GraviTrax keeps coming out with new sets that are both fun and engaging for a wide audience. Two recent sets pull in Star Wars (original trilogy) fans and nature- and animal-loving kids. Check them out below. GraviTrax Junior: My Planet Starter Set The GraviTrax Junior set is so cute, so adorable, and so fun. […]
Continue ReadingWith three kids in the house for over a decade now, we are always looking for engaging and exciting entertainment options. Screens being ubiquitous in every area of their lives, it’s always nice to find something that engages them without the need for a screen. For the past two months my daughter has carried her […]
Continue ReadingWith three kids in the house for over a decade now, we are always looking for engaging and exciting entertainment options. Screens being ubiquitous in every area of their lives, it’s always nice to find something that engages them without the need for a screen. For the past two months my daughter has carried her […]
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I have been meaning to read Lev Grossman’s Magicians trilogy for some time, it is part of my ever expanding TBR list. It has probably moved up a couple of levels now that I have read his big release this summer The Bright Sword. Ever a sucker for an Arthurian tale, when I saw that […]
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Hello my name is Sarah and I am a bookworm. Though of late, I am loving the social media trend that paints me as a book dragon, reading and hoarding books with equal merriment. What does a book dragon do after three weeks of illness in the house, where one parent was ill the whole […]
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Be still my beating heart. The sixth and final book in the Pages and Co series from Anna James, The Last Bookwanderer, is released in the US on February 27, 2024. I have loved this series since I first opened the pages of Pages and Co: The Bookwanders in 2018 and met Matilda Rose Pages […]
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One of the most important things I look for when selecting toys and books for my daughter is quality. As a toddler, she is still learning what it means to be gentle, which means that her belongings are often thrown, stepped on, chewed, dropped down the stairs… you get the idea. I am looking for […]
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Hey Parents, We’re about halfway through Elf of the Shelf season, which tends to be when a lot of parents start hitting a blank wall of what to do with their Elf. Earlier in the month, you had a bunch of ideas, but as the holiday season gets busier, and you get more tired, it probably […]
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Our house is a split-level. We have a baby gate at the top of the stairs, which is near our living room and kitchen, and therefore the heart of our home. One of my one-year-old daughter’s favorite activities is opening and closing doors. Can you see where this is going? Today—I kid you not—she spent […]
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I love a good advent calendar. My kids, for the most part, love a chocolate advent calendar. Each year I fill little cardboard drawers with little bites of chocolatey goodness, coins, Santas, other assorted shapes. I have learned many lessons over the years. Not one of them wants nuts or crisped rice in their advent […]
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This week, I had the privilege of taking my eleven-month-old daughter to our local county fair. It was such a joy to witness her exposure to a vast array of new and unusual sensory information. Sensorial experiences are the root of all learning for young children! Although we have enjoyed reading books together about farm […]
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On a lovely weekend, early this fall, we visited a magical place. The geographical place itself is fairly magical when unadorned, but on this particular weekend downton Bath in Maine was rendered even more magical by the annual Bath Book Bash. I have been aware of the Bath Book Bash for the last two years, […]
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I may have a problem. I have a teeny tiny obsession with Disney merchandise (or merch) at the moment. And since my entire family loves LEGO, I bought four individual bags of the mini figures that were released as part of the celebration of 100 years of Disney. I hadn’t really paid attention to them, […]
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Dear Parents, Similar to the last time I wrote this, your kids are likely either back in school or going to be back between now and just after Labor Day. Of course, after all the new sneakers, supplies, and backpacks are purchased, it comes time to actually deal with the logistics of school days. Unfortunately, […]
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Welcome to this year’s Mother’s Day Gift Guide, where we celebrate all things mothers. This year, our writers have put together a list of their suggestions for the mother or mother figure in your life, ranging from new hobbies to clothes and gaming. We’ve got a little bit of everything for all the geeky moms […]
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Once upon a time in a faraway land, I might have thought that I had a changeling in my house. Once upon a time many believed that children who behaved a certain way weren’t actually their children, but had been switched at birth for a fairy child. Yes, much of what we now think of […]
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When you love to the spirit of creativity, visual or performing arts, and everything that surrounds the words of “makers” you start to notice some of the things that makes creative types successful. By “successful,” I don’t necessarily mean rich or well-known (although this is the case for some). What I mean is finding a […]
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This month we are welcomed back to the world of bookwandering in the fifth and penultimate Pages & Co novel from Anna James, The Treehouse Library. But what’s this? Everybody’s favorite almost-fictional character, Tilly Pages, is not the driving force of this story! We pick up where the fourth book left off, with Milo Bolt and […]
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Of the many Christmas traditions I embraced upon moving to the US, the hit movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation did not come easily. And while I still might find Chevy Chase a little off putting, I adore Beverly D’Angelo and it has become one of those movies that the season is not complete without. Like […]
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Like many others, Thanksgiving is a pretty big deal in our house. It has always been my husband’s favorite holiday, and has a soft spot in my heart. The first time I met his entire family was when I flew over from England to Salem, Massachusetts in 2001. For many years all things Christmas were […]
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It seems to be more and more common to see the spooky season and Halloween decorations go down and the Christmas and holiday season glitter and glitz immediately take its place. I know. The holidays and Christmas are busy times. We need to get ready for all the responsibilities of the season. There is work […]
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It’s the most popular game in the world. It’s also one of the hardest games to master. And finally, someone has tapped into the inherent story element I have loved since reading Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. Whether you are brand new to the game or looking for a way to up your […]
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The last time we met for PAX Aus Tabletop in person was in 2019. Sure, video games were still available online (see here and here), but tabletop is a bit harder to do in the digital sense. Tabletop Simulator on Steam allowed for a virtual testing ground, and for that, I am grateful. However, it’s […]
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Here’s a little summer story that involves frozen custard, blue skies and trees, a favorite used bookstore… and Bruce Campbell. With summer free time and travel budgets becoming a little slimmer, we opted this year to try for simple day trips to nearby places. About a week ago, the stars aligned on one fine Friday. […]
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While there are real problems to be faced this year, some new, and some eighteen months in the making, we are also faced with some superficial ones that we must learn to face together. 1. The show you are binging is still filming new episodes, you are all caught up, and now have to wait […]
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My kids have been into Minecraft for a long time, their obsession dating almost back to the stone age, ahem. We have playsets and LEGO kits, we have stuffies and action figures. We have interactive toys, and wall art. When Ravensburger came out with Minecraft: Builders and Biomes in 2019, I knew it would be a hit. […]
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I love a game with tactile elements. Something you can touch, feel, and blame on your uncoordinated chonky fingers when everything goes pear-shaped. Floating Floors is precisely that, and more. It was first previewed with PAX Aust 2021 (I mentioned it here) and is now ready to launch via Kickstarter on February 8, 2022! Time […]
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Dear Parents, About a week ago in a local Facebook group, a nice lady reached out to other parents regarding her two college-aged kids and whether or not she was unreasonable for thinking it was time her kids covered their own car insurance and phone bills, especially as there had been some large shifts in […]
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As I write these words, I am being told many things by many weather stations. Some people tell me we are getting 6 inches. Some that we are getting between 12 and 24 inches. My husband is wistfully preparing for the 36 inches of his youth. Whatever may come, we will not be going very […]
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Covid has me stuck in a reading rut. In the early days I found myself collapsing with a Fresca and some Animal Crossing at the end of each day. Midway through the pandemic times I switched to a movie and crochet project to while away my evenings. While my family all still thoroughly enjoy spending […]
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