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ZoomerThis clever new book is about a family of suburbanized canines whose youngest seemingly refuses to go to school one morning. Poor “Dad” is left to tend to his three energetic “sons” and has to get them ready while “Mom” is away. The youngest, Zoomer, declares that he’s not going to school that day because he has too much to do.
FlippedIn 1957, Bryce (Ryan Ketzner as a child, Callan McAuliffe as an eighth grader) moves with his family into a new neighborhood. Across the street, he spots Juli (Morgan Lily, then Madeline Carroll), and both their lives are changed. From now on, through to 1963, when Flipped ends, the kids will be flirting, fighting, and trying to figure out how they feel about each other.
World Of Cars OnlineWorld Of Cars Online is a new browser-based, virtual world inspired by the 2006 movie, Cars. Since it’s original theatrical and subsequent video releases, Cars has continued to be one of the hottest boys properties and will likely grow in popularity with the release of Cars 2 in 2011. World Of Cars Online is a destination site where kids get to socialize, play games and—of course—race cars!
How Rocket Learned to ReadRocket, a cuddly dog, loved to play and play. One day, he meets a little yellow bird, who is a teacher and asks Rocket to be her student. At first, Rocket isn’t at all interested in learning and chooses to take his morning nap instead. But he quickly becomes captivated by a story the bird reads and joins her “class.” Like any beginning reader, Rocket first learns the alphabet and the sounds each letter makes. When winter comes, the little bird heads south but Rocket keeps practicing. The return of spring brings a charming reunion for Rocket and the bird as they snuggle in with a stack of books to…
PerplexusI was given the opportunity to review the Perplexus Game Maze. Perplexus is made by PlaSmart Inc. and is available at mass market retailers and at Amazon.com. We have been playing with Perplexus for a couple of weeks now and I can honestly say that it is a very entertaining toy but a bit frustrating at the same time.
Nanny McPhee Returns“I’m managing perfectly well,” protests Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal) at the start of Nanny McPhee Returns. Even as she says it, you know she doesn’t believe it. And neither do you, for you have seen the meltdowns preceding: her kids are fighting, her house is a mess, her farm is falling apart, she can’t make her tractor payments, and her husband (Ewan McGregor) is away at war.
100 Classic BooksWhile Apple, Barnes & Noble, Sony and Amazon battle each other for domination of the e-reader market with their iPad, Kindle and other devices, Nintendo quietly released a new software cartridge that turns the DS into an e-reader. 100 Classic Books, is a collection of 100 full-length books from authors such as Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Jules Verne, Oscar Wilde, Jane Austen and more.
Willoughby & the MoonChildren have fantasized about the moon for centuries and this book tells the tale of a young boy, Willoughby, who goes in search of the moon one night when it “disappears” from outside his bedroom window. He discovers that his closet is a gateway to a lunar land, which he bravely enters. He meets a giant snail who employs his help to find his favorite silver ball. As he courageously leads the snail across the moon’s terrain, they discover an old moon buggy and space pod, which they use in their search. They come across a cave and the boy convinces the scared snail to enter, where they find other…
MobiGo Touch Learning SystemMy 2-year-old girl and my 6-year-old boy both enjoyed reviewing the MobiGo Touch Learning System this week.
Zhu Zhu PetsLast holiday season’s most popular toy line, Zhu Zhu Pets, is now one of the summer’s hottest video games for kids. Zhu Zhu Pets the video game, recreates the robo-hamster toys in a virtual world where kids can care for their pets and compete in maze races with the hamsters as playable characters. The game is easily played using the intuitive touch screen on the DS.
