ABCs: Books and toys for kids
Max's ABCs
If you are starting to glaze over with alphabet book ideas, this book definitely deserves a second look. Max's ABC follows a storyline (rather than stand-alone pages) to teach letters. The story revolves around Max's ants who have escaped from their ant farm and go forth to create all sorts of havoc - eating the birthday cake, drinking the cranberry juice, all while Ruby oversees their retrieval. The book's oversized ...
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Cost:
$15.99
$10.87
ABC Doctor
This lovely book is a two-for-one delight -- it uses information to demystify a potentially frightening visit to the doctors, and it does so in the format of an ABC learning book. While it doesn't walk through all the things that might happen in a doctor or hospital visit in sequence (since there are so many variations, of course), this book does run through a panoply of things that ...
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Cost:
$15.95
$10.85
Alphabet Blocks
Perhaps you are ready for just some good old fashioned building or puzzle play. Not so much direct teaching of the alphabet or phonics, but just play, and so much the better if the alphabet happens to appear in beautiful and engaging paintings on the toy itself. Mudpuppy knows what you need. These blocks are mostly just wonderful building tools, except when they are also pieces to ...
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Cost:
$13.00
On Your Toes: A Ballet ABC
This astonishingly lovely alphabet book is really a very sophisticated introduction to classical ballet masquerading as a pre-reading primer, complete with preschool faces on some very accomplished dancers. But don't worry, you don't need to know your Firebird from your Odette; these roles, as well as explanations for all of terms that fill the 26 gorgeous pages, are fully described in the final glossary. Your little one may just surprise ...
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Cost:
$17.99
$12.23
My Name Starts With S
Captivating photographs and art encourage children whose names start with S to read and discover what their names share with their world. See sea lions sleep, swans swim, storks stand, and salamanders slither as a snail sneaks through this book.
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Cost:
$10.95
Phonics Bus
This little bus is one of those LeapFrog toys that just plain works. It speaks toddler-ese with clearly spoken words and sounds and catchy little tunes, and it's a cute little yellow bus with a kid-sized handle on top. What's not to love? Your littlest preschooler can cart it around the house, pushing all the individual letter buttons to hear (depending on the mode selected) the name ...
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Cost:
$19.99
H is for Home Run: A Baseball Alphabet
This well-done alphabet book takes the abc's of baseball to another level, offering words and phrases as well as definitions and explanations of key baseball concepts. Famous players and stadiums are highlighted (J is for Jackie Robinson, W for Wrigley Field), as well as elemental features of the game (O, of course, is for three strikes you're Out). The youngest novice will enjoy the catchy rhymes and lovely pictures. Older ...
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Cost:
$16.95
$11.53
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
This book is a widely-loved modern classic, frequently - and properly, we think -- cited as the very best, very first place to start for leading your child through the alphabet. It is bright and tropical, with a rhyme that has a calypso beat to it that kids (and their parents simply adore). We all have so many stories of little ones whose faces simply light up at ...
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Cost:
$7.99
Melissa and Doug Deluxe Wooden Stringing Beads
Open up your own jewelry-making factory with this Wooden Stringing Beads set. This conveniently packaged, brightly painted set contains more than 200 wooden letters and beads. There are also eight colored cords to make necklaces and bracelets that you can keep or give as gifts. Stored in a durable, handy wood tray with a clear sliding top.
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Cost:
$14.99
$12.19
Letter Factory DVDs
Some kids are bound and determined to learn things all on their own, and the more they sense that you, their well-intentioned parents, are trying to teach them something as you chat, the more they resist. Got one of those? We're here to help. And frankly, even if you've got one of the more amenable kids on the block, sometimes we all have to turn to an ...
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Cost:
$59.98
$44.99
Create Your Own Books
This kit gives the youngest storytellers the chance to put words and pictures to paper in two attractive, hardcover blank books. One book is 8 1/4" x 11" and the other is 6 1/4" x 8 1/4". The smaller book includes a die-cut frame to add a photo and create an "all about me" book, or perhaps a biographical study of a favorite pet or relative. The kit includes story ...
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Cost:
$15.99
Eating the Alphabet
Sometimes we all need inspiration on what else E could be for instead of elephants. Now you know - eggplant, silly. And K is for kiwi and kumquat and T is for turnip, of course. And we think there is no better way to get your tiny ones to love vegetables than to watch them squeal with glee when they turn the page that says B is ...
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Cost:
$17.00
$11.56
Baseball ABC
If you're looking to weave baseball lingo into you child's consciousness from the very beginning, here's where to start. This board book is perfect for the youngest baseball enthusiast. You know, the kind who would just as soon gnaw on a ball as throw or catch one. With this book as a primer, your tot will be spouting terms like "flyball," "grounder," and "strikeout" before you know it. Who wouldn't ...
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Cost:
$6.99
Animalia
This astounding book is one of those rare treats that works well for kids aged 2, 5, 10 or 40. Each page is a minutely detailed, gorgeously drawn visual puzzle based around a letter of the alphabet. There is an alliterative heading, written almost tongue-twister style, such as "Crafty Crimson Cats Carefully Catching Crusty Crayfish" or "Lazy Lions Lounging In The Local Library." Then the page is ...
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Cost:
$19.95
$13.57
Here Come the ABCs CD or DVD
This album, originally released as an audio CD and now available as a DVD with puppets singing along, is a fantastic break from traditional "kid music." The alphabet is clearly just the springboard for the band, as they riff both musically and lyrically on the letters and end up on a wonderful, winding path through upbeat, ballad, country and electronic/funk music. The songs are catchy without being annoying, ...
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Cost:
$23.99
Puzzle Pairs Simple Words
Preschool years are puzzle years - these kids of ours are putting it all together, piece-by-piece. This game helps children grasp the notion that combinations of letters make up words by asking them to put together picture puzzle pieces with their matching words. For preschoolers who are ready to move beyond reciting the alphabet, this is a great way to introduce and play with letter sounds, and basic spelling. In ...
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Cost:
$13.95
A You're Adorable
Originally the lyrics of a song made famous for our grandparents by Rosemary Cooney and Perry Como, this book is a charming way to meander through the alphabet with your child. Each of the letters offers a different way to tell your sweet one how crazy you are for him or her ("D You're a darling, and E You're exciting"...), and the whole book gives you a short, lilting ...
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Cost:
$6.99
LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnet Set
Learn letter names and sounds and create words with these interactive, magnetic letters. Just place any letter into the letter reader and press it to hear its name, its sound and a phonics song. The Fridge Phonics magnetic letter set includes 26 easy-grip magnetic letters and a magnetic letter reader that attaches securely to the refrigerator or other magnetic surface. Requires 3 "AAA" alkaline batteries (included).
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Cost:
$21.99
Alphabet Puzzle
There is a delightful moment in alphabet learning when your little one is so sure that a B is a B that he or she will just frown at the suggestion that a b is also a B. Preposterous. Charming as it is, it does seem that learning both capital and lowercase letters is required for true mastery of the alphabet, and this 52-piece wooden puzzle is a ...
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Cost:
$14.99
Discovering Nature's Alphabet
We are especially fond of alphabet books that reward careful observation of the world around us, finding letters in grand vistas and tiny mosaic detail. Instead of cityscapes, however, this absolute gem of a book turns to the natural world to inspire your preschooler (and your much older child, even the all grown up one deep inside your own mind) to look closely at his immediate world. The vistas are ...
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Cost:
$15.95
$10.85
ABC NYC
When we teach the alphabet, we often announce that C is for cow or D is for duck. As if every one of our little 21st-century kids had a barnyard out back for easy reference. Sure, they can make the noises early on, and they delight as we did as kids in stories about life on a farm. But perhaps it might make more sense to give ...
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Cost:
$15.95
$10.85
Our Theme for September 2008
The Social Life of Preschoolers
Now At BeingSavvy
The Birthday Party Social Whirl
Sometimes we get a bit frazzled when the wave of invitations splashes onto our family's calendar, but ... Read more >