; I was just telling Chad about how Shark Lady: True Adventures of Eugenie Clark deeply influenced me, and had a huge impact on my perception of sharks. I also recall reading biographies of Louis Pasteur, Nellie Bly, and Margaret Mead (all part of the same Biography series that our library had in the children's section) that really impacted me. It's especially important to me that any set I consider getting has a good gender, racial, and career diversity.
I think it might be the History Maker Biography Series that I recall fondly from childhood (if not, it's a similar set)
Actually, I think it's more likely it was the ValueTales series, which appears to be out of print.
This Creative Minds Biography set seems pretty cool, with decent balance and diversity, though!
Everyone Poops (My Body Science Series)
Pirate Potty
The Butter Battle Book: (New York Times Notable Book of the Year) (Classic Seuss) -- The ultimate anti-war book, imo.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day -- Classic, fabulous, and entirely necessary. Grown-ups, check out "Alexander the Great and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" -- I read it whenever I need a pick-me-up.
The Knight and the Dragon -- I found this because Tomie dePaola wrote one of my favorite kids books, Helga's Dowry: A Troll Love Story (it's really quite enjoyably feminist). Apparently a lot of what he does is religious in nature, and since I'm not I had to do some paring through, but this one looks like a lot of fun, and I'm hoping it's as good as Helga's Dowry.
Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs -- I had this book as a kid; it's another Tomie Depaola, and it's a very gentle introduction to coping with death of an elderly loved one. Recommended for those who might need it.
Strega Nona -- I also ran across this one while searching through Tomie Depaula's stuff. It has a few sequels as well, and I'd like to get a copy and check it out at some point.
How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends? -- a friend recommended the "How Do Dinosaurs..." series, and when I saw they're Jane Yolen, I jumped at them.
Shiver Me Letters: A Pirate ABC -- This looks like a good silly, fun ABC book.
Pio Peep! (rpkg): Traditional Spanish Nursery Rhymes -- Kidlet's grandmother is a retired Spanish teacher, so I thought this might be a nice opening to encourage him to explore Spanish.
Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters -- Jane Yolen again.
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (If You Give...) -- These are adorable stories of endless escalation. There are more in the series, although I've only read this one.
Big Words for Little People -- This is part of the children's book collection that Jamie Lee Curtis has been doing for a few years. It seems to be about good concepts to teach kids, like "compassion", and "privacy".
Nutshell Library (Caldecott Collection) - Maurice Sendak -- "This 4-volume boxed set contains an alphabet book, a book of rhymes about each month, a counting book, and a cautionary tale all written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak." -- what more do you need to know? Oh, it's also really cheap!
The Very Silly Mayor -- Tom Tomorrow, the Modern World cartoonist, takes on children's books!
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type -- What happens when cows unionize?
Franny K. Stein's Crate of Danger (Boxed Set): Lunch Walks Among Us; Attack of the 50-Ft. Cupid; The Invisible Fran; The Fran That Time Forgot (Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist) -- Recommended by multiple people!
My Princess Boy -- A cool little book about acceptance.
And Tango Makes Three -- Gay penguins get a children's book!
Neil Gaiman has gotten into children's books in recent years -- this is a link to the listing of them, because I really want them all (although most are a bit old for Kidlet yet)
Hands Are Not for Hitting (Best Behavior)
Dr Seuss's Sleep Book -- Really, it's so hard to go wrong with Dr. Seuss, but I thought this looked like a good option for Kidlet, so it's what's in my cart.
Moomin's Little Book of Numbers -- Because I'm always interested in converting more people to the Moomins.
Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa
The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. -- Boardbook, suitable for very young kids, if you want to start introducing them to ideas of social justice early.
Liza Lou And The Yeller Belly Swamp -- It's really hard to go wrong with Mercer Mayer, too, but this one had a particularly large number of recs.
For Laughing Out Loud: Poems to Tickle Your Funnybone -- Who doesn't need more silly poetry?
Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! -- Seuss, of course.
Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin
The Tale of Custard the Dragon -- by Ogden Nash!
What Do You Do With A Kangaroo? -- more Mercer Mayer
Octopus Soup -- And another, this one just because I'm obsessed with octopuses, and can't pass it up.
I Was So Mad (Little Critter) -- Mercer Mayer's Little Critter books are classics.
There's Something in My Attic -- and one more from him.
Beaten by a Balloon -- Yay, peacenik books!
Who Will Comfort Toffle?: A Tale of Moomin Valley -- for kids who aren't quite old enough for the regular series yet.
The Rainbow Goblins -- Beautiful. Get it for the illustrations. The story is cool, too, but it's the illustrations that stuck with me.
The Rainbow Fish -- about sharing.
Welcome to the Green House -- Another Jane Yolen, this time a tour of the rainforest canopy.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? My First Reader
Jousting with Jesters: An ABC for the Younger Dragon -- Not out yet, but looks awesome.
The Emperor and the Kite (Paperstar Book) -- Jane Yolen again.
Frangoline and the Midnight Dream -- caught my attention and looked fun.
Skippyjon Jones -- a kitten who thinks he's a chihuahua. Recced by a friend.
Jamberry
Really, I just want the entire Cat in the Hat Learning Library series
Silly Sally (Red wagon books)
George and Martha
The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq
Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci
The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life with the Chimps
The Family Minus -- a favorite from my childhood, very silly, with a Mom inventor! (Purchased for Kidlet's Christmas)
The family Minus's summer house - so excited to discover there's a sequel!
What Is Science? (purchased for Kidlet's Christmas)
Science Play (Little Hands!)(ages 2-6) (purchased for Kidlet's Christmas)
On Beyond Bugs: All About Insects (Cat in the Hat's Learning Library) > (purchased for Kidlet's Christmas)
Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-a-Zoo (Mercer Mayer Classic Collectible: Little Monsters) -- As mentioned the other day, another favorite of mine. (purchased for Kidlet's Christmas)

Movies and Series:
(FYI on movies adapted from books -- I'm generally not a purist, and view them as two separate things -- there are several movies I really like that I think are horrible adaptations of the books they supposedly represent)
The Phantom Tollbooth -- I'm unbelievably thrilled that this is finally out on DVD, and just got my copy. The book is also a must-read.
The Flight of Dragons -- Another one I'm happy to see finally out on DVD. My brothers and I watched this over and over and over again as kids. Note that some of the scenes are rather scary (or were for me), and that the illustration style shown on the box has zilch to do with the animation style of the movie.
The Little Prince (1974)
Bedknobs and Broomsticks Enchanted Musical Edition (1971)
Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: The Complete Collection (2008)
Schoolhouse Rock! (Special 30th Anniversary Edition)
Pete's Dragon
Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium -- I'm rewatching this one tonight, actually.
The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Complete First Season (2008) -- Mustn't forget the importance of converting kids to Doctor Who sooner rather than later! This is the modern Doctor Who spin-off for kids.
And for folks who want to hit the nostalgia buttons of our generation good and hard, can't forget
Jim Henson Fantasy Film Collection (Labyrinth / The Dark Crystal / MirrorMask) (1982) (Mirrormask is a more modern addition, and stunningly beautiful)
The Incredible Mr. Limpet
Jim Henson's the Storyteller - The Definitive Collection (1997)
Also, anything by Aardman Animation tends to be good and fun -- Creature Comforts is more aimed at adults, but Shaun the Sheep is good for all ages, and Wallace and Gromit is good from a relatively young age up.
Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle -- I find Rocky and Bullwinkle has generally aged pretty well.
Monsters Inc -- I know, some of these are ridiculously obvious.
Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen are the most kid-accessible of Terry Gilliam's work, imo.
Princess Bride -- Of course.
Despicable Me -- This got mixed reviews, I think, but I really liked it a lot.
Young Frankenstein -- an introduction to Mel Brooks, and a hysterically funny movie.
The Last Mimzy -- This is one of those "barely related to the source material" ones, but I found it cute and engaging as its own story. Not mind-blowing must-have, but fun.
Inkheart -- And I thought this one was actually a reasonably decent adaptation, and have seen it more than once. Loved the book, especially some of the passages about love of books.
Fraggle Rock - Complete First Season (Apparently this is also on Netflix streaming at the moment!)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe -- I grew up on the Narnia books, and although I have problems with their theology these days, I thought the most recent adaptation was an excellent one overall. Haven't seen the second two they've got out, though.
City of Ember -- I actually own the first and second books, but haven't read them yet, so I can't comment on accuracy to them, but I really enjoyed the movie when I saw it.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs -- Fun and silly.
Harriet the Spy -- I thought this was a really fun adaptation.
From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler -- Loved the book as a kid, haven't seen the movie version, but am noting it here as a reminder to check it out.
A Little Princess -- I grew up on the book, and although this version takes some odd liberties with the story, I thought overall it worked well.
The Secret of NIMH -- Wanders quite far from the book, so I find it best to think of it as a separate story. As such, it's a fun one.
Nanny McPhee -- Emma Thompson as a pseudo-Mary Poppins. Lots of fun.
The Spiderwick Chronicles -- Haven't read the books, but enjoyed the movie a good bit. Lots of fun goblins and such. Kids who like Brian Froud's take on goblins and faeries and such will likely enjoy it.
Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events -- Skips a good bit of the books' plot, and is weaker for it, but visually a great deal of fun.
Muppets From Space -- This is actually my favorite of the Muppet movies. Also, by far the most Funkadelic. These two statements are definitely related. (purchased for Kidlet for Christmas)
Disney's Robin Hood -- One of my favorite Disney movies ever. Oo-de-lally, Oo-de-lally Golly, what a day.
The Sword in the Stone --Not the place to get your knowledge of Arthurian legends, but spectacularly fun, and another all-time favorite of mine.
The Aristocats -- I'm not entirely certain how it's stood the test of time, but I loved this one as a kid.
Mary Poppins -- Many people aren't aware that Mary Poppins is based on a book series. They're a lot of fun, btw. This is the movie that spawned my deep, deep adoration of Dick Van Dyke (despite his lousy accent, not that I knew the difference).
The Emperor's New Groove -- Silly. Very silly. Also, John Goodman!
The Road to El Dorado -- Fun, but not amazing. A good rental, and worth seeing once.
Lilo & Stitch -- It's recent enough I'm sure everyone's still familiar with it, but figured I'd leave a reminder here anyway.
Life in the Undergrowth -- Stunningly beautiful, probably a bit overwhelming for really little kids, since the close-up photography makes bug battles to the death so much more dramatic. Also, snail penises are bizarre and amazing. If you don't want your kid to know this, might want to avoid this one.
Kirikou and the Sorceress -- I recced this one back when I saw it through Netflix. Absolutely gorgeous, wonderful music, highly recommended. Does contain a decent amount of non-sexual nudity.
Kirikou And The Wild Beast -- Oh, my! There's a sequel!!
Igor -- I loved this one, and thought it was totally underappreciated. A country of Mad Scientists and Igors? Oh, yes please!
Mary and Max -- I really adored Harvey Krumpet, by the same folks. May be more mature or unsettling than younger viewers are up for. Harvie Krumpet was beautiful but sad and intense.
Oh, wow! I finally managed to google enough details to find a movie I've been trying to track down for years! Apparently it's The Thief and the Cobbler, and has quite a storied past! What I remember is how absolutely amazing it was visually. And now it's in my cart! Whooohooo!

Cool toys/books/etc for kids (recommendation list)

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