ParentDish

New Music For Kids: Concept Albums

Christopher Healy — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Music

The world of children's music is rife with theme albums - CDs about the sea, CDs about dinosaurs, CDs about school, and so on. But these concept discs are not easy to pull off. The gimmick can feel forced by the fifth track, or it may start to sound like the artist was relying on the theme to disguise lackluster songwriting.

But when a theme album is done well, it can be a real joy for kids.

Amazon

Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights: What a Zoo!
Pure rock-and-roll fun for kids, and a parent-pleaser, too. These sing-along, dance-along tunes are animal-themed without be trite or overly goofy. Zipping from the catchiest song about mosquitoes you'll ever hear to a rockin' tribute to sea cows and an ultra-hip rendition of "Froggie Went A-Courtin'" (featuring a guest rap by kid-pop's preeminent hip-hopper, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo), this disc does not disappoint. The track "If You Go" - about the different kinds of animals you find in different places (zoo, farm, etc.) - is one of the catchiest pieces of music I've heard in a long time. And Leeds, with her pure pop vocals, is just as adept at sweet ballads, as evidenced by the lovely "Hummingbird" and "My Butterfly." This is one of the best albums of the year so far.

Amazon

Monty Harper: Songs from the Science Frontier
It's no small feat to record a science-themed album that doesn't sound ultra-dorky, but Harper's new CD is a blast. These songs are cleverly written, with masterful instrumentation, and, yes, you can even sing along to a lot of them (if you can pronounce the high-octane vocabulary words in them, that is). The fact that these are great songs feels even more impressive when you consider how wonky they are. Harper doesn't shy away from very specific hard-science details. In "Microbe Hunter," he rhymes "hydrothermal vent" with "superheated effluent." And what the heck is a superheated effluent? With any luck, that's exactly what your kids will ask - and then they'll look it up and learn. But as fascinatingly educational as these songs are, I want to underscore how much fun they also are to listen to. "My Molecular Eye" is not only titled like a Radiohead song, it kinda sorta almost sounds like one. And props to Harper for referring to scientists as "she" in a whole bunch of the lyrics.

Amazon

Brady Rymer: Love Me for Who I Am
Grammy nominee Rymer has pulled off quite a coup with his latest disc. He's created an album inspired by and written for kids with autism, but also one that has a reach far beyond that target audience. Rymer's work with students at a special-needs school in New Jersey may have given seed to Love Me for Who I Am, but the insightful songs on this CD would be incredibly relatable to just about any child out there. You certainly can't say tunes like "Picky Eater," "I Don't Like Change," and "Who Wants to Wear Shoes?" don't have a universal kid-appeal. These are tunes that kids who are autistic will dearly appreciate, and kids who aren't can gain a new understanding from. Musically, the songs range from acoustic pop (like "Soft Things," featuring Laurie Berkner) to full-on funk (like "Tune Out," which boasts keyboard grooves from Parliament Funkadelic's Bernie Worrell). Five percent of the album's proceeds go to the charity Autism Speaks.

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Picture Books: New Takes on Old Topics

Christopher Healy — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Books for Kids, Activities: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Activities: Big Kids

There are certain subjects -- friendship, numbers, big cities, the alphabet -- that get plenty of love from the children's book publishing industry. They're old standards, and we see new titles on these topics all the time. So, writers need to work extra hard to come up with fresh takes on these kid-lit staples. Luckily for us, they do.

Amazon

"Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad" by David Somar and Jacky Davis (Dial, $17)
The "Ladybug Girl" books have all been sweetly earnest, with nice bits of humor, and truly lovely illustrations. They've also done an exemplary job of depicting the joys of pretend play. You'd think that by the fourth installment, the series would start to flounder a bit. But, no. This newest ode to childhood imagination is just as endearing as its predecessors. This time around, we get to see little Lulu (a.k.a. Ladybug Girl) at play with four of her fellow insect-lovers. The ideas for play that they come up with ("We can't touch the ground because it's hot lava") will ring true for readers young and old. Plus we get to learn a little lesson about group dynamics.

Amazon

"Ten Birds" by Cybéle Young (Kids Can Press, $17)
To call "Ten Birds" a counting book really feels like selling it short. This book is one of the most imaginative mash-ups and stunningly gorgeous pieces of art I've seen in a long time. It definitely is a counting book, as its subtraction-centric plot is about 10 birds crossing a river one by one. But it's also a bit of a book about engineering and invention. Each bird crafts its own unique mode of transport in order to cross the water, including a pulley system, a motorized raft and -- in homage to "Angry Birds," perhaps? -- a catapult. The black-and-white art, only a few steps removed from, say, Da Vinci's sketchpad, is the perfect illustration style for these ingenious and whimsical gadgets.

Beach Ball Books

"A is for Zebra" by Mark Shulman, illustrated by Tamara Petrosino (Beach Ball Books, $6)
Authors keep dreaming up creative new ways to present the alphabet to kids (see recent classics such as "Alpha Oops" and "The Sleepy Little Alphabet"), but Shulman's brainchild takes an approach we've never seen before. As the subtitle says, it's the first alphabet book about last letters. So U is for gnu and P is for hip-hop. But this is no "one word and we're moving on" ABC book. Most pages have clever snippets of dialogue, which showcase words ending with that page's letter, like a wolf saying, "I'll huff and puff" on the F page. It's pretty ingenious.

Amazon

"A Walk in London" by Salvatore Rubbino (Candlewick, $17)
If you've seen Rubbino's "A Walk in New York," then you'll have an idea what to expect from his vivid and evocative trip to London. With a mom-and-daughter-go-sightseeing plot to frame the whole adventure, you get all sorts of wonderful trivia and historical bits about England's capital. Everything you'd expect from a London travelogue is there -- Big Ben, double-decker buses, the Thames -- but there is a whole slew of less-expected gems, as well. For instance, did you know Norway sends London a giant Christmas tree to set up in Trafalgar Square every year? And Rubbino's delightfully retro-ish artwork makes this trip all the more pleasurable.

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Beyond Angry Birds: More App Games Your Kids Will Love

Christopher Healy — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Opinions, Apps

At this week's BAFTA Video Game Awards (that's the British Academy of Film and Television Arts), the trophy for best hand-held game went to "Cut the Rope," an iPhone app.

It was a first. And it goes a long way toward showing what a phenomenon app games have become. So, if the only app game you've ever heard of is "Angry Birds," it's time to get get familiar with some of the better and more popular titles, beginning with this week's big award winner.

iTunes

Cut the Rope (Chillingo, $.99-$1.99)
The goal of the game is ridiculously simple: Feed candy to a little monster named Om Nom that you receive in the mail. But Om Nom's treats are always suspended from a tangled web of ropes above the critter's head. You need to -- here it comes -- cut the ropes in just the right way, so that the little sweets land right in Om Nom's waiting maw. It's not nearly as simple as it sounds. The realistic physics are where the game really shines -- these ropes swing and sway just the way they would in the offline world. It's addictive and, one can argue, educational. Play it and you'll see why it won.

iTunes

Fruit Ninja (Halfbrick Studios, $.99-$2.99)
You are the deadly assassin. Your finger, your sword. Your enemy? Fruit. The joy of this insanely frenetic game comes from the visceral thrill of slashing away at flying pineapples, watermelons and kiwis. Slice them in half -- or in quarters if you're fast enough -- and watch the juices splatter as the pieces scatter. You can't miss any, though (nor can you accidentally hit one of the bombs that are often thrown in among the fruit), or it's game over. It may sound like a one-trick pomegranate, but it's a wildly good time. And if you need a bit more variety, Halfbrick also publishes "Veggie Ninja."

iTunes

Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap Games, $2.99-$6.99)
If you've heard some kid talking about this goofily-premised game, you may have assumed they were misspeaking. But no, it really is about flowers and shrubbery fending off hordes of the invading undead. While it may sound silly at first, the wit and ingenuity of the game becomes apparent as soon as you start playing. As the zombies slowly shuffle (or on later levels, frantically run) toward your home, you need to plant seeds along their paths -- seeds that will sprout all sorts of botanic defenses, think literal "pea" shooters and "cherry" bombs. Since it is a monster horror game, there is a bit of violence (zombies may lose a limb or a head here or there), but it's all being perpetrated by produce, which certainly makes it less horrifying.

iTunes

Land-a-Panda (Big Pixel Studios, $.99-$1.99)
OK, "Land-a-Panda" is a relatively new app, not a proven commodity like the others on this list. But everything about it makes it feel like its going to spend a long time sitting next to these others at the top of the app charts. It's adorable, for one thing -- the game's mission has you trying to reunite two lovelorn pandas, all within a bright, colorful game world. It's got easy-to-pick-up controls (basically all you need to do is tap a cannon to launch your panda out of it, and occasionally rotate the cannon to aim it), but deceptively challenging game play (as you blast your round beastie from cannon to cannon, the path you choose is key). And it's got a catchy title. Will "Land-a-Panda" be as big as "Angry Birds"? Who knows? But the potential for a hit is definitely there.

iTunes

Angry Birds (ClickGamer, $.99-$4.99)
Speaking of miffed avians, even if you've heard the occasional reference to "Angry Birds," you may not really be familiar with it. So here's a primer: Evil green pigs have stolen the eggs from some birds; the birds, as one might expect, get angry. They seek revenge by launching themselves at their enemies with a giant slingshot. Why they need the slingshot -- since they are birds, and should ostensibly be able to fly -- no one knows. But it proves to be a solid weapon for them, as the pigs are hiding away in very shoddily constructed fortresses made of sticks (perhaps they're related to the Second Little Pig?). Knock down the structures and flatten the pigs to win. It's ridiculously entertaining. And generally inoffensive in terms of kid-friendliness. The ball-shaped pigs get a bit bruised and battered along the way, but it never even reaches Looney Tunes-level violence.

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Kids' Music Roundup: A Slew of New Family CDs

Christopher Healy — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 17:15:00 EST

Filed under: Activities: Babies, Music, Activities: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Gear Guides: Babies, Gear Guides: Toddlers & Preschoolers

There have been so many new kids' music albums released in the past couple of months that it's hard to narrow down our picks to just a handful. But, here are some of the best, most noteworthy new releases for your wee ones' next impromptu dance party.

Jamie Broza: "I Want a Dog!"
Broza is one of the few artists who has children singing on his album and the results aren't cloyingly sweet. Most of these songs -- several of which have a groovy, "Girl from Ipanema" feel to them, speak directly to little kids. Although, there's a nice bit of parent-guilting in there, too, on "Turn That Phone Off". Young ones will enjoy both the pleasant tunes and the funny, not-corny skits. As a side note, 20% of all proceeds go to the North Shore Animal League.

Moona Luna: "Piñata Party!"
For a deviation from your standard kid-pop, try the bilingual, Latin-tinged tunes of Moona Luna. Never mind that the disc can help kids pick up a little Español (or at least augment the Spanish they learn from Dora), it's also the kind of can't-help-but-make-you-happy music that will give them lots of exercise with all the dancing they'll do, too.

David Weinstone: "Music for Aardvarks and Other Mammals: All I Want!"
As usual, Weinstone offers a real mix of music. Some track's sounds come off like the interactive sing-a-longs of a children's music class (which is how Music for Aardvarks got its start), while Weinstone channels his inner Kurt Cobain with grinding grunge guitars on others. There's a big mix, but all of the 19 tracks stand a good chance of making little kids happy.

Ella Jenkins: "A Life of Song"
This album, part of Smithsonian Folkways' African American Legacy Recordings series, is without a doubt, the most edifying of the new year. On this CD, octogenarian and national treasure, Jenkins sits down with a bunch of kids, chatting about her own life and history -- while singing her way through classic African American folk, blues, and spiritual tunes. It's a first-person history lesson set to music.

Daddy A-Go-Go: "Grandkid Rock"
If you haven't heard any of Daddy A-Go-Go's previous seven albums, this "greatest hits" compilation is a great way to introduce yourself and your kids to John Boydston's pop-culture-strewn rock songs. Some of the references may feel a little old at this point (Backstreet Boys, Johnny Bravo), but the puns, "For Those About to Walk, We Salute You," and "Eat Every Bean and Pea on Your Plate," still have as much zing as the guitars.

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5 Great Children's Books for Women's History Month

Christopher Healy — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Books for Kids

When Women's History Month rolls around, the first way my 9-year-old daughter celebrates is by angrily griping, "Month?! We only get one month?" But after that, she likes to put her focus on learning about as many important historical women as she can. Thankfully, the children's book publishing industry is there to help her (and the rest of us). Picture book authors, in particular, do a fantastic job of turning a spotlight on unsung heroines of women's history. Here are a few wonderful examples.

Amazon

"She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story" by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Don Tate (Collins, $17)
Stories don't get much more inspirational than Effa Manley's. She starts off with a successful boycott that forced Harlem businesses to start hiring African-American workers, and ends up as the first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In between she pulls off one amazing first after another, never letting racism or sexism get in her way. Don Tate's accompanying artwork has a wonderful period feel to it. Combined with the wistful prose of Audrey Vernick, it makes you wish you could have been in the stands for those Negro League ball games of yore.

Amazon

"For the Love of Music: The Remarkable Story of Maria Anna Mozart" by Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher (Tricycle Press, $16)
Talk about unsung. How many of you out there knew that Mozart had an older sister who was every bit the musical prodigy he was? And tragically, none of her compositions survive. But this truly lovely book serves as a much-needed tribute, not only to the woman herself, but also to the sweet and beautiful relationship she had with her famous brother. The illustrations are nothing less than breathtaking -- textile-enhanced paintings that look almost as if the artists brushed their paints directly onto tapestries that were ripped from the walls of Versailles.

Amazon

"Fearless: The Story of Racing Legend Louise Smith" by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Scott Dawson (Dutton, $17)
Another woman to be the first honored in her sport -- this time at the Motorsports Hall of Fame -- Louise Smith has pros and cons as a role model. Discovered by NASCAR founder "Big Bill" France, Smith broke new ground in a sport that was decidedly male, but she also gained popularity among racing fans by being utterly reckless. She was an unrepentant risk-taker. As the book says, when she raced, she either won or she crashed (and usually crashed). But her crazy, wild side also makes for some great stories. Scott Dawson has some fantastic scenes depicted here, like the one of Smith sitting on top of her car as the vehicle is sinking into a lake. Even if you don't want your kids to emulate her actions, it's hard not to admire her spirit.

Amazon

"Liberty's Voice: The Story of Emma Lazarus" by Erica Silverman, illustrated by Stacey Schuett
The feats of Emma Lazarus may not seem as showy, but she was a risk-taker in her own right. She dared to publish the poems she composed when she was only a teenager; to ask for a critique of her work from one of her idols, Ralph Waldo Emerson; and to become a voice of protest against the oppression of Russian Jews. Plus, there's the whole bit about having her words etched onto the Statue of Liberty. There's a certain kind of kid out there -- quiet and brainy, but passionate and gutsy -- for whom Lazarus is the perfect hero.

Amazon

"Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart" by Candace Fleming (Schwartz & Wade, $21)
Amelia Earhart may be far from unknown or unsung, and, no, this is not a picture book (although it does contain loads of great historical photos), but "Amelia Lost" is such a fabulously different and interestingly put-together biography of the famed aviator that I had to include it in this list. Older gradeschool kids can learn more interesting facts about Earhart's exciting life here than they've probably seen anywhere else. And the way the author handles the mystery of Earhart's disappearance should be intriguing even to adults. Throughout the book, you'll hear testimonies from several amateur radio users, all of whom claim to have received distress call messages from Earhart on the day of her last ill-fated flight. It's fascinating stuff.

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Toy Fair 2011: Top 10 Board Games

Christopher Healy — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 12:54:00 EST

Filed under: Toys

No matter how fancified, upgraded, or teched-out games become -- whether they involve iPads or LEGO bricks -- they're still old-fashioned board games at the core. So grab your family and sit around the "boards" of these great new games from Toy Fair 2011.

Wiggity Bang!

1. Wiggity Bang!FURT

Who says board games have to make sense? Furt, from the makers of Quelf and Flapdoodle, is a celebration of inanity and wackiness. Challenge cards may ask players to act out nonsense phrases, ad lib stories that need to contain seemingly unconnected words, or speak in bizarre ways without telling other players why you're doing it. First person to fall in the volcano wins! Sound ridiculous? You just need to go with it. Ages 14 and up.

Available at specialty stores in May 2011 for $29.99.

Discovery Bay Games

2. Discovery Bay Yoomi for Duo

The first of its kind -- though surely not the last you'll see -- Yoomi is a board game that interacts directly with an iPad. You buy the Duo device (complete with colored stone pieces), download the free Yoomi app, place the Duo directly onto the screen of your iPad and start playing the game. One player answers "Would you rather ..." type questions that appear on the iPad screen, and her opponents try to guess your answers by placing a marker stone onto the appropriate spot on the Duo. The iPad knows who's right or wrong and tells the Duo to take the stones of the correct guessers. First to lose all their stones wins. Ages 8 and up.

Available at Amazon for $35.99.

Playroom

3. Playroom Magician's Kitchen

Your little wizard figure needs to carry colored marbles (i.e. potion ingredients) to a cauldron in the middle of the kitchen. Sounds easy, but there are hidden magnets under the gameboard -- and if your piece crosses one of them, it will tip and spill its marble. Through trial and error, you need to memorize the locations of the stumbling blocks and find a clear path to the cauldron before your opponents do. Magnet locations change with each new game. Ages 5 and up.

Available at specialty stores in summer 2011 for $30.

Mindtwister

4. MindTwister Repello

A strategy game with a classic feel, but a very new twist, Repello would feel right at home alongside games like Othello. Your goal is to clear the board by putting new pieces onto it. No two pieces can be in adjacent spaces, so when a new disc goes down, it "repels" any existing piece one space away from it. And those pieces in turn repel any pieces they go near. And so on and so on, until massive chain reactions are made and discs are eventually pushed off the board. It's a neat game in that it feels like it can be played just as successfully through strategic thinking or random let's-see-what-happens moves.

Available at specialty stores in May 2011 for $29.99.

LEGO

5. LEGO Heroica

As with LEGO's other board games, you need to build these fantasy-themed questing adventures yourself with the blocks and pieces provided. Then you wend your way along the maze-like boards, past traps and monsters. But, best of all, while any of the four initial Heroica games -- like Waldruk Forest (shown here) -- can be played individually, you can also connect all four to make one mega-gameboard. Ages 8 and up.

Available at toys stores in August 2011 for $14.95-$29.95.

Educational Insights

6. Educational Insights Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel

This game's adorable, straight-from-the-pages-of-a-1950s-picture-book visuals may be enough to make you want to buy it. But don't overlook its fun-yet-edifying gameplay. It's simple enough for young kids (use the squirrel-shaped tongs to snatch up colored acorns and fill your tree), but with just enough of a strategy element (you can sometimes sneak acorns from other players) to get little brains working along with those little fingers. Ages 3 and up.

Available at specialty stores and on Amazon for $19.99.

Techno Source

7. Techno Source Tetris Link

Combining the best parts of Connect Four and, well, Tetris, this challenging party-style strategy game is best played in groups of four. Can you connect three of your Tetriminos (yes, that's what those little falling shapes are called) while blocking your opponents from doing the same? Making it tougher, you don't get to choose which shape you drop -- a die roll does.

Available at toy stores in spring 2011 for $19.99. Ages 8 and up.

HABA

8. HABA Animal Upon Animal Balancing Bridge

Imagine Jenga if the pieces were shaped like giraffes and flamingos. That's sort of the idea behind this updated version of HABA's old Animal Upon Animal game. Cards tell players which animal (including bats, iguanas, and crocodiles) they need to stack upon the others, all while balancing upon a suspended jungle bridge. Hooray for manual dexterity! Ages 5 and up.

Available at specialty stores for $19.99.

Haywire Group

9. Haywire Group The Cat's Pajamas

An adorable -- and adorably simple -- preschool game. Your kitty has gone to bed wearing far too many articles of clothing. Help out the poor sweaty feline by removing extra clothing pieces until he's down to his one basic set of PJs. Kids get to remove pajama pieces by matching either color or pattern. Ages 3 and up.

Available at specialty stores or haywiregroup.com for $19.99.

Glowfly

10. Glowfly nyms

With party-style game play, this board game tests your knowledge of homonyms and words with multiple meanings. When you hear "right," for example, do you think "correct" or "opposite of left?" Or do you think "human rights?" Or to "set right?" Or maybe you thought, "write?" Sometimes you'll need to guess which meaning will be most popular among your group; other times you'll need to try to come up with a unique meaning that nobody else chooses. Ages 10 and up.

Available at specialty stores in June 2011 for $24.95.

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Toy Fair 2011: Top 10 Educational Toys

Christopher Healy — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:15:00 EST

Filed under: Toys

Sure, this year's Toy Fair was all about baby vampires, dancing robots, and giant flying fish. But it was also about playthings that -- through either sneaky or overt means -- could build up your kid's brainpower. Here are the top toys we found for giving your kids a mental workout.

SmartLab

1. SmartLab Recon 6.0 Rover

There's a lot this little robo-buddy can do - carry things, measure things, relay personalized messages, and even perform guard duty. But they all need to be programmed into his little computer brain, which is where the education comes in. More than just some mechanical plaything, Recon is a like an Intro to Programming course - but with personality. Ages 8 and up.

Available at Amazon for $69.99.

The Wonder Forge

2. I Can Do That! What's in the Cat's Hat?

Preschoolers can test their senses, as they poke, sniff, and peek to figure out the identity of the mystery object stuffed into the big, soft Dr. Seuss hat. Cards tell you whether you can open a peephole, shake and listen, or stick your nose into the top for a big whiff. Every round can be unique, too, since you could put just about anything into that hat - an apple, a set of keys, a doll, you name it. Ages 3 and up.

Available at Amazon.

Educational Insights

3. Educational Insights Hot Dots Jr.

Each deck of cards is filled with questions, and you need to tap your special pen on the dot next to the correct answer. This is no regular pen, of course: This is Ace, the Talking Teaching Dog. And he makes Hot Dots Jr feel like a truly fun game, rather than just an educational exercise. The phonics set ($39.99, shown) comes with Ace, but you can also buy him separately for $12.99 and additional card packs (like Shapes, Numbers, and Colors) for $14.99 each. Ages 4 to 7.

Available at Amazon.

Thinkfun.com

4. Thinkfun Tilt

By angling and re-angling this mobile maze, you need to slide the green discs into the central exit hole. But prepare for some real eyebrow furrowing, as you also have to make sure none of the just-as-easily-moved blue discs go down the hole. There are 40 different challenging set-ups to keep you cranking your brain for a long time. Ages 8 and up.

Available at Amazon for $19.99.

LEGO

5. LEGO Technic Backhoe Loader

LEGO's Technic line is a young engineer's dream. Building these models can teach kids a whole lot about the way machines work. These vehicles have real working gears, axles, steering columns, etc. You will really be able to work the shovel and bucket on this new backhoe loader, for example, and see how just how they manage to move the way the do. Building these models can be a daunting task, though, which is why they tend to be popular with teens. Ages 10 and up.

Available at Amazon for $59.99.

Fat Brain Toy Co.

6. Fat Brain Toy Co. Reflection

Here's a board game that challenges you to think in new and unique ways. Gamecards are covered with colored dots, some of which give you points, some of which subtract point. All you need to do is place a mirror, standing upright, on one of the gamecards. But how do you place that mirror in a way that it causes you to see the most point-worthy array of dots? Ages 8 and up.

Available at FatBrainToyCo.com for $24.95.

oblospheres.com

7. Great Circle WorksOblo Puzzle Sphere

Flat jigsaw puzzles are great, but if you really want to stir up young brains, get them solving puzzles in three dimensions. This spheres-within-spheres puzzle opens up young minds in new and exciting ways - and it's a mini work of art to boot. Ages 4 and up.

Available at Amazon for $29.99.

Uncle Milton

8. Uncle Milton Star Wars Lightsaber Room Light

What young Star Wars fan wouldn't love to have their room illuminated by a realistic looking lightsaber mounted on the wall? They can even swap between nine different colors via remote control. The educational part? You've got to put this piece of hi-tech gadgetry together yourself. But don't be scared off by that prospect. Instructions are easy enough for a first-grader to follow. Ages 6 and up.

Available at Amazon for $19.99.

mindware.com

9. MindWare Toppletree

Lots of stacking games can teach basic physics principles about balance and weight distribution, but we've never seen one like this. As you and your opponents take turns adding pieces to this precariously balanced tree, you also need to be strategic in trying to win by connecting several of your colored pieces in a row. Ages 4 to 8.

Available at Amazon for $16.95.

Be Amazing

10. Be Amazing The Science Behind Magic

This packed-but-compact kit provides young performers with loads of genuinely impressive magic tricks to pull off. And each of them is based on real scientific principles. Pour water into a cup, for example, then, seconds later, turn that cup over, and - voilá! - nothing spills out! You can then choose whether or not to show your audience that a crystalline powder in the cup absorbed all the liquid and rapidly transformed it into a gel. These are the kind of experiments you expect to find in a kids' science kit, but with instructions aimed at showmanship. You don't just do these experiments; you perform them. Ages 8 and up.

Available at specialty stores in May for $19.99.

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Toy Fair 2011: Top 10 Toys for Grade-School Kids

Christopher Healy — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Toys

Plodding through the seemingly endless labyrinth of playthings during Toy Fair 2011, every doll, remote-controlled vehicle and board game you see starts to blend into the next. That's why, when a new toy manages to stand out amid the crowd, you know it's got something special going on. And what were the most common themes among this year's standout toys? Robots, bugs and robot bugs. Here are the 10 most exciting new playthings for grade-schoolers at this year's Toy Fair.

Activision

1. Activision Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure

This new twist in video-gaming completely blends the real and virtual worlds. Kids can take real, three-dimensional toys -- figures of Spyro the little purple dragon and about 30 of his friends -- and insert them directly into a video game. Plug the Portal of Power into your game console (in this case, a Nintendo Wii), then place the figure of your choice onto the portal, and -- voila! -- that character appears onscreen. Put two characters on the Portal and both show up in the game, to either fight each other or help out cooperatively.

Available everywhere in fall 2011. Price: $69 for the game, portal, and three figures; less than $10 for additional figures.

Innovation First

2. Innovation First Glow-in-the-Dark Hexbug Nano Habitat Set

These insectoid mini-robots made a huge splash at last year's Toy Fair and, this time around, these little bug-bots can be seen zipping through their curving race-track-style habitats with super-bright glow-in-the-dark coloring. This exciting new dimension makes the playset feel like an outer-space robot ant farm speedway.

Available at specialty stores nationwide in August 2011. Price: $39.99.

Lego

3. LEGO Alien Conquest UFO Abduction Set

Of the many ultra-cool LEGO toys hitting stores this year, the new line of retro-style flying saucer playsets may be the hippest. It's not just the 1950s B-movie feel that makes these toys so awesome, but the nifty brick-tricks involved in many of the models. There's a plastic "grabber" underneath this UFO, for instance, that will allow it to literally snatch up unsuspecting minifigures. And on the alien mothership (not shown), LEGO's first-ever "sound brick" makes a perfect War of the Worlds spaceship sound.

Available everywhere in August 2011. Price: $69.99 for the kit shown here.

Mattel

4. Radica Fijit Friends

These super-cute robo-thingies (bugs? bunnies? aliens?) are programmed to be a girl's new best friend. They chat, dance, laugh and respond to more than 30 voice commands. They can watch webisodes on the Fijit Friends website and react to what's happening onscreen. Plus, their voices all sound auto-tuned, so any kid familiar with today's popular music should feel perfectly comfortable with them.

Available in June 2011. Pre-order now at Amazon. Price: $49.99.

Playmobil

5. Playmobil Top Agents Secret Agent Headquarters

The newest line from the masters of make-believe at Playmobil centers around 007-ish super-spies and their secret gadgets. And that means that the normally low-tech Playmobil toys have gotten an infusion of high-tech excitement themselves. This underground HQ, for example, has a real alarm triggered by a laser tripwire. But coolest of all is the double-agent figure, whose face literally changes from clean-cut good guy, to unshaven, thick-eyebrowed (and therefore, obviously evil) counteragent.

Available everywhere in August 2011. Price: $89.99.

Laser Pegs

6. Laser Pegs World of Bugs

Every single block in this building set contains a colored LED light. Simply snapping them into one another (which can be done with remarkable ease) connects the circuit between them and begins the glowing. These blocks are definitely eye-catchers, and this new insect-themed set, which gives instructions on how to build nine different models (but which can be used to construct whatever your heart desires) offers plenty of opportunity for spectacle.

Available in May. Price: $59.99.

Mattel

7. Mattel Angry Birds Knock on Wood Game

The app sensation makes its move into the offline tactile world, but keeps the same general trajectory-based game concept. Follow the cards to set up towers for those dastardly pigs, then use the catapult to launch your angry bird toys at the porcine battlements and destroy them. Only now you get to hear the delightfully visceral clatter of real blocks as they tumble to the tabletop.

Available in May 2011. Price: $14.99.

Wild Creations

8. Wild Creations Retro Robots Electric Robot

You don't get much more retro than these four fabulous reissues of robot toys from '50s, '60s, and '70s. All are created from the original molds -- the only changes made were those needed to bring the playthings up to modern safety standards. Electric Robot, shown here, was originally a Donna-Reed-era plaything, and can transmit messages in Morse Code. He's got a cheat sheet on the back of his head from those of us a little dusty on our dot-dot-dash talk.

Available in fall 2011 at specialty stores. Price: $49.99.

Skyrocket Toys

9. Skyrocket Meon Interactive Animation Studio

Think of it as the evolution of Lite Brite. Kids thread varying lengths of Meon wire -- a sort of LCD light-up cable -- to fashion their own neon-esque signs. They can follow the licensed Disney/Pixar patterns, fashion their own original designs, or even drop some neon graffiti over a personal photograph. Top of the line "animated" models, flash between two different designs to create the illusion of movement. They also have games, sounds, and can be voice-activated. Cool.

Available at specialty stores in August 2011. Price: $9.99-$34.99.

Uncle Milton

10. Uncle Milton Tarantula Planet

These arachnids (which are, yes, robotic) are sound activated. Clap, and you see them skitter across the floor. The real fun comes in when you place two or more of these mega-spiders side by side and applaud like crazy to race them. Only the red tarantula, Hot Rod, comes with this Creepy Cactus Raceway (available at Amazon, $29.99). Others (including one with a pirate-hook hand!) are available for $12.99 each.

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KidPop News: 'Tangled' Gets Tested, Austen Gets a Twilight Treatment and Mr. Men Get a Movie Deal

Christopher Healy — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Books for Kids, Movies

Amazon

Rapunzel's Hair is Cleared for Climbing
The engineers at Imperial College in London have been putting their highly-educated brains to good use, designing an experiment to show that human hair is capable of supporting a prince. It's about time somebody has. Admit it: You've been wondering about the climb-ability of hair ever since you first heard the Rapunzel fairytale as a kid, long before Disney took its shot at the story with "Tangled." Well, now we know the answer (sort of). Those British builders and scientists concocted a hoist that was able to use human hair to suspend the host of BBC children's show "Blue Peter" several feet off the ground. So, case closed? Maybe not. In the experiment, the hair was firmly secured to a wooden rig, not a teenage girl's scalp.

Amazon

New Covers for Old Classics Have the Lure of the Vampire
Want teenage girls to read literary classics from Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters? Give those books covers that evoke a certain mega-selling vampire-werewolf love triangle. That's what Harper Teen seems to be banking on with their new editions of "Sense and Sensibility" and "Jane Eyre" (which join their recent reissues of "Pride and Prejudice," "Wuthering Heights," and "Romeo and Juliet" in a "Collect Them All" romance series). Stark black backgrounds, splashes of red, eerie lighting -- the only things missing are the words "Twilight Book Five." Please don't read this as a criticism, though. If those frankly gorgeous covers get kids to pick up the classics, they're weaving the right kind of spell.

Amazon

One-Dimensional Characters to Star in Upcoming Hollywood Film
Twentieth Century Fox announced this week that it will produce a big-screen adaptation of the Mr. Men book series by British children's author, Roger Hargreaves. You remember the Mr. Men and Little Miss books, those pediatrician's office staples about round, monochromatic characters, each of whom has only one distinguishing personality trait. They're perfect fodder for Hollywood. I don't know why it's taken so long to get these non-developing characters into a movie. Anyway, it's time to start speculating about a cast: Russell Crowe as Mr. Grumpy? Ricky Gervais as Mr. Rude? Lindsay Lohan as Little Miss Calamity?

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Tired of the Long Winter? Let Laura Ingalls Wilder Put Things in Perspective for You

Christopher Healy — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Books for Kids

Is it spring yet? Credit: Amazon

When even kids start complaining about the snow, you know we've had a tough winter. But it could be much, much worse. And if you need to remind your children of that fact, read them "The Long Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The sixth -- and, in my opinion, best -- of the Little House books, chronicles the excruciating, blizzard-filled season of 1880 in the Dakota Territory. Don't let the illustration of sledding, snowball-making kids on the cover fool you -- this book is terrifying. After making it through a full reading, you and your kids might all be looking at this year's snowfalls in a different light.

It's not just that the actual weather detailed in the book is awful (and it is, believe me), it's the language Ms. Wilder uses to talk about it that makes "The Long Winter" so harrowing. She writes some of the best, most visceral descriptions of cold ever seen in literature. And when she applies her way with words to the suspenseful plot about her stranded town's dwindling supplies and increasingly harsh conditions, you get a thriller with Mother Nature as the villain.

When your kids gripe about the difficulties this current long winter poses, treat them to some of the following scenes from Wilder's story.

1. If your kids complains about having to walk to school on a snowy day: Remind them that, in order to make sure they didn't lose any students, Laura and her classmates had to walk hand-in-hand, making a human chain as they trudged through a blinding whiteout.

2. If your kids complain about how cold it is: Remind them that Laura was thankful for temperatures of 20 below zero, because they're so much more comfortable than the 40-below temperatures experienced days earlier. We're talking temperatures so frigid that grazing cows got their heads frozen to the ground!

3. If your kids complain about having to adhere to their bedtimes, even on a snow day: Remind them that Laura's entire family had to go to bed the moment the sun went down, because it was pitch black and they didn't have a drop of kerosene left to even light a lamp.

4. If you kids complain that you won't crank the thermostat up to 75: Remind them that Laura's family of six had to huddle around their stove -- the only source of heat in the house -- as blizzard-force winds rattled windows, whistled through gaps in the walls, and blew a carpet of snow in under the front door.

5. If your kids complain that spring hasn't arrived yet: Remind them that the Ingalls family didn't get to celebrate Christmas until the weather finally cleared up -- in May.

On second thought, maybe this isn't the best idea. My fingers are numbing up as I type this. Reading is all about escapism, right? Maybe we should all read something a bit warmer. Did Wilder ever write "Little House on Waikiki?"

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February Children's Books: A Tale for Every Holiday

Christopher Healy — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Books for Kids

For such a short month, February is certainly packed with holidays. And we've got great new picture books to commemorate each of them.

Amazon

Groundhog Day
"Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox" by Susan Blackaby, illustrated by Carmen Segovia (Sterling, $15)
Aside from the classic Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day has been pretty much disregarded by pop culture. But this lovely new animal fable -- with its 1940s-feel illustrations and Aesopian clever-critter tone -- has a great deal of fun with the minor holiday. As the groundhog plods through the snow, looking for signs of spring (aren't we all this year?), she manages to repeatedly outsmart a hungry fox. The book feels classic and fresh all at once.

Amazon

Chinese New Year
"The Runaway Wok" by Ying Chang Compestine, illustrated by Sabastiá Serra (Dutton, $17)
Speaking of classic, this lively story has all the ingredients necessary for a good old-fashioned folk tale. You've got a well-meaning young boy, who, Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-style, appears to do the wrong thing when he spends his poor family's money on a supposedly magic wok, instead of the food he was supposed to buy for their New Year's feast. You've also got a mean, oppressive rich family that runs the town, who get their comeuppance when the magic wok turns out to be the real thing. You get a little bit of darkness, a little bit of humor and a whole lot of appealing illustrations of delicious-looking food. This is one of those tales that you can imagine yourself retelling from memory when your kids need a bedtime story and there are no books handy.

Amazon

Valentine's Day
"A String of Hearts" by Laura Malone Elliott, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger (Katherine Tegen Books, $17)
There are so many animals-as-schoolkids books out there that it's easy to discount any new ones that come along. But this witty, touching, and eminently relatable tale definitely deserves notice. Who among us, young or old, doesn't completely understand the muddy swirl of anxiety and excitement associated with a grade-school teacher's command to make Valentine's cards for every kid in your class. The adorable angst that the protagonist bear, Sam, works through falls into the "it's funny because it's true" category. Example: "What nice thing could he write about Nicole? Nicole had said his really cool light-up tennis shoes were dumb looking."

Amazon

Presidents' Day
"Just in Time, Abraham Lincoln" by Patricia Polacco (Putnam, $18)
While not technically about Presidents' Day, this ambitious and utterly unique picture book offers up a very fresh and exciting new look at one of the Commanders-in-Chief honored on that day. First of all, by looking at the cover, you might not guess that this book is a sci-fi, time travel adventure. Two brothers visit the Harper's Ferry Civil War Museum, and find themselves transported to 1862, where they meet Lincoln himself on the battlefield at Gettysburg. The boys (and the book's readers) learn some important lessons about the realities of war and the emotional toll that it can take -- even on someone as historically strong and stoic as Honest Abe. Be forewarned, though, the prolific Ms. Polacco's depictions of battlefield violence, while not over-the-top with gore, are appropriately disturbing. There is blood. And when the boys are about to get caught in a firefight and they fear they'll never get back to the 21st century, the book gets genuinely thrilling.

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Are App Books the New Pop-Up Books?

Christopher Healy — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Gadgets, Books for Kids, Apps

Kids used to be wowed by the ability to pull a tab and make a little cardboard bee fly back and forth on a page. Now, on an iPad book app, they can tap that bee, hear it buzz, watch it fly figure eights and maybe even swat it with their hand and smash it. Just how interactive can these books get?

iTunes

The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone, illustrated by Michael Smollin (Callaway Digital Arts, $0.99 -- that's an introductory price; it will go up soon)
Back when this Sesame Street classic was written in 1971, it was already groundbreaking in terms of interactivity. For those of you not familiar with the original, the entire book consists of Grover begging the reader not to turn pages; he's afraid of getting to the end of the book, which, based on the title, he assumes will hold a terrifying monster. With all of its fourth-wall-breaking greatness, this book was a prime candidate for app-book transformation. It was brilliant the way Grover would build a brick wall on one page, and by turning the page, the child reading it would seem to knock it down. In this new version, kids get to literally poke at the bricks and watch the wall crumble bit by bit. There's definitely something to be said for the simplicity of the original, but getting to untie knots and saw through boards with your fingers is incredibly fun -- especially while Grover is begging you not to. In fact, Grover himself may be the best thing about this electronic edition: He's hilarious. He even comes out with off-book ad libs if kids are slow to actually turn the pages. And frankly, there are many parents out there whose throats could use a break after trying to read the original in a muppet voice.

iTunes

What Does My Teddy Bear Do All Day? by Bruno Hachler, illustrated by Birte Muller (Auryn, Inc, $1.99 -- that's a sale price, too; regular is $7.99)
This lesser-known picture book (the app goes by the abbreviated title, Teddy's Day) is a cute story about a little girl who spies on her favorite plush toy to see what it does when she's not around. The app version does an amazing job of making the original illustrations come to life. When interactive hot spots are tapped, the painted characters become suddenly three-dimensional and move around with realistic, fluid motion. In addition, kids are given the opportunity to literally use objects in the illustrations. In one scene, when the young girl is shown putting a jigsaw puzzle together on her living room floor, readers can drag the loose pieces into place and help her finish it. Kids can draw their own crayon portraits that will then hang up on the character's walls, blending in seamlessly with the rest of the artwork. It's quite impressive.

iTunes

Cozmo's Day Off by Frank and Emma Ayars, illustrated by Frank Grau, Jr. (Ayars Animation, $3.99 -- also an introductory price)
Cozmo is an adorable little alien who struggles to get to work on time, running into one obstacle after another. The plot feels secondary, though, as the book is packed with over 100 unique interactive features. Kids (and adults) can explore every page, finding all sorts of hidden bells and whistles -- a superhero poster that spouts out comically over-the-top slogans, a robot chef who churns out a batch of popcorn on demand, billboards with magically-changing advertisements (for spoofy fake products), radios that play funky sci-fi music, balls you can roll around within the scenes, and much more. There are even a few bona fide games secreted among the illustrations. And an awesome voice-changer that allows you to tinker with the speed and pitch of the narration. Some may question whether the book sacrifices true storytelling in favor of a slew of neat tricks, but that question has been asked about many an old-fashioned paper pop-up book. Just like those traditional pop-ups, this kind of app book is simply a different animal and should be judged as such. My only beef with Cozmo's Day Off is that, unlike in the first two app books reviewed here, the names of the authors and illustrator are incredibly hard to find. The Ayars, who developed the app as well, should take more obvious credit for the fun verses they wrote. And Frank Grau Jr. deserves his name is glowing neon for the gorgeous art he produces, not a tiny line credit at the end of parents' manual.

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Children's Picture Book Trend for 2011: Cats?

Christopher Healy — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Books for Kids

Every so often in the world of children's picture books, a specific animal species will unexpectedly jump into the spotlight.

Sometimes you can trace the inspiration for the Flavor-of-the-Month critter back to a popular film, like when "March of the Penguins" gave rise to a slew of penguin-led books for a while. Other times, such as when we saw a spate of crocodile books a few years back, there's no telling why the imaginations of multiple authors get focused on a particular beast.

Well, we're only a few weeks into 2011, but the animal taking the most starring roles so far seems to be the oh-so pedestrian cat. Cats are such old standbys that it's hard to get excited about them. But in the right hands, a cat story can be quite a treat.

Amazon

"Dear Tabby" by Carolyn Crimi and David Roberts (Harper, $17)
The story here is related through a series of letters -- those written to a feline advice columnist, and the ones she taps out in reply. As the book starts, the animal quandaries (from a lovelorn skunk, a stressed out groundhog, an annoyingly talkative parrot, and more) and Tabby's responses to them feel like cute little jokes. But as you move on, you realize there's a real plot here -- one that takes some clever and emotionally moving turns. A few classified ads and newspaper articles get interspersed among the letters to fill out story details. And by the time you're done, you've had a very fulfilling reading experience (with some very nice, perfectly suited artwork as well). This is one of those picture books that makes you think it's going to be a one-joke story based around a titular pun, but ends up being so much more.

Amazon

"Cat Secrets" by Jef Czekaj (Balzer + Bray, $17)
This is the kind of book that, as a parent, you either love or hate to read aloud. Because it's all dialogue, all comic-style word bubbles. These books demand not just reading, but acting. They beg for different voices for all the different characters. Depending on who you are, you either jump at the opportunity to put on a little one-person show for your kids, or you loathe beyond all reason the very idea of doing. If you're the latter kind, you've heard all you need to hear about this book. For those who enjoy the all-dialogue reads, this one is short and quick, but fun. And it calls for your kids to interact as well. The cats in the book are trying to make sure, before they reveal their secrets, that no one reading isn't a cat. So they'll put your kids through a series of test to prove their feline-ness. It's cute. And the ending may have a surprising effect on your kids (especially if read at bedtime).

Amazon

"The Best Birthday Ever! By Me (Lana Kittie)" by Charise Mericle Harper (Disney-Hyperion, $16)
This is really a book about birthday parties, so Lana Kittie didn't need to be a cat. She just happens to be one. Which doesn't mean that human children (and their parents) won't relate to the adorably funny humor bits in here. The basic idea behind the book is Lana instructing other kids how to practice for an upcoming birthday party, so they can insure they'll do things right when the big day arrives. Pointers include everything from not treating your guests to a concert of songs you made up yourself to making sure that any guest who may accidentally blow out the candles is seated far from the cake.

Dark Horse Candidate: The Skunk

Amazon

"A Pet for Petunia" by Paul Schmid (Harper, $13)
If you noticed, I mentioned that there's a skunk in "Dear Tabby" (above). Well, a skunk is the titular pet here, too. Schmid's minimalist, mostly black-and-white art is a perfect fit for a good skunk story. Here, we've got a young girl with a cute plush skunk toy, who begs to get a real skunk as a pet. She refuses to believe that the animal will smell bad. And of course, she eventually finds out the truth, firsthand (firstnose?). Personally, I'd like to see the skunks overtake the cats for animal of the year. It would be a breath of fresh air.

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KidPop News: Sanitized Twain, Hazardous Nintendo and Bawdy Kids' Shows

Christopher Healy — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Books for Kids, Music, Video Games, TV

Amazon

Huck Finn Gets Politically Correct
In a move that has already begun to stir up rafts of controversy, publisher NewSouth Books announced that, in February, it will release a new edition of Mark Twain's classic "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" with all 219 instances of the N-word removed. The new version, edited by Auburn University Twain scholar Alan Gribben, subs in the word "slave" for the racial slur.

On the one hand, this reeks of censorship and feels completely wrong to the truthfulness of a powerful work of literature (the new edit removes hateful words that, by many interpretations, Twain -- a well-known abolitionist -- purposely used to make a point on civil rights). But Gribben told Publisher's Weekly that he created the new edit in response to educators who told him they'd love to teach the book, but couldn't because of the racially-charged language ("Huckleberry Finn" has long history of being banned by schools). Also, kids have been marketed abridged, simplified, and "retold" versions of literary classics for ages. Is a sanitized Huck any different than, say, a modern-language "Romeo and Juliet?" Well, with the history of racial relations in this country being what it is, many would say yes.

So, is the hubbub over a P.C. Huck Finn too much? Or wholly justified? Whichever side of the argument you fall on, there's probably much to be learned from this debate.

As a side note, the new Twain edition, which contains "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" as well, also removes all occurrences of "injun."

Amazon

Nintendo's New Game System Called a Hazard by ... Nintendo
We're closing in on the debut of Nintendo's latest technological breakthrough: The handheld Nintendo 3DS, the first game system to provide three-dimensional gaming without the use of 3-D glasses. But the company itself just posted a warning on its Japanese website, declaring the 3DS potentially unsafe for kids under the age of 6. Since young eyes are still developing at that age, and the game system creates its 3-D effect by delivering different images to the left and right eyes, Nintendo warns that playing with it may have "a potential impact on the growth of children's eyes." They also recommend that older players spend no more than 30 minutes at a time on the device.

Will the biggest video game villains of the New Year be headaches and nausea? Frankly, I've been sick of the 3-D craze for a long time now. It has become far too de rigueur in the film world (do we seriously need to see smurfs in 3-D?) and used as a stand-in for actual quality. Let's hope video games don't follow suit.

Russian Kids' Show Gets Risqué
A viral video clip, reportedly from a Russian children's program, has been making a stir online this week. Click here to view it, but if you're at work, be aware that it may draw some unwanted attention. It features a singer named Angina who can barely keep her scanty clothing on while dancing with a stage full of kids. (The kids seem to be having an undeniably great time, by the way.) It kind of puts that censored Katy Perry "Sesame Street" video in a whole new light.

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New Kids' Music: Some of the Best CDs Were Saved for the End of the Year

Christopher Healy — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Music, New In Pop Culture

Some great family music albums have been released throughout 2010, including Frances England's "Mind of My Own," Secret Agent 23 Skidoo's "Underground Playground" and Caspar Babypants' "This is Fun!" But four of my personal favorites squeezed in just at the end of the year, and they're definitely worth checking out.

Amazon

Lunch Money: "Original Friend"
Nickelodeon's cult favorite show, "Yo Gabba Gabba," gets loads of credit for getting grown-up music acts to perform kids' songs that have a cool indie vibe. But what they really do is get famous musicians to sound like Lunch Money. This ultra-hip trio has put out a slew of great tunes in the past, but they've topped themselves with "Original Friend."

The title track is a smorgasbord of delicious new wave hooks that will have you up and dancing by the second line. "Come Over to My Dollhouse" (featuring guest vocals by Secret Agent 23 Skidoo) is a boy-toy-meets-girl-toy tune chock full of smile-inducing pop culture references. And "I Want to Push Buttons" hits upon a modern childhood urge that, frankly, shouldn't have taken this long for someone to write a song about.

Amazon

The Baby Grands: "The Baby Grands II"
I was a fan of the Baby Grands from their first CD a couple of years back, but their new disc (they simply number their albums, in the classic rock tradition of bands such as Led Zeppelin and Van Halen) manages to outshine their previous effort. Starting straight from the catchy-cool opening track, "Hey!", the songs are a virtuoso display of alt-rock gusto. These guys shouldn't be surprised if the Barenaked Ladies decide to cover some of their tunes.

In terms of subject matter, there's great stuff about dinosaurs, robots and paper airplanes, but the Baby Grands also have the guts to sing about love in the sweet (but still rockin') "Pounding Heart." This is a flat-out great album.

Scribblebooks.com

ScribbleMonster & His Pals: "Look Both Ways"
On this wildly entertaining disc, the chord-crunching guitars of the Muppet-punk outfit are applied to an entire album full of "Sesame Street" covers. But aside from the theme song (which rocks like never before), these are mostly older, more obscure "Sesame" tunes.

There's the jangly counting song "Thirty-Two Cracks in the Sidewalk," the raucous back-and-forth opposites lesson "Loud and Soft" and the high-speed, toe-tapping anthem "Good Morning, Mister Sun." With both human and monster vocals, these covers are not just wonderful re-introductions to under-sung "Sesame" classics, but great grooving songs in their own rights.

Amazon

Dog on Fleas: "The Bestest of the Best"
If you're in the mood for something different, take Dog on Fleas for a spin. Nobody whips out experimental alt-funk-country-folk-jazzy-swing-pop like this incredibly eclectic group. Heck, they've even got a guy who plays the conch shell.

This disc collects 20 of the most interesting, witty, catchy and fun tracks from the group's five CDs. You get the Squirrel Nut Zippers-esque swing of "The Moon Song," the zingy pseudo-hip-hop of "Worms" (which, as the lyrics say, isn't really about worms), the daddy-o cool of "Dig" and the goofy grandiosity of the ballad "Goodnight Fudge." It's a something-for-everyone album.

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Top Christmas Carol Mystery Lyrics Explained

Christopher Healy — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Holidays, Music

Even Santa can get stumped by some Christmas lyrics. Illustration by Christopher Healy

Kids are loaded with questions this time of year. How does Santa fit down the chimney? Why do I have to wear that sweater Aunty Ruthie gave me? What does wassailing mean? That last one, at least, we can help you out with. Along with other entirely reasonable queries about eternally confusing lyrics to classic holiday songs.

1. What is the Feast of Stephen? And why is King Wenceslas celebrating that instead of Christmas? The Feast of St. Stephen, a.k.a. St. Stephen's Day, is a Christian holiday -- and a public one in several European countries -- honoring the first Christian martyr. It falls on December 26th or 27th (depending on the country), so I think that technically makes "Good King Wenceslas" a post-Christmas carol. According to the website, IrishFestivals.net, a one-time tradition for holiday was to chase and kill a wren (the symbol of St. Stephen). Then you'd tie the dead bird to a holly bush and decorate it with ribbons. Cheery, no? Makes you really hope that partridge in the pear tree was still chirping.

2. Speaking of which, what's a French hen? It sounds delicious. Faverolles are a breed of tufted French chickens that are pretty fancy-looking and lay tinted eggs, so I suppose they might have made nice gifts back when "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written.

3. And while we're on the topic: Since when is Christmas 12 days long? Well, since the beginning of Christianity. For centuries, people celebrated Christmas as a nearly two-week extravaganza, from December 25th to January 5th. The Feast of St. Stephen was actually the second day of Christmas (Hey, it's all starting to come together now). The last day was known as "Twelfth Night" -- as in the Shakespeare title -- and was the traditional time for wassailing.

4. Oh, yeah: What's wassailing? Does it have something to do with that town Sarah Palin is from? No. Wassailing is an ancient tradition of going door-to-door singing Christmas songs. Cute people in very quaint towns still do it today.

5. Carols at someone's door I get, but what about "carols at the spinet?" Ah, yes. That line comes from "We Need a Little Christmas," which is actually a Broadway show tune. It first appeared in the musical "Mame." A spinet is a small, upright piano -- just the type of instrument you often see adorable families standing around and singing "Jingle Bells."

6. That reminds me: What's a bobtail? You know: "Bells on bobtails ring?" A bobtail is a horse that has had its tail cut short. We can assume that the one horse pulling that open sleigh has had such a trim, and that it is wearing bells that do indeed jingle. We can also assume that the term bobtail was less perplexing to people back when that song was written.

7. Speaking of sleigh rides, what is, or who are Currier and Ives? Well, it's definitely not "courier endives," as I once thought the lyric said, assuming it to be about some sort of special salad green for messengers. When the song "Sleigh Ride" compares the holiday scene to "a picture print by Currier & Ives," it's referring to the nineteenth-century duo of Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives who produced a lot of bucolic art prints that were iconic of the era, including several featuring sleigh rides, like "American Homestead Winter," "Trotting Cracks in the Snow," and "A Spill Out on the Snow," the last of which depicts a somewhat scary sleigh collision and feels like the 1800s version of Failblog.

8. What's up with scary stuff at Christmas? "The Most Wonderful Time of Year" says, "there'll be scary ghost stories." Were the songwriters thinking of Halloween? No, they were probably thinking of the old tradition in the U.K. of telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve. Dylan Thomas, in his story, "A Child's Christmas in Wales," mentions just such a tale-telling by the fire, and the play adaptation of the Dylan's story shows the family trying to one-up one another with increasingly frightening yarns. The truly mysterious bit here is that "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" was written in the 1960s by two American guys. Spooky.

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Children's Christmas Books: New Versions of Old Classics

Christopher Healy — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Books for Kids

Every holiday season sees several new renditions of the classic Christmas stories '"Twas the Night Before Christmas" and "A Christmas Carol." One really has to wonder how many times those same pieces of text can be re-illustrated. But as unnecessary as they may seem, there are always versions that stand out.

Credit: Amazon

This year, my pick for out-loud readings of the ubiquitous Clement C. Moore poem is a bit of a dark horse. I chose the new hardcover reissue of Mercer Mayer's 1992 "Little Critter's The Night Before Christmas" (Sterling, $10). Some may say Mayer dumbed it down, but you can just as easily argue that he eased up the archaic language. References to "St. Nick" have been replaced with the much more modern-kid-friendly "Santa Claus" and the stanza about the big man's pipe smoking has vanished as mysteriously as those cookies left out by the fireplace. Sure, Mayer has tinkered with canonical literature here, but be honest: Haven't you made on-the-fly edits like that yourself?

Credit: iTunes

As for Dickens's "A Christmas Carol," the new iPad edition by PadWorx DIgital Media ($5) is really worth checking out. At nearly a hundred pages, it's got the majority of the original text intact, but you have to work to see it all. The scene in Bob Cratchit's unheated office is so cold, for instance, that the words on the page have frozen up, and you, the reader, have to wave around the one warm coal Scrooge has supplied you with in order to melt them. And watching the foreboding figure of Scrooge tromp down the page, and seeing the lines of text part to make a path for him, as if even Dickens' words themselves were afraid of the man? Well, that's just cool. There's some pretty spooky imagery in there, though (and tough Dickensian language), so use judgment before sharing it with little kids.

Credit: Amazon

One more holiday poem that deserves to be more of a classic than it is, is e.e. cummings's lovely "Little Tree" from 1923. Read it and you'll see that it could very well have been the inspiration for that also-classic heartwarming finale of "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Dragonfly Books just reissued a neat little paperback version of the poem ($6) with gorgeous, emotion-laden colored pencil illustrations by Deborah Kogan Ray (art that itself has been out of print for 16 years). The pictures give in an urban setting, but this tale about adopting a pipsqueak of a Christmas tree and turning it into a bit of yuletide glory is pretty universal.

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'Disney Epic Mickey' Revives an Icon and Takes Video Game Storytelling to a New Level

Christopher Healy — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 11:06:00 EST

Filed under: Video Games

Mickey Mouse meets his ancestors in the "Disney Epic Mickey" game. Credit: Disney Interactive Studios

"Disney Epic Mickey" (for Nintendo Wii, $39.99)

Mickey Mouse may be the world's most recognizable cartoon character, but when was the last time you thought of the guy as a hero? For decades, he didn't do much beyond the occasional hosting gig or guest appearance in a holiday special. In recent years, he's had more face time with preschoolers, thanks to the cheery "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," but no one can really argue that the cute educational show elevated the toon star back to his one-time level of silver-screen glory. Enter "Disney Epic Mickey," a new Wii game (yes, a video game) that intends to remind people how Mickey earned that icon status to begin with.

Back in the day, Mickey Mouse was an action hero. He tussled with bad guys, extinguished raging fires, performed daredevil stunts and so on. He was also -- as were many animated protagonists of the '30s and '40s -- somewhat mischievous and not always the best role model. He was squeaky, not squeaky clean. "Disney Epic Mickey" takes that slightly subversive Mickey spirit and uses it to launch a sweeping -- yes, epic -- adventure.

It all begins with the too-curious mouse traipsing through a magic mirror and spying on a sorcerer (whom you will recognize from "Fantasia") as he builds a magical replica of Disneyland. But curiosity is just as much trouble to mice as it is to cats apparently, and before you know it, Mickey has spilled paint and thinner all over the diorama. Little did he know that that model housed a full magical world within it -- a place where all of Disney's forgotten toons (like Horace the Horse, Clarabelle Cow and others -- all led by Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt's precursor to Mickey, who makes his first appearance in over 80 years) could live and be happy. And the paint Mickey spilled in there transformed into an evil being called the Blot, which warped and twisted the "Happiest Place on Earth" into something, well, warped and twisted.

The game kicks in years after the paint-spilling incident, when Mickey is dragged into the dark world of the model, now known to its inhabitants as Wasteland. With you in control, Mickey must find his way home and make some important decisions along the way. One of the great things about the game is that how you choose to play affects the story. Mickey has a magical paintbrush and thinner at his disposal. As he wanders through iconic Disneyland locations, like Main Street U.S.A. (here transformed into Mean Street) or the It's a Small World ride (which looks as if it were envisioned by Tim Burton), he can choose to paint missing bits of the world back into existence, or erase stuff that's in his way. He can do the same to his enemies, the wicked Blotlings: Spraying them with paint will win them over and make them friendly; thinner will simply dissolve them.

There's no particularly right or wrong choice to make at any given point in the game, but your actions will have consequences as the story unfolds. And that story unfolds beautifully. There's a huge amount of character development, surprising for a character we all think we know so well. But Mickey isn't the only fascinating character in the game. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who begins the game as an almost-villainous foil to Mickey, ends up being far deeper than he seems (and we can only hope we'll see more of him after this). The story builds to a rousing and genuinely emotional climax, making you feel that this is one video game that you wouldn't mind seeing made into a movie.

There are things about the game that are far from perfect: The camera angles, for instance, can be frustrating at times, preventing you from seeing where you need to go during intricate obstacle course-like areas. And the controls can feel a bit slippery here and there, making you wish for a little more precision. But these glitches are worth working through to experience the unique and creative gameplay and the exciting and heartfelt story of "Disney Epic Mickey."

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Kinect Isn't the Only Game In Town: 3 More Innovations in Gaming

Christopher Healy — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Toys, Video Games

Microsoft's new Kinect system, which lets players control Xbox 360 games with nothing more than their own bodies, has justifiably made a big splash in the gaming world. But it's far from the only gaming innovation popping up this holiday season. Check out these three other games/devices that make playing a video game a wholly new and different experience.

Amazon

uDraw
The uDraw tablet, from game publisher THQ, works with the Nintendo Wii and lets you control the onscreen action by drawing on a touchpad with a stylus. The actual Wii remote sits tucked into a slot on the side -- and can register the movement of the tablet, which actually comes into play in certain games -- but your main control tool will be that big, chunky, pencil-shaped stylus. The stylus is actually very nicely designed for young hands to hold and manipulate easily. The tablet comes packaged with "uDraw Studio" ($70), art software that lets you use the tablet as a virtual canvas for all sorts of creative expression. It's a neat little bundle of artistic tools that allow you to turn the stylus into a crayon, piece of chalk, paintbrush, airbrush, and more. But the utility of that table is really on display in the new uDraw-compatible "Pictionary" game. Why play virtual "Pictionary" over the real thing? Because the offline version can't slam you with insane challenges like drawing while the screen rotates in circles or sketching with a limited amount of ink that will slowly run out as you draw.

The only thing to watch out for is the fact that you need to learn a new skill in order to use the uDraw tablet: Most of us, even those confident in their artistic abilities, are used to looking at our hands when we draw -- this method requires you to look away from your pencil and stare at the screen. But it's something you can get accustomed to with a little practice.

Amazon

PSP Camera
This tiny camera (about the size of a cheese puff -- and just as light) attaches to Sony's handheld PSP game system, and it can take you into the world of Enhanced Reality Gaming. These are video games that incorporate your actual real-world environment and surroundings. The PSP camera comes packaged with a game called "Invizimals" ($40). It's a Pokémon-esque creature collecting and battling game, but the awesomely cool part is that you will see those little monsters duking it out right on your coffee table. The camera essentially makes it feel like you're looking through your PSP and seeing animated monsters scamper about on the surfaces of whatever room you're in at the time.

Another camera-ready game for the PSP is the virtual pet sim, "EyePet." You will not only see your Monchichi-like pet sitting in front of you on your desk or kitchen counter, but if you stick your hand within the camera frame, the animated monkey creature will react to it. It may be the closest you can come to feeling like you're in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" (and any of you who get that reference should feel as old as I do for using it).

Amazon

Babysitting Mama
Seeing this Wii game sitting on the shelf of a store, you may not even realize it's a video game. All you'll see is a big, plush baby doll. When you pop the "Babysitting Mama" disc ($50) into your console, you'll be instructed to slip your Wii remote into an opening on the back of the incredibly soft and cushy doll. Then you'll actually play with the doll as your controller. With different babysitting scenarios depicted onscreen (soothing a cranky baby, changing a diaper, and so on), you'll have to duplicate "Mama's" motions with your own baby, rocking it, bouncing it, playing games like blanky-tug-of-war with it, etc. It's quite obviously a game for very little kids, but that pro-plush audience should go gaga for it.

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Young Readers: Choose Your Dystopia

Christopher Healy — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:22:00 EST

Filed under: Books for Kids

What's exciting young readers today? Based on current themes in publishing, it's incredibly awful visions of the future. But thankfully, terrible visions of things to come don't mean terrible books -- a few recent dystopian novels prove quite the opposite, in fact.

Amazon

"Museum of Thieves" by Lian Tanner (Delacorte Press, $17)
Why this future looks so great on the surface: The world is free of all ills (or so it seems). Ages before the story takes place, people figured out how to trap and contain everything that was potentially bad -- that means war, disease, natural disasters, and even animals (yes, kids growing up in this world have only ever seen mechanical clockwork animals).
What's really horribly wrong with it: The museum that contains all of those ills, Pandora's Box, seems about to burst at the seams -- and if all those horrific things were released upon the world at once ... well, that would be bad.
How is the book: The novel's premise is wildly interesting and the world it presents wholly original. But the book's characters prove to be its most appealing features. They are what will bring readers back to eagerly read the coming sequels. The tale's young heroine, Goldie Roth, is a scrappy, stand-up-for-herself individualist. She breaks laws, defies authority, and remains eminently likable while doing so. The "thieves" of the book's title are the good guys -- Goldie among them -- as Tanner presents an excitingly subversive view of right and wrong. It's a book that will give young readers a lot to think about, even while they rapidly turn pages, thrilled by the fast-paced tale. There's certainly an element of darkness to the story, but it feels equivalent to "Prisoner of Azkaban"-level darkness, not "Half-Blood Prince"-level darkness.

Amazon

"A Crack in the Sky" by Mark Peter Hughes (Delacorte Press, $17)
Why this future looks so great on the surface: People live safely encased in giant domes that project virtual skies (and the occasional advertisement). And citizens are told they have nothing to fear from the wasteland world outside the domes.
What's really horribly wrong with it: Global climate change has devastated everything outside of those few protected cities. And the domes seem to be failing. The mega-corporation/government that runs the dome cities denies the problems, though, just as they deny the secret war they're waging to suppress contact with the poor people who are still living on the outside in the wastes.
How is the book: As the story's massive conspiracy slowly unfolds, the book gets harder and harder to put down (and unfortunately, when you reach the last page and have no choice but to put it down, you'll be stuck with a wait-for-book-two cliffhanger). The story flips back and forth between two protagonists, one a boy who is heir to the governing family that first built the domes, and the other a girl in a different city who is under suspicion of treason after her rebel boyfriend gets arrested. You know the two will eventually meet, but where, when and how it finally happens comes as a surprising twist -- as do many of the plot points along the way. For example, a mind-reading mongoose plays a big part in the story -- not exactly something you'd see coming.

Amazon

"Matched" by Ally Condie (Dutton, $18)
Why this future looks so great on the surface: When everybody turns 17, genetic testing is used to match them with their perfect mates (whom they then legally must marry). They're also assigned to their perfect career. They know they will have perfect children and live to grow old with their spouse (disease has been pretty much eliminated through all the genetic manipulation). And then the happy couple dies together on their 80th birthday, which has been determined to be the perfect age at which to die.
What's really horribly wrong with it: Well, come on -- that's just creepy.
How is the book: The Twilight Saga may have the vampires and werewolves, but "Matched" is the truly eerie teen romance. The story follows Cassia, a true believer who starts the book in the throes of eerie Stepford-like glee over her upcoming Match Day. She's oh-so psyched when she's paired with Xander, a boy she's known since childhood, but she starts to question things after she realizes she's falling for the new boy, Ky. But the book becomes much more than just a teen love triangle. Ky was never supposed to be matched with anyone because he's from "the outside." And the creepy Society (a.k.a. rulers of everything) seems to be hiding something very bad about the world outside their borders (in an intriguing parallel to A Crack in the Sky, above). Condie keeps the relationships interesting, too. It would have been very easy to make Xander the bad guy, so that you have no doubts about rooting for Cassia and Ky to be together. But both guys seem pretty great, and even more surprisingly, are friendly with one another. If the supernatural teen romance genre is about to move into the sci-fi teen romance area, this is a very promising start.

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