Best Books for Boys: Toddler Books – Toddlers still need help by being read to but the more they are the faster they will learn.

The first BOB book set – Bob Books, Set 1: Beginning Readers – are ideal for helping new readers master basic skills. Each book in the set introduces a new set of letter and words so that boys can build up their reading vocabulary at their own pace and the stories they tell are simple but engaging, thanks in part to the great illustrations that accompany the new words. There are five box sets in the series but even if you don’t get them all this first set is a great buy because it offers fun and learning that does not get too repetitive or boring.

Best Books for Boys: Thomas the Tank Engine: Thomas the Tank Engine has and his friends have been favorites with kids for decades now and Thomas the Tank Engine books are some of the best books for boys to help encourage a life long love of reading. There are a number of beginning readers versions of the Thomas stories including Percy’s Chocolate Crunch and Other Thomas the Tank Engine Stories that are bright and colorful, featuring images from the Thomas and Friends TV show but that are easy enough for new readers to grasp fairly quickly on their own.

The Best Books for Boys – Older Boys Books

Even if they have now headed off to school and are being taught to master their reading better in the classroom older boys should still be reading at home.

The Magic Treehouse Collection:  One of the best books for boys book sets are The Magic Tree House books. Each of the books in the series follows the adventures of a brother and sister team Jack and Annie who one day stumble across a treehouse filled with books that somehow seems to be able to transport them to points of history across time. In just the first eight adventures Jack and Annie meet dinosaurs, pirates, ninjas, knights, a sabre tooth tiger and head down the Amazon and up to the moon.

The great thing about the Magic Treehouse books is that the author, Mary Pope Osbourne is a historian as well as a children’s book author so her historical references are accurate and educational. In fact there are a number of research guides that go along with some of the books written by pop Osbourne and her husband Will.

About Dr Seuss – Born on March 2nd 1904 Theodor Seuss Geisel wrote 46 books over the course of his long career, most of them under the pen name Dr Seuss. As a younger man Geisel was a political cartoonist and commentator and it was not until 1937 that he wrote his first book for children, “And I Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street” which was rejected three times before he found a publisher willing to take a chance on it.

After serving in World War II Geisel entered the 1950s at his most prolific and many of the best known and best loved of the Dr Seuss books were written during that decade.

In 1954 after a Life magazine story claimed that US children were not learning to read properly because the books they were given were boring and uninteresting the director of Geisel’s publishing company challenged Dr Seuss to come up with a book that would change all that. The result was “The Cat in the Hat” and used just 236 of the 250 ‘basic vocabulary words” that he had been challenged to write around. It was critics agreed as funny and engaging as his earlier books but beginning readers could read it and it was an instant hit. Dr Seuss books continued to be bestsellers as soon as he wrote them and long after his death from throat cancer in 1991 Dr Seuss books are still considered to be some of the best ever written for children.

Dr Seuss Books Today – Dr Seuss books are still published in much the same format as they ever were. You can purchase collections of various books, the Beginner Book Collection (Click here to buy at Amazon.com) being a great choice as a way to introduce you children to the joys of Dr Seuss books. This collection costs relatively little and features Cat in the Hat, Hop on Pop, Fox in Socks, Green Eggs and Ham and One Fish, Two Fish.

After that its up to your kids to choose their favorites perhaps but you should certainly keep encouraging them to explore Dr Seuss books further. The favorite in our house is always going to be The Grinch but you will have a lot of fun watching you kids discover their own!

Games for Toddlers: Melissa and Doug 10 Piece Magnetic Fishing Game – The object of this game is to have your toddler “catch” all of the fish that are swimming on the wooden board using only the magnet tipped fishing rod. Sounds very easy but it can be a bit tricky, even for grown ups. The game board is brightly colored and the fish should fascinate younger children while the game itself should still present enough of a challenge to amuse older toddlers as well.

Games for Toddlers: Melissa and Doug Monster Bowling Game – This is a fun spin on the old concept of an indoor bowling set All of the pins are in fact brightly colored, plush and furry whimsical monsters (there are six of them) and the ball has a monster face too. The pins are not very tall so this a game perhaps for a younger toddler but for them it should provide a lot of fun, especially when it is just to nasty to go outside.

If monsters are not your favorite thing (or your child’s) Melissa and Doug also offer a happy face version of the same bowling set as well.

Games for Toddlers: Uno Moo Preschool Edition – This is a new toddler friendly twist on a fun old favorite. The are a lot of farm animals who have found their way out of the barn and it is the players job to round up a set of them before anyone else does by marching them either by color or by animal (if you get the farmer he’s a wild card,so matches with anything) This game is not too difficult for toddlers to learn how to play and is a lot of fun that older children can participate in too.

Games for Toddlers: I Spy Preschool Game – I Spy games and books have saved many a parent’s sanity of a long car trip with toddlers or on a rainy afternoon. The special toddler version of I Spy features brightly colored flash cards as game pieces and it encourages basic reading as well as observational skills. There are three different ways to play the game, each suited to toddlers of different ages but whichever version they choose it should still stop boredom from setting in – at least for quite a while.

Games for Toddlers: The Busy Book – Why just buy one toddler game when you can buy this book that contains suggestions for 365 of them? The great majority of the games and activities only require the use of things commonalty found around the house although you may have to make one of two initial craft store purchases to get everything you need on hand. Some of the activities are designed for the indoors while others promote outdoor play bit there are certainly enough suggestions for fun things for toddlers to do in this book to keep them busy for quite a while.

Best Baby Books – Lamaze Cloth Books – All that younger babies really want to do with most books is chew them, so cloth books are always a good idea! The Lamaze Collection of Cloth Books are absolutely delightful and great for interacting at story time with babies of all ages. For example the Peek a Boo Forest book is bright and colorful and filled with hidden animals for babies to find as the story progresses. As you might expect from Lamaze these books are designed to educate as much as they entertain and the fact that they cost less than most hardcover books means it is easy to build up a whole collection of them.

Best Baby Books – Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? A Lift-the-Flap Book – This is another great book that makes babies and toddlers laugh as they learn although it might make bedtime a little rowdier than you might like. As you read through the book you and Baby are on the hunt for all of the book baby’s body parts which are hidden under bubbles, clothes, hats, teddy bears and all can be revealed when Baby lifts up a flap.

This book is a part of a series too, and as they are also very affordable it is well worth collecting them all as well.

Best Baby Books – Good Night Moon Board Book (and Bunny) – We had to include it! Goodnight moon as written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd was first published in 1947 and is probably the best known baby book in the world and still loved by the babies and toddlers of the 21st century, wherever they live in the world. In France it is “Bonsoir Lune” and in Spain it is “ Buenas Noches Luna” but wherever you are the simple sweet story remains the same. We love this set because not only does it come with the beautiful colorful board book version of the book we remember being photographed chewing on as a child but a replica of the bunny too, something we can only wish we’d had!

The Story behind Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Episodes – Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes marked the first time that the legendary Mickey Mouse crew had appeared in CGI form on TV. The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes revolve around problem solving often with the aid of a giant Mickey head shaped computer called the Mousekadoer. In addition to the man himself regular characters in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes include Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, and Pluto as well as Pete, Clarabelle Cow, Ludwig Von Drake, Chip ‘n’ Dale, and Mortimer Mouse to name just a few of the “guest stars”

The Cast of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Episodes – Mickey’s New Voice – Since 2009 the new voice of Mickey Mouse has been provided by Bret Iwan. He took over after the gentleman who had Boeing providing the mouse’s voice for years, Wayne Allwine passed away. Actually an artist and illustrator Iwan did have experience with the role of mickey Mouse as he had been voicing him for various rides and and attractions at Animal Kingdom. He then went on to work on not only Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes he has also been providing the famous mouse voice for the video games in the Kingdom of Heart series of games and most recently the new Wii game Epic Mickey.

Watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Episodes – In the US Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes air on both the Disney Channel and on Disney HD. The show also appears on every different version of the Disney channel that exists worldwide, although of course the name of the show changes from country to country. In France it is “La Maison de Mickey”, in Spanish speaking countries it becomes “La Casa de Mickey Mouse ”.

There have also been a number of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes released on DVD, some of which have not aired on TV. There is of course plenty of other merchandise available that ties in with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes as well, including figurine sets and the rather large Mickey Mouse Clubhouse playset from Fisher Price which recreates the Clubhouse in detail.

You can also buy and download MP3s of many of the songs that have appeared in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes over the years including the two songs by rockers They Might be Giants that appear in almost every episode “Hot Dog” and “Meska Mouska” which is the Mickey Mouse clubhouse theme.

The Cast of the New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – Much of the cast of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was the same as had been appearing in the Winnie the Pooh movies. Pooh himself was voiced by Jim Cummings, a very versatile voice actor who took over the role of Pooh when the original Disney voice of Pooh Sterling Holloway retired. He also then began to voice Tigger when his long time voice Paul Winchell retired too (although Winchell did do the first two seasons of the new show before hanging up his tiger stripes). A Disney staple Cummings has also appeared in The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas and a number of other Disney shows and movies as well as in newer cartoon like Cat Dog.

Rabbit was voiced by Ken Samson, Piglet by John Field and Eeyore by Peter Cullen, all of whom had played the role in the Winnie the Pooh movies up to that point too.

The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh marked the first time that Pooh cartoons did not have such a heavy educational message, focusing on adventure instead. Some critics at that the time though that made the show not so suitable for the pre school set and better for the kindergarten set. That did not stop the show from becoming a world wide hit though and even after production stopped in 1991 the show has been re run over and over again on TV channels across the world.

The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh on Video and DVD – If you still own a VHS then it is easy to get all of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh to watch at home. Unfortunately though Disney have yet to release any of the series on DVD but as Disney has a habit of releasing such things slowly then you can only hope that they do so soon. You can find some of the episodes online on video channels like YouTube but they are chopped into several different sections per episode.

In the 21st century Winnie is still around though and the Summer of 2011 sees the release of a brand new Winnie the Pooh movie called simply Winnie the Pooh. Jim Cummings is back as the voices of Pooh and Tigger with talk show host and comedian Craig Ferguson appearing as Owl. John Cleese is also in the movie, playing himself. The new movie rehashes some of the best of the old Pooh stories, like Eeyore’s lost tale, and should introduce yet another new generation of kids to the delights of the Hundred Acre Wood and its inhabitants.

Since the Winnie the Pooh and his friends have appeared in an awful lot of movies to the delight of generations of kids. Here is a little about a few of our favorite Winnie the Pooh movies:

Winnie the Pooh Movies – The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – First released in 1977 Disney have re released this movie several times but the 25th anniversary edition stands out as the best version. Of all the Winnie the Pooh movies this one perhaps is the one that id most faithful to A. A. Milne’s original Winnie the Pooh as it is a collection of animated shorts that follow classic Pooh stories like “The Blustery Day” and “Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too”. Thw movie contains several great Pooh songs that kids of all ages loved and the 25th anniversary edition also includes a new version of the Winnie the Pooh theme song by Carly Simon that was written especially for the re release.

Winnie the Pooh Movies – Pooh’s Grand Adventure – The Search for Christopher Robin – This movie was promoted a great deal by Disney when it first came out in 1997 and it marked the debut of a whole new Pooh story although all the best of the characters from The One Hundred Acre Wood are there. When one strange day Christopher Robin does not come to play with them but leaves a strange honey covered note instead Pooh muddles things up a little and upon reading the note as best he can believes Christopher Robin has gone to a dangerous place called “Skull” and needs to be rescued. Pooh then takes his friends Tigger, Piglet. Eeyore and rabbit with him on an adventure that is both scary and funny.

Winnie the Pooh Movies – Springtime with Roo – Little Roo takes center stage in this movie which sees the antics of some of the gang (namely Pooh, Roo and Tigger) make the wise Rabbit threaten to cancel easter. Like all Winnie the Pooh movies this one has a message for kids in the storyline and this one is about the need to be as unselfish.

Winnie the Pooh Movies –  The Tigger Movie – Everyone tends to have their favorite Winnie the Pooh movie and this is ours as the very funny and endearing Tigger gets to be the star. The movie revolves around Tiggers hunt for his real filmy and his friends efforts to help him. This movie has some of the best animation of any of the Winnie the Pooh movies and after years of Winnie the Pooh movies being narrated wonderfully by Sebastian Cabot Oscar winner and very serious actor John Hurt stepped in to fill the role amazingly well.

The Long Lasting Appeal of Sesame Street – A recent survey found that 95% of America’s pre schoolers watch Sesame Street regularly before they are three and that 77 million teenage and adult Americans can remember watching the program as a child. Sesame Street has over the years won 118 Emmys and 8 Grammys, more than any other children’s TV show in the world.

It might be hard to put your finger on quite why Sesame Street movies still sell better than ever and why so many kids (and their parents) still tune in every episode. Over the years main characters have changed, new puppets have come to the Street, old ones have been retired. For instance the best loved of todays Sesame Street characters – and the big star of so many Sesame Street videos – Elmo was not created until 1979 and no one really paid too much attention to him until actor and puppeteer Kevin Clash took over the lovable red puppet and changed his voice in 1983.

Sesame Street also gets a great many famous visitors. Rock stars, sports stars, actors, politicians and authors have all graced the show. In 2011 alone NY Kicks basketball stars Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony stopped by to play basketball with Grover, singer Juanes came to sing with Elmo, as did Katy Perry, Sofia Vergara, Craig Ferguson and Joel Mchale all also showed up on the Street.

Our Favorite Sesame Street Videos – After having watched the show as kids ourselves like many other parents we now watch the show with our own child. Videos are not really videos anymore they are DVDs of course but that doesn’t sound as good! Whatever they are though our household has a number of them. Here are some of our favorites:

Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days – Great nostalgia for the grown ups, interesting for the kids this Sesame Street collections spans the 40 years between Sesame Streets debut in 1969 and 2009. The original debut of Ernie’s “Rubber Duckie” is here as is Kermit’s “Its not Easy Being Green”. Also the day Big Bird found out Mr Hooper was never coming back and appearances by Lena Horne, Henry Winkler, Mr. (Fred) Rogers, James Taylor, Smokey Robinson, Pee-wee Herman, Marilyn Horne, Tony Bennett, Robert De Niro, Olamide Faison, Alicia Keys, Matt Lauer, David Beckham, and Neil Patrick Harris to name just a few. This is a great buy for parents and kids!

Best of Sesame Street Spoofs 1 and 2 – These videos are coming out on July 5th 2011 and they gather together some of the best spoofs that the Sesame street gang all do so well. A’a anatomy is going to be there, True Mud, Mad Mad Men, Desperate Houseplants and Smells Like a Monster. We are really looking forward to these Sesame street videos, how about you?

Basic Baby Carrier Types – As you hunt for the best baby carriers you will quickly realize that although there are dozens of different ones available these days they can all be slotted into one of several basic types.

Front carriers are best for newborns because they provide the best head support and as baby gets older these carriers can be reversed and Baby can face outwards to better see the world around her. Some people do get confused by all the straps and buckles many front carry baby carriers have though and an improperly secured baby carrier is a dangerous thing so make sure you understand how to put the baby carrier on before you buy it.

When it comes to this kind of carrier there are lots of good models out there but it is hard to beat the original Baby Bjorn carrier http://www.amazon.com/Babybjorn-Baby-Carrier-Original-Classic/dp/B0009JOSNM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308239980&sr=8-1 because it is so easy to get on and off and is simply so durable. It is a little more expensive than some other models but the extra investment is probably well worth making for something you are probably going to use everyday for months.

As Baby gets older and can hold their head up the best baby carriers options expand. Many parents – ladies especially – love the convenience of sling style baby carriers. The hip sit position is a very natural one and it does relieve some of the pressure on your shoulders as a front carry baby carrier can get very heavy very quickly once baby starts to grow. You do have to shop carefully though to make sure that the sling you are choosing can actually hold your baby’s weight.

Lucky Baby Slingshttp://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Baby-Slings-Small-Eden/dp/B001VF4KSQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1308240516&sr=1-1 make a number of different versions that are variations on the same basic theme and these slings are the best baby carriers in some Moms eyes because they are stylish as well as safe!

The other basic option available when it comes to the best baby carriers is the backpack style baby carrier. These are great for older babies and preferred by a lot of the Dads we know as they are a little more “manly” than some other baby carrier options. Ergo http://www.amazon.com/Ergo-BC2EPK1-Galaxy-Carrier-Reflector/dp/B002BU0PRK/ref=sr_1_80?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1308241180&sr=1-80make some great back carry baby carriers that offer a lot of function and can accommodate children of up to around 2 years old and are very reasonably priced for the quality and durability they offer.

Baby food processors come in many different shapes and sizes these days and they range from the very simple to rather complex. Here though is a little bit about some of the most popular baby food processor models available right now:

Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker – This is one of the more complex baby food processors available but it is also a big seller. Part of the reason for its popularity is probably that it does so much. It can steam, blend, defrost and warms and can cook most meats and vegetables in less than 15 minutes and blend them right away. Another big part of the appeal is that it minimizes the mess and clean up time versus using separate blenders, saucepans and measuring utensils, something that busy parents appreciate. The Beaba Babycook food maker could not be called cheap but most people who buy one think it ends up being worth every penny.

Baby Chef Ultimate Baby Food Maker -  This is another higher end baby food processor that almost does it all. It chops, it steams, it purees, defrosts and warms. It is another very good option but it is not as compact as the Beaba Babycook so there is a little more clean up required but on the whole those who own one feel this a great baby food processor that makes making homemade baby food a little easier.

Magic Bullet Baby Bullet -  This is basically the baby version of the “As Seen on TV” Magic Bullet puree machine. Once food has been steamed/cooked it goes into the Baby Bullet blender and is pureed in seconds. Parents love this set because in part of the extras it comes with. Included in the basic set are baby food storage jars, a sippy cup and pop out freezer molds, all of which make preparing and storing a larger quantity of homemade baby food easier.

Of course to make your own homemade baby food you do not need to purchase a special baby food processor at all and often parents have all the tools they need in their kitchen already. A regular blender will do just as good a job of pureeing the food and steaming the food in a saucepan is old fashioned but cheaper. The real draw of a baby food processor is convenience but that is a big consideration when as busy parents you have so much else to do.