T: Is for toys that encourage!

For the past four days I have been working the Toy Fair. Once a year children's ware is set out for the display of venders, tradesmen and the press. Since I was working I had the chance to view and then to pass onto you some of the most exciting things out there for kids. So for the next couple of Thursdays watch for these innovative items to cross these pages. Tonight I focus on books with toys that enhance the joy of reading. I have always loved reading at it is this passion that has me ravng about these three companies.

On Tuesday I wrote about Seuret and Sunday in the Park, MerryMakers a company founded in 1993 provides dolls and toys based on children's books as well as museum collections. A couple of there products include "Princess Baby" a poor baby, no one calls her by her real name! Wearing a shiny crown, a fancy dress, sparkly shoes, a velvet cape, and glittery jewels, pays off in the end. Now your child can be the Princess she has always wanted to be.

Bad Kitty turns bad when her family runs out of her favorite food, this is really a clever alphabet book for kids. The kitty is a gasp in horror and set against a series of vegetables, alphabetically arranged from asparagus to zucchini. For those allergic to the real thing and even those who are kitty lovers this betwixt feline will sure to win you over.






My favorite when I learned the story was a hippo and Tortoise. In December 2004, a frightened young hippo, separated from his family by a devastating tsunami, bonded with an Aldabra tortoise named Mzee. The 130 year-old tortoise accepted Owen as his own, and an inseparable bond was forged. This true story will have every child wanting this duo on their bed.


The next company is out of the UK. Jasmine is a butterfly girl, half human, half bug, so she’s just like you only she can fly and talk to the animals of the forest. Jasmine and all her Butterfly friends are the protectors of nature. But Jasmine, is growing concerned. So much damage is being caused to Mother Nature that the girls are working extra hard to keep it safe, but they need help. This is the first in a series by the little humbug company and is sure to be a collectors item while teaching children about the environment.

Last but not least by Madame ALexandra are the EthiDolls, an African Dolls Educational Signature Collection Featuring: Historic African Women Leaders. Again a series the first is Queen Makeda & King Solomon’s Extraordinary 3000 Year-Old Story.
Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, is depicted as she probably looked at the height of her glorious reign. Handwoven in Ethiopia by artisans using ancient methods, the costume is an authentic Ethiopian design with a traditional border of gold, lapis lazuli, ruby red and the emerald green colors of her kingdom. Her lustrous black hair is braided from the front to back in a long, natural wave. The storybook is beautifully illustrated by a young Ethiopian artist. The CD provides a compelling narration of Makeda’s rise to the throne. Her legendary journey to Jerusalem to visit King Solomon still speaks to us today.

If you teach a child to read you give them the world and that is a rich F.A.C.T.