Animals: Books and toys for kids


Playmobil Zoo


This magnificent zoo scene has particular charms for kids of all ages. (Do keep the infinitesimally small pieces out of the hands and mouths of under-3 kiddos.) We love how well made this set is, and we love listening to the chatter it generates as the zookeeper in your house (no, not you, for once) looks after all the animals. If you are in the market for something more elaborate ...
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Cost: $99.95

Play With Me


This gem of a classic teaches a valuable lesson about how to make new friends, and respect the natural world too. Our young heroine walks out into a meadow one morning, and meets a grasshopper, a frog, a turtle, a chipmunk, and other meadow creatures. "Will you play with me?" is her cry, as she tries to catch them each in turn. But the shy animals elude her, and quickly ...
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Cost: $5.99

Frances Audio Collection CD


This collection includes four endearing favorites, Bedtime for Frances; A Baby Sister for Frances; Bread and Jam for Frances; and A Birthday for Frances. Children will cheer for Frances as she cleverly avoids her bedtime, stubbornly refuses to eat anything but bread and jam, and struggles not to eat the tempting, chocolatey birthday present she has just bought for her younger sister, Gloria. These reassuring and funny stories are ...
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Cost: $14.95
$10.17

Measuring Penny


Lisa has an important homework assignment--to measure something in several different ways. She has to use standard units like inches and nonstandard units like paper clips to find out height, width, length, weight, volume, temperature, and time. Lisa decides to measure her dog, Penny, and finds out ... Penny's nose = 1 inch long Penny's tail = 1 dog biscuit longPenny's paw print = 3 centimeters wide ... and that's ...
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Cost: $7.95

Pumpkin Soup


Here's a lovely book about the joys and trials of friendship, and a great idea for a Halloween activity all wrapped into one. A cat, duck, and squirrel live together in a cabin in the woods, and spend their days making the best pumpkin soup you ever tasted. It's an idyllic little world until the trouble-making duck decides that he wants a turn stirring the soup. Serious squabbling ensues, and ...
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Cost: $6.95

Cranium Hullabaloo DVD Game


The Hullabaloo DVD Game turns your living room into a wiggly-giggly animal adventure! Kids learn about animals from all over the world and bounce, twist, and dance on the 16 colorful play pads. Everyone will laugh at the surprises that fill each round! Introducing the new DVD version of two-time Game of the Year award winner, Hullabaloo. This DVD version of the 2003 Game of the Year includes stunning National ...
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Cost: $22.99

Lego Duplo Zoo


The LEGO DUPLO Zoo includes two figures and lots of safe, easy to use bricks in different shapes and colors to help younger builders get their start, all in a durable and practical storage tub. With so many possible creatures and scenes to build, there's no limit to what they can imagine! Read More >
Cost: $24.99

Beast Feast


Not only are these fantastic short poems amusing, but they are almost instantly memorizable. And, trust us, the sound of that little voice you love so much trilling off a little verse will really make you a believer in the power of poetry! What could be more charming than "The kangaroo loves to leap. / Into the air it zooms, / While baby's fast asleep / Inside its kangaroom."?! Neither ...
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Cost: $7.00

Quack Quack


All the colorful animals from the farm are playing in the field. The little farm helpers need to make sure all the animals are on the farm by calling them. Be the first helper to call the animal matching the colors on the dice to win. This game of quick observation will have the whole family mooing like a cow! Read More >
Cost: $19.99

How to Be


San Francisco mom Lisa Brown's first book features humorous line-drawings of a goofy sister-brother pair who take turns pretending to be animals: a bear, a turtle, a monkey, a snake, a spider, and a dog. From them we learn that to be a monkey you have to not only "eat with your feet" but also "be curious." And being a dog is not just about licking people, it's also about ...
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Cost: $16.99
$11.55

Kitten's First Full Moon


The Caldecott Medal winning book by Kevin Henkes. Read More >
Cost: $16.99
$11.55

The Little Gorilla


What happens on your preschooler's birthday? Balloons, funny hats, cakes, presents, friends, shrieks of joy, laughter, probably some tears, and sheer exhaustion at the end of the day. Amidst all the madness, your little one might not quite yet grasp that all this means that he is getting older and bigger. When that realization hits, usually around age three or four, it is usually accompanied by pride and anticipation, but ...
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Cost: $4.95

The Three Snow Bears


What is it exactly about the story of Goldilocks that so enchants the preschool set? Is it the rhythm of the story? The fun of going for a walk while breakfast cools? The difficulty of finding a chair that fits? The delight of imagining coming home to find someone sleeping in your bed? No matter - it does enchant, that's all. And this adaptation is especially lovely, casting Aloo-ki as ...
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Cost: $16.99
$11.55

Amos and Boris


Of all the wonderful picture books about friendship, Amos and Boris holds a special place. An updated version of Aesop's fable of the lion and the mouse, it's a story about the most improbable and unexpected of friendships. Amos the mouse sets out to sea to explore "the vast living universe." He meets with misfortune, but also discovers a true friend and soul mate in the form of a whale ...
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Cost: $6.95

Furreal Friends Butterscotch Pony


Winner of the 2007 T.O.T.Y. Award for Best Girls Toy of the Year, the Hasbro FurReal Friends Butterscotch Pony seeks to fulfill every little girl's dream of having her very own pony. Butterscotch is a miniature Shetland pony, and will react to your child's loving care in incredibly realistic ways. More than three feet tall, she will even allow kids to sit on her for a pretend ...
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Cost: $299.99
$277.51

Life on Earth Memory Game


You remember laying on the floor playing "Memory" as a kid, don't you? It's a fantastic brain waker-upper, masquerading as a great way to pass time. Rainy day, sunny day, Saturday morning, 15 more minutes until dinner -- it's an anytime game. And this one is especially lovely, made up of 24 sets of beautifully illustrated cards featuring plants, insects and animals. The pictures might lull your little one into ...
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Cost: $12.99

Home for a Bunny


Devotees of Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny are aware of Margaret Wise Brown's special interest in all things bunnyish. In this sweet tale, a bunny sets off in springtime to find a home of his own. Along the way, he explores a favorite preschool theme: where all the animals of the forest live. The illustrations are by Garth Williams (of Charlotte's Web and Little House on the Prairie fame), ...
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Cost: $8.99

Jumbo Jungle Animals


Take a pretend trip to the jungle and meet the local animals with this set of five popular animals - a lion, tiger, gorilla, elephant, and giraffe. They all feature detailed painting and are made of durable, dishwasher-safe plastic. Giraffe measures 9" x 13". Read More >
Cost: $29.95

Dooby Dooby Moo


Duck and his friends are at it again.This time they're pooling their considerable resources to win a local talent show, because first prize is a TRAMPOLINE.The cows want to sing. The sheep want to sing.The pigs want to...dance.Dance?And Duck? Duck just wants to win that trampoline. But first he has three small problems:1. Farmer Brown2. Farmer Brown3. Farmer BrownThat remarkable, bestselling duo, Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin -- who brought ...
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Cost: $16.95
$12.71

Who Hops?


Who hops? Does a cow hop? A giraffe? And if not, what do they do instead? These simple questions are answered in Katie Davis's fanciful Who Hops? Exploding with color, this engaging read-aloud book takes a fun-filled look at the world of animal movement. Introducing animals that really do hop or fly or swim, Davis ends the sequence with one that certainly doesn't. ...
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Cost: $7.00

I Am A Bunny


I am a bunny. My name is Nicholas. I live in a hollow tree.In the spring, Nicholas likes to sniff the flowers, and in the summer, watch the frogs in the pond. In the fall, he watches the animals getting ready for winter, and in winter, watches the snow falling from the sky. This beautifully illustrated, gentle story is one of Golden’s most beloved titles. Read More >
Cost: $5.99

Animal Bingo


The game we all love featuring beautiful illlustrations of animals we all know. Includes 6 game cards,36 chips and a cotton drawstring bag. Read More >
Cost: $15.99

Library Lion


An affectionate storybook tribute to that truly wonderful place: the library.Miss Merriweather, the head librarian, is very particular about rules in the library. No running allowed. And you must be quiet. But when a lion comes to the library one day, no one is sure what to do. There aren't any rules about lions in the library. And, as it turns out, this lion seems very well suited to library ...
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Cost: $20.53

Stephen Joseph Snack Sacks


If your child's preschool day ends before lunch, maybe a little snack-sized pouch is more useful. It comes in ladybug, kitty cat, monkey, frog and other designs, and each one comes with themed notes for slipping in a special note to remind her just how much her mama loves her. This especially cute sack is great for stowing anything from a full lunch to just a sippy cup and a ...
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Cost: $15.39

A Color of His Own


Perhaps your child has found a favorite color. Perhaps that color is so imporant in his life that he won't wear any other color. Perhaps that makes laundry far too frequent of a chore for you. Perhaps you need this book. It's a charming story of a chameleon who is fixated on having a color of his own, which of course is impossible in nature's ever-changing ...
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Cost: $12.95
$10.36

Mice Squeak, We Speak


Illustrated in gorgeous, muted hues, this board-book version of an elegantly simple poem is a picture perfect introduction to animal--and people--sounds for very young readers. Every page, framed in decorative borders, reveals a critter making noise: "Flies hum. / Dogs growl. / Bats screech. / Coyotes howl. / Frogs croak. / Parrots squawk. / Bees buzz. / But I talk!" The animal sounds emerge from ...
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Cost: $5.99

V Smile Baby Infant Development System


Beam a smile onto your little one's face and connect her to a world of interactive learning. The V.Smile Baby System goes above and beyond passive developmental videos and offers a breakthrough, interactive approach to learning. A colorful panel fits comfortably in your child's lap and connects wirelessly to a receiver that hooks right into your TV. The signal works from up to 15 feet away, and won't falter no ...
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Cost: $39.99

If Not for the Cat


You could easily think that a collection of haikus is well beyond the ken of our adored preschool set. You could also be wrong. Yes, this is a book you should keep around on the shelves for some grade school project when your much-grown former preschooler is writing her own haikus. But yes, this is also a book you will dive into right now, long before your tiny one can ...
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Cost: $16.99
$11.55

Grumpy Gloria


This delightful book about a bulldog who is feeling particularly put out will charm both you and your little one. Gloria feels hopelessly replaced when her adored owner (the baby sister of three) becomes completely enchanted with a new doll, and, despite the older owners' best efforts, she simply refuses to be coaxed out of her misery. The story is told with fantastic, lilting rhymes, and you will find yourself ...
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Cost: $15.99
$10.87

Make Way for Ducklings


This award-winning and ever popular classic really needs no introduction from us: it's the official children's book of Massachusetts -- need we say more? But truly, there is good reason why Mr. and Mrs. Mallard's adventures have remained so beloved for all this time. These ducks are just too funny and adorable, the pictures of their proud strutting through Boston streets and traffic absolutely comical. If you ever happen to ...
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Cost: $18.99
$12.23

Twelve Snails to One Lizard


Susan Hightower Book Read More >
Cost: $16.95
$15.25

Jump 'n' Jam Jungle Talking Floor Mat


It's a jungle out there! This interactive floor mat keeps kids moving as they follow directions, make patterns, recognize shapes and match animals to their sounds. Exotic animal characters encourage curiosity about wildlife through play. Durable vinyl mat with adjustable volume measures 32" in diameter. For 1-6 players. Requires 4 "AA" batteries, not included. Read More >
Cost: $36.99
$31.71

Room on the Broom


In case anyone thought that witches are scary, here's one who will soon be dear to your kids' hearts, warts and all. She's a bit clumsy. She's apt to drop and lose her favorite belongings (sound like anyone you know?). She is also an animal-lover -- how could a preschooler not like her? But here's the question: is there room on her broom for a cat, a dog, a bird ...
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Cost: $6.99

Blueberries for Sal


Sal is a bit scruffy. Her hair hasn't seen a brush for a few days. Her overall straps keep slipping down. But has a more endearing girl ever toddled across a blueberry field in the pages of a children's book? We think not. Under her father's clearly adoring yet unsparing gaze (McCloskey based this and his other Maine books on his own family), Sal tags ...
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Cost: $7.99

Go, Dog. Go!


Your kids will cherish this P.D. Eastman classic for its urgent sense of go-go-go, and you will love it for the same reason - except you'll recognize it as the relentless action that whirls through your home every day! Going, stopping, rushing, learning, planning, meeting, greeting, waking, sleeping, and of course, ending up at a wild party with all your friends - the stuff preschoolers' dreams (and days!) are made ...
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Cost: $8.99

Friends


When your little one gets to the wonderful stage of making friends, you may quickly be surprised by the depth of passion and loyalty these tiny pals feel for one another. It seems that if they could, they would spend all of every day and night playing together, right? That's certainly how the rooster, pig, and mouse of this lovely story feel about each other. But before we parents begin ...
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Cost: $6.99

Noah's Ark


The flood has come! Help Noah save all the animals. This play-set comes with 12 pairs of brightly colored animals and figures of Noah and his wife. The roof can be removed to easily enter into the cabin. The gangway can also be opened to access the roomy cargo-hold that has three portholes to allow children to see the animals inside. This eco-friendly toy is made from organic, recycled, rubberwood ...
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Cost: $48.00

Who Is Driving


This charming little book is a great choice for the younger set, the kids who are already wildly obsessed with wheels but can't yet speed their own trikes across the backyard. It is part vehicle parade, part race and part guessing game, as the reader tries to figure out which animal should drive what car. It is all fun, though, for all little ones. Read More >
Cost: $12.95
$10.36

Baby Animals Puzzle Pairs


This simple puzzle pairs help early learners identify baby animals by matching mothers to babies. Made with sturdy laminated board. Illustration by Saxton Freymann. Read More >
Cost: $14.99

Peter Rabbit


The world of Beatrix Potter can come as a bit of a shock in our kinder, gentler era of child-rearing and children's books. The rabbits here don't spend much time on games like Guess How Much I Love You. Rather, Peter is dubbed “very naughty" from the book's beginning, and, in Potter-land, naughty bunnies get their due (in this case, a dose of camomile tea – but ...
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Cost: $6.99

A Day at the Zoo Sticker Set


This slender piece of folding cardboard packs a serious punch inside its plastic case. It's got more than 50 vinyl stickers that your preschooler can use to populate a zoo scene. And then he can move them around and do it again. And again. When your flight is delayed and the airport is resembling a zoo in a way that isn't even remotely fun, this little scene may just save ...
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Cost: $10.99

Sea Animals Floor Puzzle


There's something delicious about a rainy summer afternoon. Time to take a break from the sun and the rushing about, and curl up with your little ones for some quieter moments. Working on a puzzle is the perfect counterpoint to the raucous adventures of many summer days. For the preschoolers in your midst, we think there is no better beginner jigsaw puzzle than this one. Here's why: this big puzzle ...
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Cost: $17.99

Actual Size


Steve Jenkins (What Do You Do with a Tail Like This ?) returns with another inventive, involving picture book--this time inviting young readers to see how they measure up against a variety of different animals (represented in colorful, cut-paper collages at actual size). Each spread of Actual Size presents a new animal or two for readers to check out, along with a few interesting facts and physical ...
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Cost: $16.00
$10.88

Carl's Afternoon in the Park


Carl, the baby, and a new puppy spend an eventful afternoon in the park, riding on a carousel, romping in the flowers, and visiting a children's zoo.A contribution from the proceeds benefits the American Humane Association. Read More >
Cost: $12.95

The Color Kittens


Two green-eyed kittens who slosh around great big buckets of paint making all kinds of messes - what more appealing heroes could we ask for? The color kittens have only yellow, red, and blue paint, but what they really want is some green. So the kittens mix their paints, and Margaret Wise Brown mixes her lovely prose with a touch of poetry in order to teach young children ...
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Cost: $2.99

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

Frog and Toad CD Audio Collection


There's nothing like a best friend ... Frog and Toad, those famous pals, are beloved by generations of children. Their every adventure is filled with the magic of true friendship, whether they're telling ghost stories, searching for a lost button, or eating too many cookies. This captivating audio collection features all four of the Frog and Toad books, read with humor and charm by award-winning author Arnold Lobel. This collection ...
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Cost: $17.95
$12.21

Perfect Pigs


Marc Brown Stephen Krensky Book Read More >
Cost: $6.99

Good Dog, Carl


Alexandra Day's modern classic Good Dog Carl has sold more than 200,000 copies, captivating countless readers with the lovable rottweiler Carl, endearing illustrations, and the tale's surprising silliness. The book begins with the mother saying, "Look after the baby, Carl. I'll be back shortly." Let the adventure begin! Carl looks out the window to make sure Mom is gone. Once the coast is clear, the baby crawls out of the ...
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Cost: $6.99

Latitude Enfant Grannimals Collection


Rediscover the tradition of our grandmothers with our collection of hand knitted animals. These granimals are an updated version of traditional sock dolls.Sacha the Cat is one of our favorite granimals created by L'atitude Enfant. Sacha has a cute smile, white eyes, and a bright orange body. She wears a purple sweater that is trimmed with yellow and purple stripes. The perfect gift for any child. Packed nicely in an ...
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Cost: $14.99

Lucky the Incredible Wonder Pup


Looking for a cuddly canine friend' Lucky is the closest thing there is to a real dog, and he comes fully trained. Lucky understands and responds to 15 different verbal commands, including "come here," "lay down," "put 'em up," "play dead," "say 'I Love You' ", "pounce," "sit," "bark a song," "play tug-of-war," "shake," "beg," "say 'I'm Sorry'", "go to sleep" and "speak." He even stands on his head! Lucky ...
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Cost: $39.99

Our Theme for September 2008

The Social Life of Preschoolers

Now At BeingSavvy

The Birthday Party Social Whirl

Sat
September
6
2008

Sometimes we get a bit frazzled when the wave of invitations splashes onto our family's calendar, but ... Read more >

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