We’ve just added a beautiful new pull toy with two horses for toddlers, which may be viewed here. We love the smoothness of the natural wood, and the charming movement of the horses as they are pulled along!

I have been reading a lot of children’s books recently, either to the boys at bedtime or to vet them for future bedtimes. Our kids tend towards fantasy and tales of knights and wizards, and I try to find books that are suitable for 5- and 8-year-olds that I’ll enjoy reading too. I’ve been keeping Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter to the side for a year or so, waiting while we finish the current lineup, and I recently bought The Brothers Lionheart to see if that might interest them as well.

Both are by Astrid Lindgren, whom many will know for her Pippi Longstocking and The Children of Noisy Village books, but these could not be more different from those series, or even from each other. The Noisy Village books gently tell of a group of children growing up together in Sweden in the first half of the last century: Their adventures are those quotidian experiences that all children have. The high-spirited Pippi also inhabits a familiar world, though her immense strength, great store of gold and lack of parents make her a child’s fantasy rather than a portrait of a real girl. But Ronia and The Brothers Lionheart are (almost) pure fantasy, conjuring up worlds filled with monsters and events straight out of fairytales.

Of the two, I find Ronia easier to enjoy, a book that will be returned to again and again for the adventures that befall the young robber’s daughter. It is part Romeo and Juliet (the children of rival brigands befriend each other, to their fathers’ displeasure) and part My Side of the Mountain (the friends run away to live in a cave in the forest, and must learn to fend for themselves), set in a world at once familiar and fantastic. The setting seems to be in some northern European land hundreds of years ago, but it is a land inhabited by harpies and bad-tempered dwarves, introduced so matter-of-factly that there seems no question that they exist. Despite the conflict between parent and child, Ronia is a happy book, full of good humor and high spirits, and in its heroine children may find much of what they love in Lindgren’s Pippi.

The Brothers Lionheart is a much more melancholy affair, a tale of sacrifice and loss that demands a greater maturity on the part of the reader. Young Karl Lion (nicknamed “Scotty” after the biscotti cookies he loves) is a sickly child, a boy who encounters the world through the window of the room where he lies, and through the stories that his brother Jonathan tells him each evening; Both children know that Scotty has not long to live, and Jonathan comforts his brother with the assurance that they will not be separated for long, but shall meet again in the land of Nangiyala, where it’s “still the time of campfires and sagas”.

It is Jonathan, however, who is first to make the journey to that other land, dying as he rescues Scotty from a fire in their home. His brother soon follows after, only to find that Nangiyala is not the promised peaceful haven, where the cares of their past life are forgotten, but a land threatened by the cruel Tengil, who would conquer and enslave its inhabitants. The story becomes one of rebellion and of treachery, and in the end, Scotty must decide whether he can make the same sacrifice for Jonathan that his brother had made for him.

Lloyd Alexander has written that “what sticks in the mind are the endlessly fascinating questions [The Brothers Lionheart] raises. Lindgren is speculating not only on the human situation but on the very nature of what may or may not lie very darkly beyond it. It may be unsettling, but that’s exactly as it should be.” I can not disagree, but I would favor Ronia for the younger reader or listener, and save The Brothers Lionheart for an older child more ready to probe the deeper questions that it poses. And I would caution the fan of Lindgren’s works that it is far removed from the light-hearted adventures drawn up in her more familiar works, so much so that it seems almost the work of another author.

“Who wants to weave potholders when you can build a robot instead?” runs the tagline for a NY Times article this week (“Arts and Crafts for the Digital Age”). It is a provocative question, and one that is not really addressed in the article itself, but I find it sad that the natural assumption is that working with robots or creating projects that flash and beep is somehow more satisfying than a low-tech craft such as weaving and knitting.

At first blush, the PicoCricket Kit resembles a plastic box of arts and crafts supplies, crammed with colored felt, pipe cleaners, cotton and Styrofoam balls.

But this is a craft kit for the digital age. It includes electronic sensors, motors, sound boxes, connecting cables and a palm-size, battery-powered, programmable computer.

By combining the traditional materials with high-tech ones, children as young as 9 can invent interactive jewelry, fanciful creatures that dance, musical sculptures and more, said Mitchel Resnick, an assistant professor of learning research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab.

I am by no means a Luddite: Much of my work is centered around the Internet, after all, and I see the value in teaching children about programming and even robotics. As we journey further into the digital age, such knowledge will surely prove valuable, or even essential. But are the rewards reaped from building these kits so much greater than those gained from knitting a sweater, or weaving a runner for the table?

One of the PicoCricket guides…instructs users on how to turn a birthday cake made mostly of felt, cardboard and drinking straws into an ingeniously interactive one, a cake that can be programmed to shut off the lights in its electrical candles when someone blows on them.

After a day or two of blowing, I would think interest in these interactive candles would be snuffed out. The process may be instructive, but the results seem sadly disposable.

I suppose that younger children need some framework within which they may work: An empty canvas can seem daunting. And Mr. Resnick certainly encourages creativity, saying, “The hope is to get people started with simple projects and let their imaginations run wild.”

Let us hope as well that the child who learns to program a chip also learns to use hammer and handsaw, or that the felt that is integrated into the dancing cake is self-made.

Several customers have written or called to ask about our Fagus cars and trucks: Although we just got a shipment in, already several show that they are “Sold Out”.

There is a simple explanation for this, so do not despair! Some of the newest items were not yet in full production when we placed our order, so we were only able to get one or two of those models. We expect more to come in soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

We have, by the way, expanded our selection to include not only all of the Fagus wooden cars and trucks currently in production, but all of the Minis as well. The Minis, introduced last year, are meant for smaller hands, with vibrant colors to please the young driver. They include several models not found in the larger series (eg the ambulance and the bus) and are easy to carry to playdates or to grandmother’s house.

The returning customer may have noticed several new categories within our store, coinciding with our recent shipment from Germany. We are proud to now offer several beautiful musical instruments that are great fun to play and wonderful to hear. We have expanded our doll selection to include wooden dolls and some unique dollhouses, as well as all the furnishings you’ll need to create an imaginative miniature world. And for special occasions and birthdays, why not bring out a birthday ring to deck the table?

We will expand all three categories in the coming months, and are thrilled to add these items to our stock.

May is Storytelling Month at our local school. The children are treated to visiting storytellers, a teacher tells a story over the intercom each morning, and workshops are held to encourage the students to become creative and engaging storytellers. The children each learn and recite a tale from another culture (our eldest son is learning an African folktale), and are taught to use their bodies and voices to help convey meaning and emotion to the audience.

All kids are natural storytellers–so much of their play involves setting a scene and then filling it with characters, dialogue and action. This holds true whether they are playing with dolls or trucks or stuffed animals, or outside playing knights or superheroes. I will often see one of our boys by himself, talking to thin air while creating his latest adventure.

But actual storytelling, one individual narrating to another, is an art unto itself, and one with great benefits for the child and parent alike. It builds vocabulary, inspires creativity and encourages self-confidence and self-expression. It can also help make sense of experiences, putting things in order and drawing conclusions. For a parent, the child’s stories can provide some insight into the child’s mind, showing the interests and fears and emotions that may not otherwise be expressed.

Stories don’t have to be fanciful: They can be as simple as “Tell me about the day we went to the beach”. And children love to hear their own parents’ memories, and will preserve these memories as part of their own store of knowledge.

Sometimes props will help set the framework for the story–my sons will tell lengthy stories about their stuffed animals. An Ostheimer figure or two may provide characters to people the tale. HABA’s storytelling game is a great starting point as well. But we can also get wonderful creations with the words, “Tell me a story,” and an interest in what the teller has to say.

How delightful a little figure is Nurmi the Ramp Walker! She has a simple yet pleasing design, and her movement down the ramp is sure to charm (and intrigue) any viewer. She is one of those toys that you can’t resist playing with again and again, and she always brings a smile to your face.

I have been interested in this sort of gravity toy since I first read Walter Kraul’s Earth, Water, Fire, and Air, in which he describes such a toy and gives a simple diagram of its workings, without detailing how such a figure might be made. Actually, my interest precedes that: We spent many happy hours one weekend playing with a friend’s collection of old walking toys, racing one against the other and experimenting with the angle of the ramp to see how it sped up or slowed down the figures’ progress.

Making your own toy is always rewarding, but Herr Kraul cautions that this is a design that requires patience and much trial and error. For those wanting more immediate results, there’s always Nurmi!

I have been wandering all this night
And some time of this day
And now returning home again
I’ve brought you a branch of May

A branch of May I’ve brought you here
And at your door I stand
‘Tis nothing but a sprout, but it’s well budded out
By the work of our Lord’s hand
English May Day Carol

Arbor Day has passed, and May Day as well, when we celebrate the world around us and the coming of spring. But there is no better time to draw attention to the wonderful English science kits we now stock, which provide a great way to get your kids outside and discovering nature. There are five different kits on hand, which cover everything from watching birds, to learning about wild flowers and trees, to discovering the wide variety of lifeforms that live in ponds and at the seashore. A sixth (about bugs) is on its way, and is sure to be a hit with kids. Each comes with all the gear you need to get going in the study of nature, packed in a handy and portable tube.

I don’t know how long this link will work, but here are pictures of St George’s Day celebrations in England (on the 23rd), from the BBC website: Saint George Celebrations

We received a letter today about a St George figure, which made me think about this. While there is currently no Ostheimer “Saint George”, there is the marvelous Black Knight who is shown on our home page, as well as the fantastic Ostheimer dragon. We’ve recently added the Kinderkram Dragon’s Cave, so you can put together your own scene to recreate a dragon-slaying exploit of that old saint. (Don’t forget to add a beautiful maiden!)

St George is traditionally shown with a shield bearing a red cross (from which stems the flag of England).

We have wanted to find a good and inexpensive rocking horse for some time now, and have finally settled on one: The schaukelpferd “Max” is found within the Toddler Toys category. I love its simple yet evocative profile and unadorned style, and it is of a handsome beechwood that will complement any room.