Play Time
Little People, Big Dreams Book Andy Warhol
$15.99Meet Andy Warhol, the ground-breaking pop artist. Little Andy was the tiniest and palest child of the Warholas, a humble couple from Slovakia who lived in Pittsburgh. Sketchbook glued to...
Little People, Big Dreams Book Anna Pavlova
$15.99In this book from the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy bestselling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the true story of ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. Little Anna fell in love with ballet after...
Abrams Appleseed Book Art Making With Moma
$24.95Art Making with MoMA, from the educators at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, presents 20 interactive activities that encourage kids (and adults!) to discover how modern and contemporary...
Little People, Big Dreams Book Billie Jean King
$15.99Meet Billie Jean King, the tennis star who has dedicated her life to breaking barriers both on and off the tennis court.Billie Jean began playing tennis at the age of...
Little People, Big Dreams Book Black Voices
$39.99Meet three inspirational figures from Black culture and history: Maya Angelou, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.! In these remarkable true stories, learn how three people stood against...
Abrams Appleseed Book Brave As Can Be
$16.95An empowering exploration of fears and how to overcome them, from the bestselling creators of In My Heart The life of a child can be full of frightening things: the...
Little People, Big Dreams Book Charles Darwin
$15.99Meet Charles Darwin, the scientist who changed the way people see the world. Although he didn’t do very well at school, Charles Darwin was passionately curious about wildlife, humans, and...
Abrams Appleseed Book Día de Disfraces
$17.99Día de Disfraces (Dress-Up Day Spanish Edition) Tras perderse la fiesta de disfraces de su clase, una niña decide que no necesita una excusa para disfrazarse en esta tierna...
Abrams Appleseed Book Dinoblock
$17.99Alphablock and Countablock, Dinoblock features thick pages cut into the shapes of dinosaurs! Readers will be introduced to more than 20 different kinds of dinos via die-cuts of their unique silhouettes and the illuminating...
LB Kids Book Dream Big Little One
$8.99Featuring 18 trailblazing black women in American history, Dream Big, Little One is the irresistible board book adaptation of Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History.Among these women, you’ll find heroes, role models,...
Little People, Big Dreams Book Earth Heroes
$39.99Meet three inspirational Earth Heroes whose love of the natural world inspires them to make a difference: Jane Goodall, Greta Thunberg, and David Attenborough! In these remarkable true stories,...
Gibbs Smith Book El Chapulin Colorado: Sounds/Son...
$10.00Latin America’s beloved superhero El Chapulin Colorado introduces your baby to the natural sounds around them in both English and Spanish. For many years, children all over Latin America have...
Little People, Big Dreams Book Elvis Presley
$15.99In this book from the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy bestselling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Elvis, the King of Rock 'n' Roll.Elvis was born into poverty in...
LB Kids Book Follow Your Dreams, Little One
$8.99This beautifully illustrated board book highlights true stories of black men in history. The exceptional men featured include artist Aaron Douglas, civil rights leader John Lewis, dancer Alvin Ailey, lawman...
Rebel Girls Book Good Night Stories: 100 Immigran...
$35.00Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World is the third book in the New York Times bestselling series for children. Packed with 100 all-new bedtime stories about...
Little People, Big Dreams Book Harriet Tubman
$15.99Little Harriet was born into slavery on a plantation in Maryland. Though life was hard, Harriet persisted. She used all of her strength and bravery to escape slavery and journey...
Abrams Appleseed Book How to Talk to a Tiger And Other...
$24.99A quirky compendium of animal chatterboxes Ever wanted to talk to a tiger? Or chatter with a cheetah? Or yak with a yak? This book brings together a babble of...
Little People, Big Dreams Book Iris Apfel
$15.99In this book from the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy best-selling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Iris Apfel, the vivacious (and accidental) fashion icon.Growing up in Queens, New...
Little People, Big Dreams Book John Lennon
$15.99From the critically acclaimed Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of John Lennon, the boy from Liverpool who dreamed of peace. When John Lennon formed a band while...
Little People, Big Dreams Book Lenny Henry
$15.99Published in partnership with Comic Relief, Lenny Henry tells the inspiring story of the talented British comedian determined to make the world laugh. Ever since he was small, Lenny Henry wanted to be...
LB Kids Book Little Leaders: Bold Women in Bl...
$16.99This beautifully illustrated board book edition of instant bestseller Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History showcases women who changed the world and is the perfect goodnight book to inspire big dreams.Featuring...
Abrams Appleseed Book Love is a Truck
$13.99Graphically appealing two-color illustrations pair perfectly with a spare, rhythmic ode to beloved trucks of all kinds - from fire trucks to dump trucks to ice cream trucks, the sweetest...
Little People, Big Dreams Book Marilyn Monroe
$15.99In this book from the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy best-selling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the true story of Marilyn Monroe, the iconic movie star.Little Norma Jeane grew up between...
Abrams Appleseed Book Meet the Artist: Andy Warhol
$12.95Abrams Appleseed Meet the Artist: Andy Warhol Book is packed with make-and-dos and inspiring activities for budding young artists Experiment with printing and blotted line drawings, design your own disco outfit, be...
Play is essential for children because it contributes to their intellectual, physical, emotional and social development. When children play, they exercise their creativity, develop their imagination, master their dexterity, improve their cognitive ability and build physical strength. Experts agree that the best kinds of play allow kids to set their own goals, negotiate challenges, develop and share ideas, and make their own rules.
But how can we make sure our kids are getting enough healthy, unstructured play time when they’re growing up in an overscheduled and stressful environment, when parents are overly focused on producing high academic achievers, and safety concerns prevent us from letting our kids roam around freely and unsupervised? Perhaps the best thing we can do for our kids is to make sure they have the right kinds of toys at home to make play time most rewarding.
First and foremost is safety. Safe toys for young children are sturdy, without sharp parts or splinters, free of pinching hazards, and easy to clean. If the toy will be used by an infant, it’s important that parts aren’t small enough to become a choking hazard.
Toys must be made from non-toxic materials and coated with lead-free paints. You should steer clear of antique toys, second-hand toys and homemade toys that have not been tested and approved by a certified testing lab, or may have been produced before the current regulations governing toy manufacturing were in effect.
In addition to being safe, a good toy will match the child’s appropriate stage of development and abilities.
The best baby activity toys for infants between 0-6 months are things they can reach, grasp, suck on, shake, and make noise with. Some age-appropriate toys for little babies are squeeze toys, teething toys, soft dolls, textured balls, and board books.
Infants between 6-12 months are starting to crawl, sit up and pull themselves to a standing position. They are capable putting things in and out of containers and placing objects on top of each other. Some of the best baby activity toys for this age group are dolls, vehicles with wheels, bath toys, large beads, nesting toys, large soft blocks, wooden blocks, and push & pull toys.
As your child continues to grow, look for toys that will encourage them to explore, create, pretend, imagine, and learn from trial and error.