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"Piggy
and Bear in Their Underwear" is a picture-matching game
that not only teaches the days of the week but also enriches
childrens’ vocabulary.
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TO paraphrase a well-known proverb, you can lead
a child to books, but you cannot make him read.
On the other hand, a book that is in sync with a child’s
special interests can entice a reluctant reader. What Little Leaguer wouldn’t
relish a book about the boyhood of his baseball hero? What budding magician
could resist a book that shows how to mystify an audience?
Or, consider a book that is also a toy. This relatively
new hybrid incorporates an activity that’s fun and/or helps children learn
something they are eager to know whether it’s how to play a game,
build dinosaur models, or make trick photos.
Here is a sampling of book/toys that might include one
or more that is exactly right for a child you know:
"Piggy and Bear in Their Underwear" is a delightful
story about the potty-trained twosome who can now choose a different pair
of grown-up underwear each day of the week. When "Piggy put on her blue
panties with fluffy white clouds" and "Bear wanted to wear his purple boxers
with yellow zigzags," children search in the pull-out drawer for the required
items. This picture-matching game not only teaches the days of the week,
but also enriches children’s vocabulary through the words used to describe
the undergarments. Ages 2-5, $10. Innovative Kids.
"The Three Little Pigs" is a classic tale that
teaches the value of patience and hard work. The story is simplified to
its bare essence and has a non-violent ending. Within a storage drawer attached
to the back cover of the book are all the elements a child needs to dramatize
the story: each pig with the materials to construct his house, the three
houses, and of course the wolf. Afterwards, children can use the sturdy
(¼-inch thick laminated cardboard) characters and props to make up
their own stories. Age not stated, but 3-6 would be appropriate, $8. The
Straight Edge Press.
"Who Will Fix the Royal Windows?" contains a story,
puzzles, and pattern-play blocks for early math fun. Four artists have dropped
the windows they have designed for the Royal Castle. Children can help repair
the broken windows by inserting the necessary block shapes in the recessed
pages. Children can then create additional patterns in the book pages or
on their own play table. The more children play with pattern blocks, the
more they absorb about math, geometry, and the esthetics of symmetry. All
50 blocks store in a tube attached to the book. Ages 3-7, $17. Innovative
Kids.
"The Amazing Game Board Book" is a visually stunning
book with 12 different game boards bound into it its heavy-duty, folder-like
carrying case. There are more than 50 games, including Chinese Checkers,
optical illusions, mazes, magnetic tangrams, pegboard games, word games,
brain teasers, two-sided jigsaw puzzles, as well as geography, math, and
science games. A storage box holds all the game components. Ages 6 to adult,
$20. Innovative Kids.
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Innovative Kids’ "Who Will Fix the Royal Windows?" (above) contains
a story, puzzles and blocks for early math fun.
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"Human Body Undercover" contains three-dimensional
pages with facts and pictures about the human body. As each page is turned,
additional portions of the body’s internal structure are revealed until,
finally, there is a removable, articulated 9-inch skeleton plus brain and
digestive organs to be inserted in their proper places. Ages 7 and up, $12.
Kidology / Educational Insights.
"Totally Dinosaurs" contains step-by-step instructions
and a bone map guide for assembling 38 pieces into skeletons of five different
dinosaur species. The accompanying book describes life in the days of the
dinosaurs, and how modern-day paleontologists get clues to the past from
two dinosaur fossils. Ages 8 -12, $16. Silver Dolphin Books.
"Trick Photography" reveals the secrets of using
optical illusions, fakes, tints and sparkles to make seemingly impossible
photos. A 35-mm flash camera with 27 color exposures is included so kids
can start immediately. Ages 8 and up, $17. Usborne Kid Kits / EDC Publishing.
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Innovative Kids’ "The Amazing Game Board Book" (above) contains
more than 50 games, including Chinese checkers, optical illusions,
mazes, magnetic tangrams, word games and brain teasers.
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"The
Puzzle Arcade" is an intriguing collection of more than 100 brain-teasers,
including riddles, mazes, mechanical mysteries, illusion puzzles, card tricks,
picture puzzles and more. Five manipulative puzzles are in an attached pouch,
and three more are bound into the book. Solutions are included, of course,
but there are also hints that might help kids figure out the answers independently.
Ages 9 and up, $20. Klutz.
These books are available at major bookstores, both retail
and online. For more information, check the Web sites: Innovative Kids,
www.innovativekids.com;
Kidology/Educational Insights, www.edin.com;
Klutz, www.klutz.com;
Silver Dolphin Books, www.advantagebooksonline.com;
Usborne Kid Kits/EDC Publishing, www.edcpub.com;
and The Straight Edge Press, www.straightedgeinc.com.
Ruth B. Roufberg is a toy consultant and juror for the Parents’ Choice
Toy Awards. Her toy reviews are published by many parenting publications
and are syndicated nationally by Tribune Media Services.
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