Entertainment | Page 46 of 90

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School, is go-to reading for ages 8 and up

Some constants about 10 year old kids are that they like pizza, cartoons, video games and hanging out with their friends. They’re also huge fans of the Wimpy Kid series. It’s a publishing juggernaut about the life of Greg Heffley, a tween/teen boy who is discovering life and trying to avoid his family. “All my friends read it, they’ve read all of them” our 13 year old niece told us when I asked her about Wimpy Kid. Now that we have a young reader in the house I’m realizing just how good-and impactful the Wimpy Kid books are for that age. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School is no exception, I read the book- it’s fabulous and the crowd at our school’s Scholastic book fair purchased every copy in stock.

Continue reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School, is go-to reading for ages 8 and up

Smiles Ahead: Cool Music for Cool Families is jangle pop perfect kindie

Pop quiz hotshot: you’re traveling in the car and need some kindie music for the family, but don’t want to purchase more than one release. What do you do? First off, keep planning that road trip and get your paws on Smiles Ahead: Cool Music for Cool Families. It’s a kindie greatest hits of sorts because the songs are all previously unreleased and from some of the biggest and best names in kindie today.

More importantly the songs on Smiles Ahead are new from the artists and do not feel like rejects from their individual full length releases. It’s the elephant in the room. You hear about a compilation of ‘new’ songs and expect it be the audio equivalent of belly button lint. This is the release that shatters that mold in a kindie way, smiling all the way through the process and introducing you to a great new artist (for the kids) or two.

Continue reading Smiles Ahead: Cool Music for Cool Families is jangle pop perfect kindie

Cabinet of Curiosities, a book on the wonders of the natural world

Think back to when you were a 7 year old child taking a walk in the wood near a river. You’d find a rock with scratches on it and imagine that it was from an alien world or prehistoric time. The stick that you found could actually be a bone that belonged to a dinosaur. The leaf from the tree was just cool and that arrow head is probably worth a fortune. We always took the treasures home and put them in a shoebox. Cabinet of Curiosities takes that sense of wonder and experimentation, cleans it up, widens your perimeter and actually tells you what you found in the natural world.

Spoiler alert: you probably did not find the dinosaur bone that will bring Sue’s sibling to your hometown.

Continue reading Cabinet of Curiosities, a book on the wonders of the natural world

Great Pretenders Club by The Pop Ups is lush, power pop, pretend kindie

The problem with a great piece of work is that it has to be followed with something else. Audiences will expect-and want it to be as good as the previous work, but it rarely is. Witness the curse of Every Other James Bond Film for one example. I was expecting the new release from The Pop Ups in the mail and was giddy with anticipation when I opened it. About a minute into Great Pretenders Club I hit skip, then I skipped through every song and didn’t play it again until the kids got in the car.

Continue reading Great Pretenders Club by The Pop Ups is lush, power pop, pretend kindie

The new Hasbro Star Wars toys have something for all ages #Giveaway

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Hasbro. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation Our children are excited to see Star Wars. I state the obvious. However, since they’re only 4 and 6 years old it will be a couple years before they see the new one. They’ll keep watching The Clone Wars to get their Jedi skills up to par and have already started double teaming us for some of the new Star Wars toys. We got a chance to play with Bop It! Star Wars R2-D2 Edition Game, Electronic Catch Phrase Star Wars Edition Game and Star Wars Loopin’ CHEWIE Game. I suspect that the Force was with them because they found the super secret hiding area where I keep things before they’re photographed. Like kids in the proverbial Star Wars candy shop, they got to play with them and here’s how your kids will like them.

Continue reading The new Hasbro Star Wars toys have something for all ages #Giveaway

The Center for Puppetry Arts renovation can be felt worldwide

The Center for Puppetry Arts has always been a fun place to see a puppet show, but it had never been much of a destination. Sure, you loved the puppet shows and then went upstairs to make your own, but that was probably the extent of your visit. The facility at The Center for Puppetry Arts has just reopened after a massive addition to its facility, as well as, refurbishing most of the existing structure. Its results are nothing short of a shift in the Atlanta “must visit” list that locals will produce.

From the moment you enter the newly remodeled facility you know that it’s something special. The Worlds of Puppetry Museum has two wings, a Jim Henson exhibit and a Global Collection that showcases puppets from every corner of the globe.

Continue reading The Center for Puppetry Arts renovation can be felt worldwide

Bricksy is Banksy meets LEGO, in this sublime, witty book

Banksy is one of the world’s most popular graffiti artists. His work often uses stencils to incorporate pop culture and politics into wryly humorous paintings that you’ll see around London. Of course, you know about LEGO, they’re the multi-colored bricks that you can make essentially anything out of. Bricksy is the Unauthorized Underground Brick Street Art your inner brick builder, who is into outsider art always wanted to create.

Continue reading Bricksy is Banksy meets LEGO, in this sublime, witty book

Voyagers is a multi-format book series that middle schoolers will love

Hey, we were provided with samples for review. Prizes for the #Giveaway are done by Random House Children’s Books. When is a book not a book? It sounds like that dopey riddle on the back of a bubble gum wrapper, the answer was always “when he turns into a store”; but in this case it’s a book that open up to more options. Voyagers is a book series that has a sister app with quizzes, games and activities on smart devices. It’s a logical extension of the publishing world that wouldn’t add up to much if it weren’t entertaining or well done.

Voyagers is a six-book series that puts Earth in an emergency crisis with all of its energy drying out within the next 100 years. The only solution is for a group of space explorers, who are under 12 years old to go to six different planets to look for the power elements that could save the planet. Eight kids are competing for 4 positions on the ship that will take them on the trip. They compete in a training program where their puzzle skills, leadership and team work are all tested in order to ensure that the best candidates are chosen.

Continue reading Voyagers is a multi-format book series that middle schoolers will love