Buying toys and plush animals for children isn’t always easy. No longer being children ourselves, it’s hard to get into the head of the modern child and understand what they would enjoy. This is especially true if we don’t have a lot of experience with kids, and so we often bemoan the lack of guidelines for what to look for in the toy section. Toy stores and toy sections rarely have knowledgeable staff, and all the toy label itself will have is the general information that tells us what ages the toy is safe for. We often end up buying the so-called...
Puppets have a long and colorful history dating back thousands of years. No one knows who made the first puppet, but people have been enjoying them ever since. Puppets come in many different kinds stuff animal for kids, from the familiar sock-type to fully articulated marionettes. Bali is known for its many different kinds of jointed shadow puppets, which are used to put on plays, and in Japan, bunraku puppets 3-4 feet tall are operated by three puppeteers apiece. There are strong traditions of puppetry throughout Asia. In Europe, puppets developed from Italian...
The Webkinz are coming! Like hundreds of other fad toys before them, parents are hearing more about Webkinz these days, not from the news, but from their kids on the playground. Webkinz are yet another, not especially cute, plush animal. They come in all varieties, including ponies, pandas, monkeys, unicorns, and dogs. Manufactured by Ganz, the Webkinz retail for around $14-$15, when you can find them. What makes them different though is their “secret code” ID that is imprinted on their collar tag. The ID gives the owner a free year of access to Webkinz...









