Toys and Games Books

This is my sons absolute favorite book! There is tons of different things to do but it does get warn outd quickly if child is less then 2 and tears at it. Amazing Educational Book!

I read this book to my younger sister so many times in the past... In the world of hands-on children's books where you pull, turn, and flip the pieces, this book is a treasure. It's well put together enought to withstand years of play.

This book is about the mice in Mr. Brice's home and what they do. It teaches the kids about so many different things like counting, alphabet, measuring, colors, telling time, and so many other things. The age level would probably be around the age of eight at the most that they would learn something, any older they would probably just find the pop ups and pictures amusing. I think the book was excellent for children and I think any child who reads this will enjoy it and learn.

This is one of the cutest childrens books I have ever seen. I bought one for my daughter when she was little and now I buy them as gifts for other young children I know.

So much so, in fact, that we are now purchasing our third copy. Each of our previous copies has held up remarkably well considering how well-loved they were, but as with all books with moving pieces, eventually you need to reinvest. My son, now five, adored this. The page that introduces you to the 26 mice in Mr. Brice's house was a perennial favorite for him and taught him phonics as well as being just plain fun. Your child will get exposure to opposites, reasoning and problem solving, and to many other great skills, all while having a blast with this book. Well worth the investment, even the third time around (in fact, I'm counting on it keeping my two-year-old daughter occupied on a six-hour flight!).

Wonderful book. Helped me catagorize and date all of my Ty Beanies and I was so happy with the accuracy of the book. Would recommend to Ty Beanie Baby collectors.

This is the most informational Beanie Guide I have ever seen. I own several other guides, but this one is one that I will use most often. It has so much more detail than the others; also covers more of Ty's products, not just Babies and Buddies. As I collect my items, I can look them up, check off the ones I already have, see how much they are worth on today's market, see when they were born, retired (if not current). I recommend this to all Ty collectors.

The pictures are easy to follow and match up the names and values with my Ty Beanies.

This book is very accurate, informative and well put together. For some time now I've been looking for an up to date beanie list and price guide and this book is it! It's a great item for all Ty collectors!

This book is my bible when buying or selling TY beanies accurate price list, interesting facts and is a must for TY beanie lovers that love to collect these little guys.

This is a cute story about whiteblack the penguin, a curious and optimistic fellow that sets out to wander the world in search of stories for his radio show for Penguinlands radio station W.O.N.S. He gets into trouble a few times but manages to keep his optimism through out his trip.

There is publishers note at the end of the story that explains this was actually an uncompleted work that the Reys carried out of Paris when the fled from the Germans in 1940. For some reason it was sent back for revision and it was forgotten probably due to the other Curious George stories. After Margret had passed, the manuscript and drawings were found and it was decided to publish the story 63 years after it was written.

Overall the story is on par with Curious George and it passed muster with my little girl.

A worthwhile addition to any child's library!

...YES, THAT'S ALL THE "EXCITEMENT" THERE IS TO THIS ONE. IT'S A CUTE BOOK, BUT NOT ONE I'D WANT TO READ MORE THAN ONCE. 'SPOTTY' & 'PRETZEL' ARE MUCH BETTER.

Margaret and H. A. Rey wrote the children's book, Whiteblack the Penguin Sees the World. They are known for their famous series Curious George. Their works are very distinct because of the illustrations. In Whiteblack the Penguin Sees the World, H. A. Rey uses bright vivid colors and black outlines to express emotions. The color yellow signifies safety and comfort while darker colors signifies lack of security. In the beginning and end of Whiteblack the Penguin Sees the World, the color yellow signifies a sense of comfort and security. In the beginning, Whiteblack is at home, Penguinland, and the color yellow is very prominent. H. A. Rey also includes deep blues for a sense of comfort. This is a home-away-home story; and children consider home to be a safe place. Therefore, the color yellow signifies comfort and security. For example, when Whiteblack is leaving Penguinland, the color yellow was illustrated. Also, when Whiteblack arrived at the desert and was accompanied by the camel, there is a sense of safety and comfort, and yellow is illustrated throughout this page. The end of the story is illustrated with yellow, because Whiteblack has returned home. While Whiteblack is on his adventures throughout the story, the colors change because he is either in danger or sad. When Whiteblack first left, his boat hit an iceberg and wrecked and he was in the ocean alone. The color of the ocean is now a shady green and looks scary, therefore giving a feeling of helplessness. There is a huge cruiser heading his way and you think it might hit him, but he climbs aboard. H. A. Rey illustrates the color yellow because he is rescued. When Whiteblack is on his way home, he is riding on the top of an airplane and tumbles off and dives into the sea. There the colors are darker and yellow is hardly seen. Near the end, Whiteblack is in the ocean by himself pulling a net of fish for his friends in Penguinland. Whiteblack is struggling and his strength is almost gone. Here the colors are dark and yellow is not shown clearly, but on the next page, his friend, Seal, is coming to his rescue. The color yellow is being restored but still a little shaded, this gives some foreshadowing to what might happen next. When Whiteblack and Seal reach Penguinland, they both jump for joy. Obviously there are feelings of happiness, comfort, and security and the color yellow is very vivid. In the article, "Laughter in Literature", Lonsdale states "Curious George's creator...combines text and illustration to make George a lively and likeable little monkey. The illustration in strong, dark colors, full of action, on white paper mirror the agility of Curious George. The text and the illustrations move at a breathless pace"(77-106). The color yellow in Curious George signifies a sense of comfort and safety. The man with the yellow hat is always there to keep Curious George safe. The color yellow is the same dynamic in Whiteblack the Penguin Sees the World. Both of the Rey's works illustrate the color yellow and it always gives a sense of safety and comfort.

Whiteblack the Penguin, Chief Storyteller on W-O-N-S, the Penguinland radio station has run out of stories. So he decides to take a vacation and see some of the world, because "travelers always have lots of stories." Off he goes in a little boat, on the adventure of a lifetime. And what adventures he has. First his boat sinks after hitting an iceberg. Then, after being rescued by a large cruiser, he decides to take a nap in one of their cannons and is accidently shot out the next morning. After soaring through the air for miles, he lands in the water and swims to shore where he meets ostriches, crosses the desert on a camel, rides in an airplane and unfortunately, falls out over the ocean. Each time he faces adversity and the unknown, he happily looks at the new situation as a learning experience and wonderful tale to share. At last he is rescued by a fishing boat and finally makes his way back home to a hero's welcome with lots of new stories for his radio show..... Who would have thought that after their deaths, an unpublished, completed manuscript, by Margret and H.A. Rey, would be found? This delightful story about a brave and always optimistic little penguin, will charm and amuse young children, just as their Curious George books have done all these many years. Mr Rey's wonderful and expressive watercolor illustrations, compliment his wife's text perfectly and together, they've created a treasure that's sure to become a classic. Whiteblack the Penguin is a timeless, enchanting story that your kids will want to read over and over again and a MUST for all home libraries.

Whiteblack the penguin hosts a radio program for everyone in Penguinland. He's the resident storyteller and is well liked and admired because of his marvelous stories. However, eventually he runs out of stories to tell!! Thinking that an adventure would give him new ideas, he and his friends construct a boat, give him some rope, and send him on his way to adventure. What adventures he has! His boat is struck by an iceberg, he hitches a ride on a Navy warship, manages to get shot from one of it's cannons, helps baby ostriches to hatch and even crosses the desert on a roller skate! Whiteblack is delightfully cheery at every turn, changing what otherwise might be a total disaster into yet another tale for his radio show. "Besides," he says as his boat sinks down out of sight, "I've always wanted to be in an accident!" Talk about the power of positive thinking!! The Rey's are, of course, most famous for their creation of the Curious George books. This work was originally written in 1937 when Mr. Hans Rey was working at a Paris World Fair booth across from a penguin exhibit. Somehow, though, it never made publication and was merely mothballed in a trunk before the Rey's left Paris. Discovered 63 years later and published in the year 2000, Whiteblack is immediately identifiable as a work of the Rey's. The yellows of the book are the exact same as those we're used to in the Curious George series. The same thick outlines and comfortable, fun illustrations are here as well, including what looks very much like a cameo appearance by the Man in the Yellow Hat!! The book concludes with a brief history of the Rey's and the fortuitous discovery of the long-forgotten Whiteblack manuscript. The book is wonderful fun in both it's text and illustrations. The crazy adventures Whiteblack gets himself into and his cheerful outlook on life ("besides, I've always wanted to fly" he says to himself after being shot out of the Navy cannon) will delight children of all ages. Whether you're a fan of Curious George or merely love fun children's stories, "Whiteblack the Penguin..." is an excellent story and a definite to add to your collection!!

How can I not put in a plug for this book? My 6 year old Kindergarten son has borrowed this book 3 weeks in a row from the school "media center." He has all but memorized it and loves reading it aloud, with or without an audience. It's fun for the adults too, with fun illustrations. It goes without saying that I am planning to buy this for our home library.

I think any Robert Munsch book is a winner! You can't go wrong with Munsch! I recommend all the Munschworks collections (each volume contains 5 stories) and anything else by Robert Munsch; he is so smart, clever, witty, entertaining, funny, creative and just plain amazing! This book is particularly popular in our family because my wife uses a motorized wheelchair. We all like to think that Lauretta (the girl in the story) is "mommy" as a little girl. "Mommy" still likes to go fast and the kids like it too!
Zoom! shows that a kid who uses a wheelchair is just like any kid who wants to have fun! Zoom! also shows that a book with a character using a wheelchair does not need to have a blatant message on disability. A great, fun story!

Recently, I learned that the character Lauretta in the story is based an actual girl named Lauretta Reid from Ontario. Lauretta uses crutches most of the time and a wheelchair for.long distances. Zoom! came from a combination of Lauretta's request for "a story about a little girl who walks with crutches and uses a wheelchair" and a story idea from a student named Grant; he wanted to be in story about a kid who got a new bicycle that was so fast he got a speeding ticket. Grant (now in his 20's) gladly gave up his role in the story and we have Zoom!

Unfortunately, Zoom! is currently out of print and the publisher (Scholastic) has given no information about when the book will be reprinted. There are a few used copies available online but they are pricey! And at this point, I will honestly admit that I am the one who bought all the reasonably priced copies I could find - and in my search for copies I learned the story behind Zoom! You can read the whole story and see pictures of the real Lauretta at www.robertmunsch.com . I hope in the near future new copies of Zoom! will be available. Feel free to visit the Scholastic website and write a comment requesting that Zoom! be reprinted - I did!

As with all the Robert Munsch books we own, my son frequently picks this one for reading. It is silly and always makes him laugh.

You might expect a book about a girl in a wheelchair to have some socially correct message -- something about how the "differently abled" are people, too, so we should all be nice to them. Or maybe how we should try to imagine life from their perpective, so we can count our blessings. Yada yada yada.

So it's refreshing that "Zoom!" doesn't try any of that. Rather, it simply uses a girl's need for a wheelchair as the basis for a fun story. The girl, Lauretta, wants a FAST wheelchair, and when she gets one, a series of fast-paced scenes ensue. More than most kids books, "Zoom!" has ACTION.

My kids, now 4 and 5, never ask, "Why is she in a wheelchair?" or anything like that, they just accept that she is. They love this story for its lively story and colorful, expressive, pictures. It's fun to read out loud, with "sound effects" built into the story like "Blam! Blam! Blam!" and "Zooooooooooooom!"

My daughter adores this book! She checked it out of the school library so many times the librarian asked me if she would consider reading something different. I decided to purchase her own copy to avoid conflicts. She reads it constantly. I adore the fact that Robert Munsch has the foresight to reflect real life children in his books. The star of this story is a little girl in a wheelchair. As soon as I see Robert Munsch as the author of a book, I know that we are in for a great story with good humor and the story will take us on a fun ride. My daughter knows this too. Keep up the great work!

I have had the pleasure of using Character Education Year 1 and finally through Amazon have found the second year. The activities provided in these books are enough to create entire units that are challenging to even the most difficult of students. I am a high school English teacher at a residential treatment facility, and for 3 years I have included character education as part of my curriculum. Thanks to the authors for such great ideas and insight!

As a homeschooling mom, I recommend this book for all home educators. Even though it is a secular program, it uses religious icons and has quotes from different religions and uses religious figures.
Over a two-year cycle, students are introduced to a deeper meaning of common words, such as loyalty, commitment and wisdom. Students are not simply told the meaning of these virtue words.They are immersed in them. Each day there is a new activity which will give them greater experience and a deeper understanding of the concept behind the word. Activities range from journal writing to a structured conversation with parents, from creating a poster about virtue to listing ways students can practice the virtue in their everyday lives. Excellent program for a unit study. Looking forward to teaching year 2.

This series of books is something much needed in schools today. (Even home schools!) It is a secular character based program. The big difference between this and the other character based programs that I've seen, is that despite its secular nature, it still uses religious icons from diverse cultures as examples. There are quotes from many religious figures throughout. There are lists of books and stories, to use to further illustrate the points in the different chapters. It seems to be a well thought out program. I would consider it a unit study format. This makes it appropriate for diverse groups. I would recommend this book for schools or home educators. This would be good in a religious or secular environment. With the similar quotes from different religions it may even help breed acceptance of other religions. ....

This four-book series is a goldmine for educators looking for practical ways to engage their students in substantive character education. The book's materials, developed and tested at one of our country's truly outstanding schools, merge solid academic content with character education. Together the books reflect a complete plan for engaging a school-community in the misson of character development. Central to the authors' [John Heidel and Marion Lyman-Mersereau] work and to the organization of the books is a school-wide, monlthly focus on a particular virtue, such as respect or courage. In this, the authors are addressing one of the core problems with our schools' efforts to respond to the current call for character education. Instead of psychobabble and talk of "inappropriate behavior" and "adjustment," their approach is a return to an older, richer language system of words, like "responsibility" and "cooperation," the language of character and human excellence.

Character formation has been described as what we do to help our young know the good, love the good adn do the good. These books address all dimensions of that description. The great power and benefit of Character Education is its appeal to the student's head, heart and hands.

This four-book series is a goldmine for educators looking for practical ways to engage their students in substantive character education. The book's materials, developed and tested at one of our country's truly outstanding schools, merge solid academic content with character education. Together the books reflect a complete plan for engaging a school-community in the misson of character development. Central to the authors' [John Heidel and Marion Lyman-Mersereau] work and to the organization of the books is a school-wide, monlthly focus on a particular virtue, such as respect or courage. In this, the authors are addressing one of the core problems with our schools' efforts to respond to the current call for character education. Instead of psychobabble and talk of "inappropriate behavior" and "adjustment," their approach is a return to an older, richer language system of words, like "responsibility" and "cooperation," the language of character and human excellence.

Character formation has been described as what we do to help our young know the good, love the good adn do the good. These books address all dimensions of that description. The great power and benefit of Character Education is its appeal to the student's head, heart and hands.

Cindy has done it again - This is a FABULOUS guide to all those dolls we played with back then! Cindy has indexed this book by all of the popular (and not-so-popular) doll manufacturers in order by year of release. Everything is full color, with approximate secondary market values! Vinyl dolls from the 60's and 70's are rapidly growing in value on the collector's market and buyers have the BEST opportunity now to scour, ID and sell - this is one book you do not want to be without at doll shows! I enjoyed reacquainting myself with most all of the dolls displayed. Thanks, Cindy!

Cindy Sabulis' Dolls Of The 1960s And 1970s (162-5, pairs pages packed with color photos of the dolls and most often their boxes with identification tips and values ranges. This will prove an invaluable guide for any avid doll collector needing a complete reference to makers and dolls of these eras.

This is a terrific book with tons of bright and detailed photos. Contains a lot of the popular dolls from this period- along with some that are not so popular (which is nice for identifying). Contains dolls such as Liddle Kiddles, Dolly Darling, Crissy, Flatsy, Playpal, Thumbelina, Barbie, Darcy, Tammy, and so many more. It is a pleasure to read so you will find yourself coming back to look at it even when you don't have a doll to identify.

I saw this book sticking out on a shelf in the library. Though I don't have a doll interest I decided to check it out. I've checked it out at least five times since then.
The book is so colorful and beautifully laid out. The woman has a sense of humor about the bizarre items of the past, some of which would never pass today like the doll Flatsy. Another item of this book was Growing Hair Cher where a person could make Cher's hair go up and down with a key.
I've shown this to other people and it always manages to get a couple of laughs.

This book is great. I am very pleased with it. It has lots of dolls to look at/look up. The dolls are catagorized by manufactorer but if you can't find your doll that way the index is extremely easy to use. It has helped me a lot in my doll collecting and it has also helped add some dolls to my want list. All in all wonderful book, worth buying.

Word Ladders is a great way for students to review familiar vocabulary in a fun-filled manner. Each puzzle also has one or more challenging vocabulary word(s). My fifth grade students enjoy the ladders.

Word Ladders has helped my students get excited about this component of their language arts studies. They always look forward to tackling each day's ladder. I highly recommend it. I am a special education teacher

I use this in my classroom with 4th grade students. All my students enjoy the challenge of figuring out the words. The students are proud when they solve each ring on the ladder. Works well as a five minute activity in the morning or at the end of the day!

I use these activities in my fourth grade classroom as a way to fill in time. Some of these puzzles are difficult, but my higher achieving students find them adequately challenging. I plan to purchase the other Word Ladder book (1-3) for the other students with the hope that they will be able to move up to these after a while. They are a great vocabulary enricher and students enjoy working them.

Great strategy for teaching vocabulary and word association. My students love it. They say things like, "This is Fun"! I agree.

This is a wonderful book. The photography shows every detail of the exquisite designs, which are breath-taking. The commentary is very interestsing and gives an insight into life in the 1800's according to the way women dressed. I would love to be able to wear any of the fabulous dresses shown.

If you're into miniatures, or just fabulous seamestry, you will love this book and this man's work with textiles, and fashion of a romantic era like none you've seen. These are fashions we will never see again in our society, (thank goodness - can't imagine wearing this stuff). But at the same time, I love to see how elegant and fabulous ladies looked in these garments. This man was responsible for making some of the most fabulous wedding gowns in our country for over a decade and now has preserved for us a fashion era that won't be brought back in it's entirety ever again. A must see for those that are into preserving a culture and miniatures.

I found this book very useful as a source for inspiration. Good quality pictures of very Victorian looking dresses. It is not a "how to" book, but if you have some experience in sewing, there you can find good ideas how it all must look then finished.

This book by Mr. Burbidge is a feast for the eyes. The book features dozens of 29-inch fashion dolls wearing costumes from the 1850s to around 1914. Being oversized dolls, each costume can have incredible detail. Mr. Burbidge has labored to create accurate period detail in each dress. Each doll is shown in a full-page picture with period hairstyles and accessories. Each accompanying page includes a description of the outfit, small inset pictures of close details, an interesting quote from historical sources about the time period and usually some tidbit about where the author found the material for the gown. Frequently the author will explain things about high society of the era and how certain items would be viewed - for instance, whether a gown would be considered racy because of its color or how young ladies didn't wear expensive jewelry with a gown until after they were married.

There are only 2 things that I found lacking about this book and they are really trivial items in my mind. The first is that the color of the full-page images is sometimes a bit "off". The dolls often feature very soft colors and the images have a warm tone that can wash them out. The inset detail shots usually have a better color representation.

The second is that the reader should not expect accurate period undergarments on the dolls. The crinolines and petticoats are fairly accurate, but there are no corsets shown.

All in all, the book is beautiful and informative. If you didn't know better, you would almost think the images were of full-size mannequins dressed in real period costumes. And the accompanying text is suitable for anyone, even if they have no knowledge of the eras shown.

This book is a total delight for fans of couture, especially La Belle Epoch. Nothing will compare to seeing the exquisite Les Petites Dames in person, but this book comes close! I was fortunate enough to acquire some of these pictures when they were marketed in small groups, so I was thrilled to find that Mr. Burbidge had since expanded the collection and subsequently published it in its entirety (also the book goes into more detail). Just loved it!!

This is exactly the bank I was looking for. There is a place to save for church, savings, and fun stuff. The bank is large enough to hold plenty of money and it is also easy to get the money out. We are very happy with the bank!

Awesome tool to teach your kids at a very young age (about age 3) how to begin dividing up their money. Works great for us!!

Wonderful tool to help even small children understand saving, spending and tithing. We bought one for a 3 year old and a 5 year old. They both love the bank and understand how to use it.

Just a basic bank, what came in the box is just like the picture and description - a bank with three slots in it. The stickers came on a sheet that you had to peel off and stick on the bank, and they were a little hard to get off, but then again, maybe I'm sticker-challenged!

I have heard wonderful things about this giving bank and finally decided to implement it with my 5 year old daughter and 2 year old son. Obviously the 2 year old is a little young for the concept, but I drew up a chore chart and at the end of the week they each get $3.00 and each dollar goes into the separate banks. I explained each bank and my 5 year old cannot wait to give her money to "those who don't have any". It's a great teaching tool!

This product full of ideas on setting up and teaching Kindergarten. With the continious changes in education I was a little unsure about where to start. The author offers great ideas and input using the NCTM Standards. This is a great resource for new teachers, and teachers who are new to teaching Kindergarten.

I have had the honor of seeing Ms. Leuenberger adapt the very principals that she writes about in her book in her own classroom on "The Vineyard". Believe me, these strategies and lessons work. I suggest that each school have this book available for their Kindergarten teachers. The suggestions and ideas in this book make "Meeting the Standards" easy and fun.

I love how this teacher writes about how she sets up her classroom and keeps it organized. She also has some helpful strategies for setting up learning centers, journal writing and how to make your morning message fun, and much more!
I think the ideas in this book will be really helpful in the years to come.

Constance Leuenberger's book is an excellent combination of educational philosophy coupled with ideas, ideas, and more ideas!
An easy read that would be a GREAT resource for ALL new Kindergarten teachers and a wonderful resource to help experienced teachers remember how important developementally appropriate strategies are.
This book is full of great ideas, strategies, and tips that are simple and ready to implement. Another strength is how the author shares thoughts for teachers of half day and/or full day programs.
Constance understands how young children learn. She knows that we must teach the "whole" child....from their academic to their social well being.
This book is an excellent addition to your professional library.

This is a 'must have' book for any teacher at any number of years teaching experience. What I really like about this book is 'at a glance' one can pick up ideas/tips that are ready to try 'NOW'.