Gift
Suggestions for Children:
VIDEOS AND MUSIC, TOYS,
COMPUTER GAMES
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A note on content and arrangement
These are sorted by year, but the year given is the one
at which we ran across each item. Some may be appropriate to earlier ages,
and many will still be appropriate for years afterward. I haven’t included
many popular and well-advertised items such as Barney and Thomas the Tank
engine, which my daughter loved, but which you’re unlikely to miss.
Videos and music
First year
Back to top of page
BARTELS, Joanie. Lullaby
Magic 1. This was a long-time standby, especially since when my kid
was born I didn't know any lullabies except "Rock-a-Bye Baby," and
not much of that. Includes "Close Your Eyes," "Golden
Slumbers," "Rock-A-Bye Baby," "Wynken, Blynken and
Nod," "All the Pretty Little Horses," "Hush Little
Baby," "Goodnight, My Someone," "Twinkle, Twinkle."
BARTELS, Joanie. Lullaby
Magic 2. At least as good as the first Lullaby Magic, maybe
even better. Includes "Dream a Little Dream of Me,"
"Goodnight, Sweetheart," "Over the Rainbow,"
"Russian Cradle Song," "May I Have the Next Dream With
You," "German Lullaby," "Sleepyhead" ("Leila's
Song"), "When You Wish upon a Star," "Sleep Song,"
"Love Me Tender."
BARTELS, Joanie. Morning
Magic. Includes "Morning Has Broken," "Lazy Mary, Will
You Get Up?," "Rise and Shine," "Oh, What a Beautiful
Morning," "Put on a Happy Face," "Good Day Sunshine"
and "The 59th Street Bridge Song" ("Feelin' Groovy").
Second year Back to top of page
The
Musical Life of Gustav Mole. Illustrated by Kathryn Meyrick
(paperback). A charming introduction to music and musical instruments,
including classical and jazz.
Musical
Life of Gustav Mole (audiotape). This book and audiotape used
to come packaged together; the book's useless without the tape, and the tape
lacks something without the charming illustrations in the book.
HILL, Stephanie. Special
Delivery Symphony: Looney Tunes Discover Music (audiotape and book).
Amusing introduction to instruments of the orchestra, with Bugs Bunny as a
conductor, Daffy Duck as a delivery man, and Porky Pig as a stubborn security
guard. The audiotape is cued to the book.
Third year Back to top of page
Beauty
and the Beast. One of my favorite Disney animated cartoons.
Beauty
and the Beast. Original Motion
Picture Soundtrack. Buy the CD for bedtime or car listening: the songs
are hilarious, and will do great things for a child's vocabulary as he memorizes
them.
Classical Kids:
Beethoven
Lives Upstairs. All the CDs in this series offer substantial excerpts
from the composer's works, held together by an intriguing story told from a
kid's point of view.
Classical Kids:
Hallelujah
Handel!
Classical Kids:
Mozart's
Magic Fantasy: A Journey Through
'The Magic Flute.' Excerpts from The Magic Flute sung in English,
with action-packed narrative to hold it together. The CD liner has the
lyrics. My daughter became interested in this because of Freeman's Pet of
the Met (see Children’s Books).
Classical Kids:
Mr.
Bach Comes To Call.
Classical Kids:
Tchaikovsky
Discovers America. Tchaikovsky's adventures with two children on a
trip to the United States.
Classical Kids:
Vivaldi's
Ring Of Mystery.
Homeward
Bound - The Incredible Journey. The protagonists are 2 dogs and a
Siamese cat, all courageous and intelligent; voices by Don Ameche, Michael J.
Fox and Sally Fields. This was a favorite for years and years.
The
Little Mermaid: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The movie isn't
currently available for purchase: Disney re-releases it every 7 years or so.
Rent it, and then extend the pleasure by singing with the soundtrack. Music
and lyrics by the same pair who did Beauty and the Beast.
Fourth year Back to top of page
Balto.
The best use for animated movies like this is to get a child interested in
books. Try Standiford's
Bravest
Dog Ever, The True Story of Balto. If you live in or near New York,
visit the Balto statue in Central Park (East Drive at 66th St.)--it's shown
in the movie, which will thrill your kid, and the inscription's very moving.
EDER, Linda, and others. The
Scarlet Pimpernel (1991 Concept CD). My daughter fell in love with
this CD after we'd played it in the car a couple times, then graduated to the
movie version with Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour (not currently
available). She was rather annoyed at first that the movie didn't include the
music, but we told her she had to work out where the songs would go. That
year she was Sir Percy at Halloween--no one guessed who she was--and
for her birthday we gave her a Barbie and Ken dressed up as Marguerite and
Sir Percival Blakeney, Baronet. (Who says Barbie has to be an airhead?) A
couple years later we went to see The Scarlet Pimpernel on Broadway,
and she listened to the cast recording of that over and over, too (
The Scarlet Pimpernel: The New Musical, Original Broadway Cast Recording).
Fifth year Back to top of page
Child's
Celebration of Rock 'n' Roll. Includes "Rock Around the
Clock," "Lollipop," "The Name Game," "Purple
People Eater," "Monster Mash," "La Bamba," the
immortal "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor," and others, all
performed by the original artists.
Child's
Celebration of Showtunes. Includes songs from Oliver!, Peter
Pan, The King and I, Bye-Bye Birdie, The Sound of Music,
and Fiddler on the Roof, from the movie soundtracks.
GILBERT, William S. The
Mikado (Dover Thrift Editions). Libretto for Gilbert and Sullivan's
Mikado; great fun to have so that you can understand all the words of the
songs.
Les
Miserables - The Dream Cast. Tenth-anniversary concert with Colm
Wilkinson (Valjean), Michael Ball (Marius), and Alun Armstrong (Thenardier).
From Broadway came Judy Kuhn (Cosette), Lea Salonga (Eponine), and Michael
Maguire (Enjolras); from a later London production came Ruthie Henshall
(Fantine); and from Australia came Philip Quast (Javert). The singers were in
costume, but performed at microphones rather than while acting, and were spectacularly
backed by a 200-member chorus and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Missing
plot information was provided in subtitles.
Les
Miserables (1987 Original Broadway Cast Recording). The Broadway
version of Les Miz includes many wonderful songs, and it's absolutely
fascinating to study how different melodies reappear used by different
characters.
Sixth year Back to top of page
Bach's
Fight for Freedom. Bach battles for the right to write his own type
of music, much of which is included in this video.
Gilbert
& Sullivan - The Pirates of Penzance. Very good adaptation of the operetta, with Linda
Ronstadt, Rex Smith and Angela Lansbury. You can
download
the whole libretto for free.
The
Princess Bride (Special Edition).
It's inconceivable that you won't love this movie. It's based on
William Golding's
The
Princess Bride: S Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High
Adventure.
GILBERT and Sullivan.
The Pirates Of Penzance. Cast recording with Linda Ronstadt and Rex
Smith. (Angela Lansbury, who appeared in the movie, didn't perform for the
soundtrack.) Double CD set, with the lyrics in the CD liner.
WEISS, Jim. Greathall Productions Presents a
Storyteller's Version of
Greek
Myths. Very well narrated one-hour audiotape. Includes King Midas and
the Golden Touch, Arachne, Perseus and Medusa, and the adventures of
Hercules.
Seventh year Back to top of page
From
the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Since the story is
about a work of art and set in the Metropolitan Museum, I don't mind
recommending the video as highly as the book. A Hallmark production, with
Lauren Bacall as Mrs. Frankweiler.
Eighth year Back to top of page
Little
Shop of Horrors. A cautionary tale about the effects of just a little
bit of compromise; includes "Somewhere That's Green," "Some
Fun Now," "Suddenly, Seymour," and "Mean Green Mother
from Outer Space." Humorless dentists allege that Steve Martin's role
set the profession’s reputation back by decades.
Little
Shop Of Horrors (1986 Film Soundtrack). Alan Mencken and Howard
Ashman also collaborated on Disney's Beauty and the Beast and Little
Mermaid.
Ninth year Back to top of page
Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Original Motion Picture
Soundtrack. My daughter used this as bedtime music for months after the
first Harry Potter movie came out: a good alternative to too much pop music.
(See Dianne Durante's
op-ed on Harry Potter.)
Toys, including arts & crafts
First year Back to top of page
Lamaze:
Clutch Cube. Infants are at first more interested in strong
black-and-white patterns than in colors or complex patterns. This cube has a
black-and-white side and color sides for later, plus lots of textures, and
it's light enough for an infant to grab and wave about.
Colored
Hardwood Block Set - 65-piece. Sturdy and colorful, great for
building and then knocking down, as well as identifying shapes (arches,
pillars, triangles, rectangles, squares) and colors. Amazon used to carry
this, but doesn't as of 9/06. Any multi-colored block set with varying
shapes will do.
Lauri
Toddler
Tote. Classic plastic: simple forms, easy to manipulate, good to chew
on when teething, can be disinfected. This set includes puzzles with animals,
geometric shapes, and pegs.
Medical
Kit. The stethoscope was a big hit, and explaining what would happen
at the next pediatrician's visit made my daughter less anxious. Another
company offers a kit that's twice as expensive, with a stethoscope that has
pre-recorded sounds--but why not leave some room for imagination?
Socks:
The
Perfect Little Dozen. At about 3 months, my daughter was wearing
brightly colored socks on a long car ride, and suddenly noticed that her feet
were interesting and were under her control. They amused her for the rest of
the trip.
Second year Back to top of page
Bristle
Blocks 114-piece Set. Easier for little hands to manage than Duplos
or Legos: they fit together by means of plastic bristles covering the surface
of each block, and once together they'll withstand a fair amount of shaking
and tossing. 114 brightly colored pieces in a handy carrying case.
Lauri
Primer
Pak Activity Set. Includes an alphabet puzzle, octagons that can be fitted
together to make 3-D objects, and a couple lacing projects. The lacing
requires considerable manual dexterity, but is very absorbing.
Third year Back to top of page
Flexible
Duplo Bucket. Duplos are slightly larger than Legos, hence easier for
toddlers to handle. This set has 79 pieces, including 2 cars, a giraffe, a
human figure, and sections of tunnel.
Stencil
Box. Kids who don't have the motor skills to draw well can make
recognizable animals, plants, machines, etc.
Fourth year Back to top of page
K'Nex
400 piece Building Set. Great for building once a child's dexterous
enough, and the circles, wheels, rods and such give many more options than
Legos. Includes a storage / carrying case.
12"
Raised Relief Political Globe. A good item to have around the house,
for playing the Carmen Sandiego CD-ROM (see Computers) or locating Thailand
after you've eaten at a Thai restaurant. The child should be old enough not
to chew on the globe, sit on it, or throw it down the stairs, but with those
caveats, buy one as early as possible and refer to it often. This 12-inch
globe with mountains in relief and clearly marked political boundaries can be
spun either on its poles or around the Equator, for easier viewing. The
manufacturer offers periodic updates.
Fifth year Back to top of page
Mastermind
for Kids. Much more appealing than the grown-up version, because you
hide brightly colored plastic animals. We played this for years--it's a good
logic game.
Surf
Frogs: Live Frog Habitat. Great fun to watch, and a clever way to
introduce biology. If the idea of handling live crickets and cleaning the
habitat weekly doesn't appeal to you or your child, though, better skip this
one.
Sixth year Back to top of page
Quiddler
Card Game. Sort of gin rummy with words rather than numbers. Give a
young child a handicap--extra points, or a warning that you're about to go
out, so he can dispose of the Qs and Zs.
LEGENDRE, Philippe.
Kids
Can Draw African Animals . Excellent basic introduction to drawing,
and likely to make a child much more observant when looking at other people's
artwork.
LEGENDRE, Philippe.
Kids
Can Draw Anything.
LEGENDRE, Philippe.
Kids
Can Draw Dinosaurs.
LEGENDRE, Philippe. Kids
Can Draw Fairy Tales.
Seventh year Back to top of page
TORRES, Laura, and Michael Sherman.
Pipe
Cleaners Gone Crazy: A Complete Guide to Bending Fuzzy Sticks. Great for
the car, a playdate, or for a trip when you can't pack many toys. When you
run out of pipecleaners, buy more.
Eighth year Back to top of page
Rush Hour. Buy the version with
automobiles (Rush
Hour Junior) or with animals (Safari
Rush Hour Game). Both come with cards that show set-ups from beginner
to advanced, and give the solution if the player is unable to work it out.
Ninth year Back to top of page
Bop
It. My daughter loves this, and it's probably doing wonders for her
reflexes.
HARRY POTTER. LEGO
Harry Potter: Chamber Of Secrets. With almost 600 pieces, a kid will
have lots of fun assembling it (directions are usually good), and it has many
figures and gadgets that are fun to play with after it's assembled.
HARRY POTTER.
LEGO
Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle. Over 600 pieces. See above; apparently not
available as of 9/06.
LEGO. Bionicles.
Great item for party favors at age 9 or 10; when the kids are exhausted from
running about, they can sit at the table assembling their critters, and then
play with them. Bionicles are a great Christmas-afternoon activity, when you
reach the "Is that ALL the presents?" stage. I'm pushing the
three-packs—you can always hide the other two and pull them out in times of
desperation.
Lego
Bionicle Bohrok 3 pack: Tahnok, Lehvak, Kohra
Lego
Bionicle Gift Pack: Pohatu, Onua, Gali
Lego
Bionicle Gift Pack: Tahu, Lewa, Kopaka.
Tenth year Back to top of page
Bop
It Extreme. Requires hitting five different buttons, rather than 3 as
on the original Bop-It. Like the original, it can be played as a party game.
Unlike the original, it's got a jack for a headphone, so if your kid wants to
practice it in the middle of the living room for hours, you'll only hear
shouts of glee or disgust, not that smart-alecky announcer's voice.
Computer games
Fourth year Back to top of page
Where
in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? CD-ROM encourages study of geography
and history. Like most CD-ROMs, it doesn't teach in a systematic and
integrated way, but it's good for review.
Sixth year Back to top of page
Zoombinis
Logical Journey. Lots of severely logical challenges disguised as
cartoon adventures. This is another one you can play, too, without being
bored out of your mind.
Seventh year Back to top of page
Spy
Fox: Dry Cereal. Action-adventure with a James-Bond-style hero who
happens to be a fox; requires collecting gadgets and working out puzzles to
defeat the villains.
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