Daddy Mojo

Big Bear, Small Mouse-a great pair make opposites fun

Chocolate and peanut butter. Starsky and Hutch. Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman. There are some things that work together, teams whose end results are so effective, charming or tasty that you look forward to enjoying them. Big Bear, Small Mouse is like that. This is from the Bear series of books by Wilson and Chapman.

We’ve been fans of this series for years and Bear Snores On is one of the classic board books that your toddler needs to own. There are more from the Bear series of books in the house too. Fans of the series will find themselves flip flopping as to what they like most about them. Is it the carefree happiness of the artwork by Jane Chapman? It could be the timing and caliber of the words by Karma Wilson.

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Max Cliff Climber, a real toy truck with bite

Max Cliff Climber is one of the toys that our 5 year old wanted when we went to the toy store to research our gift guide. It’s a large truck with monster wheels. Really, the rear wheels open up to expose teeth when it climbs things or uses torque. It also has attitude and a sense of dry humor as part of the narration when it’s talking to you.

This is a big toy and its packaging is such that if you’re giving it as a gift you should plan ahead. Getting Max Cliff Climber out of the box will take a couple of minutes. Additionally, the toy is powered with a temporary battery pack that you need to remove prior to playing with it. Simply use a Phillips screwdriver put 6 C size batteries in the bottom of the truck and power it up.

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National Geographic Kids book bundle giveaway

We’re a National Geographic Kids Insider and received a copy of these for our use. All thoughts are our own. Our kids love some Nat Geo Kids. Even if we weren’t a National Geographic Kids Insider they’d still love these books, pester us to get them and spend hours looking through the images and graphics in each book. There are 4 new National Geographic Kids books out that will entertain ages 9 and up for hours. National Geographic Kids Almanac 2017, National Parks Guide U.S.A., famous FAILS!, and Weird but True! 8 are all different, yet retain the thread that makes them distinctively National Geographic.

“Some dog’s paws smell like corn chips. The South Pole is the sunniest place on Earth”, our son said from the back seat. During the trip to the grocery store he was that blond kid in Jerry McGuire. The only thing he didn’t tell me was how much a human brain weighed. Weird but True! 8 is one of those essential bathroom reads with large font factoids on each page. It also has vocabulary that an elementary school student can read by themselves.

National Geographic Kids book bundle giveaway

Open up National Parks Guide U.S.A.at your discretion because you will immediately discover a severe case of wander lust. This is a detailed look at the National Parks all over the U.S.A., complete with hundreds of photos, maps, insider tips and more. This is the kid’s version so it looks at things from their perspective, what areas are fun to explore, what sorts of adventures there are to do, games, history and more.

The world’s tallest empty building is in North Korea. The flying car, movie goofs and bungled buildings are things that were mistakes, but might have led people to greater success. Famous FAILS! is a book of failure. Some failure added up to better things, while others were just wrong from the get go. Either way, kids 9 and up will love reading about these inventions, their original intention and what else they accomplished. As with all National Geographic books the photographs in here are top notch.

Page for page the National Geographic Kids Almanac 2017 has the most information, images and fun content of any book we’ve received this year. Hundreds upon hundreds of images, quizzes, maps and more make up this book that has information on everything about everything. From animals, ecology, science, geography and more there is something in the book for any kid. At the price of $14.99 it’s a virtual steal too.

How Do Your Kids Play Over The Holidays?

We’re a Play Ambassador for Let’s Play and were compensated for this post. Let’s Play is an initiative by Dr Pepper Snapple Group that provides kids and families with the tools, places and inspiration to make active play a daily priority by building and improving playgrounds and donating sports equipment to groups in need. All thoughts are our own.

With the holidays here let’s get down to brass tacks about how the kids will play. There’s a lot going on this time of year and with school breaks, errands that need running, colder temperatures and kids that need to play, it can be difficult to fit everything into the same amount of waking hours. Here are a couple of the ways that we manage to do the trips and make it work. For all of our play ideas, please check out our column at Let’s Play.

Explore the differences

The tree that you see now is different than it was a couple of months ago. You can see its bark, the limbs look like arms and its leaves are blown all over the place. This time of year is perfect for going for a walk and pointing out those differences to children. If your experience is anything like ours, then this conversation will lead to more talk about nature, all the while continuing to get the exercise and play we all need.

New “icy” play

Regardless of where you live, there are some ‘ice’ opportunities for kids to play in. It could be the real icy deal if you live in a cold climate, or your community could have a temporary ice rink and snow pile at your city center to explore. Either way, this is golden playtime for kids. They’ll love it! Just remember to dress appropriately.

Shake up the errands

You’ve got food to buy for the holiday party, the kids need a new bike tire and you need to get some pants. These errands can all get done and the kids can play too. In our area we have a handle on the indoor (and free!) recreation and shopping centers that cover all these needs and we plan our days accordingly. This way, we can still do the things we need to do and get the kids some play time.

How do you play during the holiday time? If you have a go-to idea on keeping the play going during the holidays we’d love to hear it in the comments or on Twitter.

Holiday In The Park at Six Flags Over Georgia-lights and more

The kids and I attended Six Flags Over Georgia Holiday In the Park last year for the first time. On the way home that night I phoned my wife and let her know that next year when we attend it would be a family trip. They install over 1,000,000 lights at Six Flags Over Georgia to transform it into Holiday in the Park, a winter carnival with thrill rides, bubble snow and a train ride to Santa.

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Monster Jam is a family must-see, back in Atlanta on Jan 14

Who would have thought that my mind’s rolodex would have our visit to Monster Jam as one of the best family memories of the year? Prior to going to Monster Jam it wasn’t us for sure. However, if your family has ever been to Monster Jam it’s likely that you agree with us and have been counting down to when it comes back to your area.

Monster Jam consists of a race, as well as a freestyle competition with trucks on massive wheels jumping and even flipping themselves to the delight of tens of thousands of fans.

Our oldest nor I knew anything about Monster Jam before going. Granted the title and premise of the event is enough to tantalize the imagination of a six year old (and myself), but we weren’t expecting entertainment on such a huge scale.

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DC Super Heroes Little Library is new-parent geek mandatory

My wife and I are done having babies. One thing that I still read-and review on the site are some good board books. The DC Superheroes Little Library is a collection of 10 board books from the DC Universe all about things that pre-k kids through 2^nd grade need to learn. It fills a huge void in board books and is almost enough to make me want to have another baby.

I don’t regret the board books that our kids read. Brown Bear and Boynton Books are fabulous and we’re saving those for the grandkids. And to be clear, Downtown Bookworks has been producing these DC board books for a while. The DC Super Heroes Little Library simply collects all ten previously released books at a substantial discount. The individual board books cost anywhere between $7-$10. The DC Super Heroes Little Library costs $30 online, more in some other place, but why pay more?

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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story-the most fun film since the first one

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Franchise films are fun to watch. However fans of franchise films sometimes have to excuse or legitimize the fact that they like the film. For example, if they’re being honest then they’ll say ‘it’s an OK Bond film, but not a really good movie’… (I’m looking at you Spectre…) Star Wars is not immune to this. When The Force Awakens came out many folks were relieved that Disney handled the transition very well and was a marked improvement since the forgettable later third of the sequels. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a stand-alone movie in the Star Wars universe and again marks the Death Star as one of its main villains.

I rolled my eyes too when I read the plot synopsis. Oh joy, more Death Star. While the villains are the same there is an entirely new group of heroes to figure out the threat and combat it. This fact brings about more humor and action than you’re expecting from a Star Wars film.

Rogue One is its own film. It’s a funny, action packed science fiction film that’s a joy to see on the big screen. Because the film is free from the narrative and characters in the previous installments it has a swagger and footloose quality that make the other films feel routine. Don’t get me wrong, I still love them, but compared to Rogue One they feel slightly forced because I know what’s going to happen next.

This is all the more amazing because the audience knows how Rogue One will end. Somehow the Death Star manages to go on to kill another day, giving Obi-Wan a big fat headache when Alderaan is blown up. In a way Rogue One is like a documentary of a celebrity. If I know that this celebrity overcomes drug abuse, a bad marriage and then manages to record a comeback single when they’re in their late 40’s why should I see the film?

You should see Rogue One because it’s a great film. The first half has more humor than any other Star Wars film and it all works. Said humor is provided by K-250, an Imperial droid who has been reprogrammed to help the Alliance. It’s voiced by Alan Tudyk and the interaction between him and Cassain Andor (Diego Luna) are some of the best parts in an already great film.

Legendary Chinese actor and martial arts star Donnie Yen is also a stand out in the film. His character is Chirrut Imwe, a blind man who uses the Force with humor and strength. This is Yen’s biggest film outside of China and I hope that it gives him a chance to make more films outside of the mold that he’s been cast in.

Old school Star Wars fans will appreciate the details in Rogue One. It’s a film that takes place before the first Star Wars and seamlessly fits in just before that film takes place. Some of the human casting is all but identical to the actors that portrayed the original scene performers almost 40 years ago.

These same fans will also love the colors in the film. Green, fields of green grass, lots of tropical green trees, blue water and more are mixed in the ever present black, red and white. Rogue One is a visual treat for the eyes. Storm Troopers on the beach! AT-AT’s on the island! This is fun stuff and it’s a reminder that movies can be the great escape.

Is Rogue One OK for children? The film is rated PG-13 for extended scenes of science fiction action and violence. The action sequences are longer than those in The Force Awakens and there isn’t as traumatic a death as (spoiler alert) Han Solo. That’s mainly due to the fact that the characters in Rogue One are all new and we haven’t had time to know them. Children 11 and up will be fine for Rogue One. If younger children have seen science fiction violence (laser blasts, ships colliding and such) then they’ll be OK with it. Our 7 year old will be fine with the violence, but might wince at some of the volume because it is packed with explosions.