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Dr. Toy's Smart Play / Smart Toys Cover

Dr. Toy's Smart Play / Smart Toys

How to Raise a Child with a High PQ (Play Quotient)

Stevanne Auerbach

April 2004 (New Edition)

The book helps parents navigate the thousands of toy and play options available, offers tips on how to evaluate toy safety, and provides 160 activities that enhance PQ. In addition, it identifies gender-specific and age-appropriate toys, important craft supplies for playtime and hundreds of ways to make play a life-long and nurturing experience.

Nobody knows more about the power of play than Dr. Toy. Smart Play Smart Toys is a smart buy for any parent!

-- Tim Walsh, author of


Dr. Toy's Smart Play / Smart Toys Cover (First Edition)

Dr. Toy's Smart Play:

How to Raise a Child With a High PQ (Play Quotient)

Stevanne Auerbach

St. Martin's Press; ISBN: 0312180896

1998

Excellent guide to understanding how the right toys at the right time can help children develop


Toys for a Lifetime Cover

F.A.O. Schwarz: Toys for a Lifetime:

Enhancing Childhood Through Play

Stevanne Auerbach

Universe Pub; ISBN: 0789303558

1999

The ultimate toy gift book, including enticing color photos by Ben Asen. Developmental benefits of each selection, includes tons of interesting tips and factoids.


The Toy Chest Limited Edition

The Toy Chest:

A Complete Sourcebook of Toys for Children

Stevanne Auerbach

Lyle Stuart; ISBN: 0818404108

1986

Informative and practical guide to selecting toys plus history of toys in America and interviews with leading experts in the field with many references and resources.


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Keys to Choosing Child Care

(Barron's Parenting Keys)

Stevanne Auerbach

Barrons Educational Series; ISBN: 0812045270

1991

Practical advice on what to look for when selecting child care centers, family child care homes, and in-home caregivers such as sitters and nannies. Includes many tips, checklists, and basics to help you in your search for the perfect situation for your child and your family.


Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home

Christopher Gavigan

April 2008

Nothing makes one more keenly aware of health risks lurking in the everyday world than becoming a parent. Most know the importance of using cabinet locks and child gates, but research is showing many more ways we need to be childproofing our homes. Tens of millions of American children now face chronic diseases and illnesses including cancer, autism, asthma, birth defects, ADD/ADHD, allergies, learning and developmental disabilities, as well as a host of lesser but disruptive ailments. And the growing research points to much of the increases on unseen threats wrought by exposure to chemicals in everyday products like cleaning supplies, beauty care and cosmetics, home furnishings, plastics, some foods and toys as contributing to these ailments. With that in mind, the non-profit organization Healthy Child Healthy World offers parents a definitive guide to creating a healthy, nontoxic, and environmentally sound home.

Filled with easy steps and simple solutions to improve family living without wreaking havoc on schedules or budgets, this book includes inspiring ideas for safe, eco-friendly cleaning methods, choosing healthier food, pet and garden care, nursery and home building materials, plus extensive tips for energy saving and family fun. With contributions from environmental science and public-health experts such as Dr. Phil Landrigan, Dr. Harvey Karp and Dr. Alan Greene, as well as many celebrity supporters (including Gwyneth Paltrow, Brooke Shields, Tobey Maguire, Sheryl Crow, Vanessa Williams, and Tom Hanks), Healthy Child Healthy World is the essential guidebook for parents wanting to go green.


No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun.

Bobbi Conner

July 2007

From the joy of smearing glue on paper to the screaming delight of a bubble-blowing relay, kids love to play. In fact, it's every kid's built-in tool for experiencing the world at large. A parent-friendly encyclopedia, Unplugged Play offers hundreds and hundredsof battery-free, screen-free, chrip-and-beep-free games and fun variations that stretch the imagination, spark creativity, building strong bodies, and forge deep friendships...and keep kids busy at the table while mom or dad makes dinner.


The Playmakers:

Amazing Origins of Timeless Toys

Tim Walsh

Keys Publishing

March 2004

The Playmakers: Amazing Origins of Timeless Toys is a collection of the true stories behind the greatest and most popular playthings ever invented. Did you that Play-Doh was first produced as commercial wallpaper cleaner, or that Frank Lloyd Wright's son John invented Lincoln Logs?

The Playmakers is rich with personality because the personalities behind the toys are often as entertaining as the toys themselves. They are so popular they often span generations.

Eleanor Abbott, afflicted with polio, invented a game for some children suffering with the same illness. This hospital diversion, invented in 1949, became Candy Land. She and people like George Lerner, Merle Robbins, Leslie Scott have touched countless lives through their creations (Mr. Potato Head, Uno, Jenga) and yet very few know who they are. Author Tim Walsh hopes that The Playmakers: Amazing Origins of Timeless Toys helps change that fact.


The Game Makers Cover

The Game Makers:

The Story of Parker Brothers from Tiddledy Winks to Trivial Pursuit

Philip E. Orbanes

Harvard Business School Press

November 2003

In The Game Makers: The Story of Parker Brothers From Tiddledy Winks to Trivial Pursuit, Philip E. Orbanes, a game historian and former Parker Brothers executive, tells the fascinating story of how George Parker, the ultimate American entrepreneur, and his brothers grew a tiny family firm into a brand powerhouse that reflected-and ultimately helped shape-the culture of a nation. Based on extensive research-including the never-before-published personal archives of Parker and interviews with surviving family members-Orbanes reveals the origins of many classic games and details the birth and maturation of the toy industry as seen through the eyes of one of its greatest legends.


The Toy and Game Inventor's Handbook Cover

The Toy and Game Inventor's Handbook:

Everything You Need to Know to Pitch, License, and Cash in on Your Ideas

Richard C. Levy and Ronald O. Weingartner

Penguin-Putnam; ISBN 1-59257-062-3

July 2003

Inventor Richard C. Levy's licensed products have generated more than $1 billion in global retail sales. Ronald O. Weingartner has reviewed thousands of submissions and produced hundreds of them.

Go behind the scenes of the $30 billion toy industry for a vivid portrait of the people that create, pitch, license and commercialize products. Based upon more than 150 interviews, the authors will encourage you, inspire you, and lead you, step-by-step, through the perils and pitfalls of presenting, licensing and bringing products to market.

Crammed full of firsthand, empirical, insider information gleaned from hours of interviews with the industry's most successful independent inventors, and its most knowledgeable and influential executives, leaders and observers, this book is a must read for idea people.


The Blockbuster Toy Cover

The Blockbuster Toy!

How to Invent the Next BIG Thing

Gene Del Vecchio

Pelican Publising Company

October 2003

By conducting an in-depth review of the great toys from ancient times to the present, youth-marketing expert Gene Del Vecchio reveals the six core qualities that help toys achieve blockbuster status. The Blockbuster Toy! How to Invent the Next BIG Thing also sheds light on the definition of what it means to be a toy in today's world. From traditional toys, to foods, to multi-player on-line games, to the importance of story and Hollywood studio alliances, Del Vecchio casts a broad net and explains, in ways that marketers can learn from and interested readers will find amazingly insightful, how playthings become pop culture.


Teaching Young Children in Violent Times Cover

Teaching Young Children in Violent Times:

Building a Peaceable Classroom (2nd Edition)

Diane E. Levin, Ph.D.

Cambridge, MA: Educators for Social Responsibility and Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children

2003

Diane Levin, a teacher, researcher, and a therapist, calls for the creation of a "peaceable classroom," where children learn peaceful alternatives to counteract the overpowering effect of violence in the media and community. Before offering her own solutions for teachers and parents, she examines how violence in entertainment media and toys, news, and neighborhoods affects small children. Combining dialogue, anecdotes, and theory, this guide shares insights into the developmental roots of children's thinking and offers practical activities to help children meet safety needs, appreciate diversity, use play constructively, and resolve conflicts. Specifics on role-playing, group discussions, puppetry, child-made conflict stories, and peaceful games are spelled out.

This highly acclaimed book is a must for early childhood educators, parents, and policy makers.


Baby Be Loved Cover

Baby Be Loved:

Growing and Learning Together During the First 24 Weeks

Susan Ann Stelfox & Joel Dugan (Illustrator)

Mason Publishing; ISBN: 097052420X

July 2001

Baby Be Loved has been designed to help parents connect with their infant through loving and nurturing activities that encourage developmental skills and enhance the parent-child bond. It is filled with parenting tips, exercises, songs, games and nursery rhymes. Plus each week offers a full-page developmentally appropriate illustration to entertain baby and provide early visual stimulation!


The Man Who Changed How Boys & Toys Were Made

The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made

Bruce Watson

Viking Press; ISBN: 0670031348

October 2002

In 1913, Olympic athlete and magician A.C. Gilbert poured his boyish enthusiasm into a new toy. He called it the Erector set and in the next 50 years, 30 million were sold. In this engaging and amusing book, Bruce Watson tells the story of this amazing toy and its remarkable inventor.

Going beyond biography, Watson asks important questions. Do boys have a destructive side that toys can divert? Do today's hi-tech toys foster creativity or stifle it? And what about girls? Can they build as well as boys? The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made is a quintessentially American story, a tale of ingenuity, enthusiasm, and one toy that fit industrial America like a nut fits a bolt.


Understanding Children Cover

Understanding Children

Richard Saul Wurman and Civitas

TOP; ISBN: 0970368488

January 2002

Understanding Children is an invaluable source of support for all adults who make decisions on behalf of children. As professionals working in the field of child development, the authors provide this comprehensive guidebook for parents to help them better understand the issues facing their children. This colorful and informative guidebook provides answers to the questions parents are asking.


Taking the Bully by the Horns Cover

Taking the Bully by the Horns

Kathy Noll, Jay Carter & Flora Cusimano (Illustrator)

Unicorn Press; ISBN: 0937004111

December 1998

Bullying can be a serious issue for children, with potentially devastating consequences. Taking The Bully By The Horns teaches children to effectively deal with bullying and helps them diffuse potentially explosive situations. Kathy Noll uses kid-friendly language to shed light on how cowardly bullies really are, and offers smart, empowering solutions for their victims.


Complete Idiot's Guide To Cashing In On Your Inventions

Complete Idiot's Guide To Cashing In On Your Inventions

Richard C. Levy

Pearson; ISBN: 0028642201

September 2001

You need to be more than an inventor to cash in on your invention. Richard's Complete Idiot's Guide To Cashing In On Your Invention covers every aspect of protecting your idea to marketing it - from idea to pay dirt. The forte of this work is its advice on presentation and business practices. Nothing in it is theoretical. All advice is based upon the author's empirical experiences. Richard encourages and inspires you through homespun humor and down-to-earth philosophy. He shares proves strategies, insider information and licensing tips. His writing is energetic, practical and just plain fascinating. Also, by the same author, .


Parenting an Only Child Cover

Parenting an Only Child:

The Joys and Challenges of Raising Your One and Only

Susan Newman Ph.D.

Broadway Books; ISBN: 0767906292

August 2001

Emphasizes that having an only child is a lifestyle choice becoming increasingly popular due to a variety of causes including late marriages, parents with dual income, and family heterogeneity. In addition to being a social psychologist with several books on child rearing to her credit, Dr. Susan Newman is herself the mother of an only child. Thus, she knows from whence she speaks, and gives some great no-nonsense advice to parents on setting proper boundaries, having realistic expectations, and cultivating independence and creativity.


The Kidspace Idea Book Cover

The Kidspace Idea Book:

Creative Playrooms, Clever Storage Ideas, Retreats for Teens, Toddler-Friendly Bedrooms

Wendy A. Jordan

Taunton ISBN: 1561583529

May 2001

Stands the traditional concept of the adult-centered house on its ear with designs that signal kids that "this is your house too." Going through each room of the house, but with especial emphasis on the child's bedroom, Wendy Jordan introduces creative designs for just-for-kids spaces where kids can enjoy the home environment and be themselves. This book is loaded with color photos, tips, stylistic ideas, plans and practical suggestions. It covers such plans as lofts, playhouses, high-tech homework centers and other areas that will not only give kids their privacy but convey a sense of magic and mystery.


Handbook of Children and the Media Cover

Handbook of Children and the Media

Dorothy G. Singer (Editor), Jerome L. Singer (Editor)

Sage Publications; ISBN: 0761919546

2000

Classic study of the effects of media on children written by two of the most the renowned scholars in the field. This volume includes updated articles by the authors as well as significant reports from other top researchers.


New Toys-New World Cover

New Toys-New World:

How To Invent Toys And Transform The World

Eric Frydler

Teddybearsquare.Com; ISBN: 0970177402

1992

This short primer discusses not only how to invent toys, but treats on the meaning of inventing toys in a broader social context. It is a think tank for looking at children in the millennium and for what inventing toys may mean to the future of our planet.


Play To Learn - Learn To Play Cover

Play To Learn - Learn To Play

Susan Munzer

Teach foundational concept learning through this illustrated guide to making educational toys and story baskets. Move your family away from TV watching and into more meaningful and fulfilling activities that are both fun- filled and satisfying.


The Movie Mom's Guide to Family Movies

The Movie Mom's Guide to Family Movies

Nell Minow

Avon Books (Pap Trd); ISBN: 038078839X

1999

Recommends hundreds of superb movies available on video-movies that offer more than mindless explosions, casual sex, and limiting stereotypes of women and minorities-movies that exercise the mind and spirit and bring the whole family closer together. Neil Minow understands that the stories movies tell can encourage children to think, feel, and question-and to share those thoughts and feelings with their parents .


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