Family Fun Winner! 

Bil Lepp, 2003; $15; www.buck-dog.com. Mayhem, indeed. Also insanity, wackiness, over-the-top hilarity! A repeat winner of statewide liars’ contests shares outrageous quasi-true experiences about school, hunting and more. Just the thing for anyone who is – or ever was – a kid. Fans age 8 and up will also get a kick out of Lepp’s other recordings, including The Teacher in the Patriotic Bathing Suit.

Kid Tester Quote: “This guy is crazy!” chortles a 10-year-old from California.
 

Meltdown, Lanny Sherwin, Sandman Records, 2009; $10.98; www.sandmanrecords.com; ages 4 to 12.

Good songs with a great sense of humor make this album stand out from the pack. Sherwin is a gifted songwriter with musical roots in Nashville. All his songs are original takes. The title song tells us that everyone has a “Meltdown” sometimes, and offers tips on how to cope. “This is Not a Guitar” uses the instrument as a portal to the imagination; “Granny’s Got a Guitar” has everybody wondering why she can’t take up the electric guitar. Sherwin has even cloned himself for an eight-part vocal piece titled “A Cappella, Part 3” that’s hard to top.
 

$59.99; www.intplay.com; for newborns and up. Insert one of four musical disks in the center of a multi-sided sphere, lined with mirrors, to play upbeat or soothing music for your baby. As the disk rotates, the pictures on the disk are reflected by the mirrors and light to create a kaleidoscope of color. This toy attaches to a crib or can be placed on its base as an activity center, with additional squeakers, spinners, clickers, etc.

Top Pick!

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, by Brian Floca; Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, 2009; $17.99; www.simonandschuster.com.  

Captivating drawings and a simple, beautifully written text dramatize the 1969 moonwalk in terms just right for young readers. Kids marvel at the amazing journey of Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin as they soar to the moon and back “to warmth, to light, to home at last.” The book manages to convey the stark cold and quiet of the moon, the courage and skill of these three men, and the way many scientists work as a team to make the impossible happen. At the same time, it includes details kids would really want to know, such as what astronauts eat, why Velcro is essential on a spaceship, and why “after a week this small home will not smell so good.”
 

Meet Rebecca, by Jacqueline Dembar Greene, illustrated by Robert Hunt, vignettes by Susan McAliley; American Girl, 2009, $6.95 (paper); www.americangirl.com. 

The newest “American Girl” is Rebecca Rubin, a lively 9-year-old girl growing up in a big Jewish family in New York City in 1914. She longs to be the center of attention, but that’s not easy with four siblings. Cousin Max, an actor, tells her the secret to pleasing an audience, and Rebecca can’t wait to try out his advice. This historical character encourages girls to “stand tall, reach high, and dream big.” Included at the back of the book are a nonfiction piece about New York in 1914 and a glossary. Fans of the American Girl Series won’t want to miss this newest addition.
 

 

My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow Deluxe, Zenoff Products, Inc.; $41-$45; www.mybrestfriend.com.

This wearable nursing pillow encircles a breastfeeding mom with a narrow band of cushioning and support at her back that widens to a comfy, flat surface along the front to facilitate baby’s latching on. An adjustable belt secures the fit around mom’s waist; a side pocket keeps sundries within easy reach. Unlike other U-shaped nursing pillows, My Brest Friend has two “feeding risers” to slightly raise the baby’s head, which aids ingestion and digestion. My Brest Friend also helps moms maintain good posture while feeding and prevents sore backs and necks.

 

The Deluxe pillow is made of recyclable foam and offers a plush, machine-washable slipcover. A Velcro-and-buckle strap can be removed silently as to not wake a sleeping baby. Our parent testers loved the security of the flat cushion and thought it was a huge help for breastfeeding! Dads, too, will enjoy using it for bottle-feeding.

 

“It’s a HUGE help to breastfeeding moms, and makes it much easier to support the baby.” – Mom Tester

$39.99; www.alextoys.com; for ages 6 and up. Kids enjoy creating a customized fleece quilt by tying brightly colored fringed squares together and personalizing them with tie-on shapes and letters. This kit makes a great gift for developing imagination, dexterity and a sense of accomplishment. Popular with the older set too.

 

Make Your Own Animal Puppets, Creativity for Kids, $17.99, www.creativityforkids.com; ages 3 and up.

 

Three chenille-soft socks are waiting to be dressed in accoutrements of self-adhesive felt shapes, wiggly eyes and fuzzy fur. The animal body parts, including ears, snouts, and other accessories all stick extraordinarily well and don’t fall off during the puppet show that’s sure to follow. Just peel and stick, but make sure the destination of the pieces is your final decision because they cannot be repositioned once placed. The kit supplies enough materials to make a cow, pig, and elephant, or to create your own animal menagerie. Parents will appreciate that his art kit leaves little mess to clean up and sparks imaginative play even after the activity of creating is done.
 

My First ABC, by The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009; $8.99; www.lb-kids.com. 

This board book pairs stunning masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art for each letter of the alphabet. The letters are each presented in upper and lower case, and accompanied by a word that begins with the letter. For example, the book highlights the letter “D” with the word “dancer,” and the painting “The Dancing Class” by Edgar Degas. The back of the book provides specifics about each artwork. A great choice for children ages 2 and up, this book will be read and looked at again and again – and with new understanding as the growing child looks more closely at the art and its details.
 

written and illustrated by Chris Monroe; Carolrhoda Books, 2008; $16.95; www.lernerbooks.com. While Chico Bon Bon fixes and builds almost anything with his trusty tool belt, interested readers can learn the names of tools and what they do. Très amusing!