My mother is giving a speech today at the University of Maryland for her new book, Stanley Hayami: Nisei Son…go mom. Apart from writing 50 plus children’s books and parenting books, my amazing mother has written this book–based on the diary of a young man who was sent ( along with 120,000 other Americans of Japanese descent ) to internment camps during World War II. Stanley then served in the Army–and died serving his country. My mother has taken this primary source and brought his story to life with such clarity and emotion, that people are moved to tears when they “meet” Stanley. I recently heard her speak at NYU–and again I marveled at how my mother is such a gifted story teller. I also highly recommend Dear Miss Breed–the story of a dedicated librarian who became an incredible and consistent source of support to so many children and their families sent to camps during WWII.
All of this is by way of my saying that my mother and I usually play with window markers and crayons together. So I’m proud that she’s off giving another speech–but I miss that she’s not here. I have just tried out Crayola’s new Window Crayons. At first I felt a little awkward coloring on our office windows by myself–but I’ve loosened up…and have created a garden of flowers and grass. Try it, it’s liberating.
If you’re ok with kids drawing on windows/sliding doors–this is a REALLY FUN activity. At only $4.99–it’s a great buy. Comes with five colors.
Recycling trucks are back–as they should be. Maybe we’ll have kids less confused by all those recycling bins! This one from Lego is $16.99 and available on at 
With everyone cutting back on their expensive coffee habits, you can enjoy a pretend cafe latte or cappuccino with this new pretend setting from Step 2. The Cafe Barista looks like fun–we really liked the “steamed milk” sound effect. Looking forward to testing this one. Will be available later this year. Be on the look out for more and more toys that focus on food…both real and plastic.
We’re eager to test this new mini projector from 
If you’ve spent any time with a two year old, you know they love to do the same thing over and over again. It’s through that repeititive play, that they develop their self confidence and sense of their own abilities. The other thing you know about toddlers is that finding toys for them can be really challenging. They’ve outgrown their baby toys–and they’re not really ready for most preschool toys with all of those pesky small parts that pose a safety risk. They’re often more interested in seeing if they can climb on a toy at this stage rather than play with it. My son Adam did this with his first garage!
This 8″ soft fabric ball makes that lovely chime sound when it’s rolled back and forth. Just right for encouraging babies to crawl–and fun for back and forth games on the floor with older babies and toddlers. It also comes in pink and part of a larger line that also includes a very cuddly Sweet Chocolate Pillow Bear that opens up to become a flat pillow. When you connect the Velcro underneath the Bear, it looks like a regular stuffed bear. The ball retails for $19 and the bear is $49. 
Last year we spent way too much time flying Spin Master’s little Havoc Helis around our office. We got pretty good at it too–so we’re pretty psyched that they have new flying machines! The Switchblade promises to take off like a UFO and transform in the air–into a hig powered aircraft. We’ll have to go outside for this one…field trip!