Playing Smart

This is about the time of year when, one year ago, the Cranesbill Books toy department was launched. We were working on instinct and sheer nerve,
trying to provide things that parents and kids would love. This led us to a conversation about what we did not want to stock: expensive toys with little redeeming value, guns, and toys that could pose some difficulties in staying in stock. Over the year, we have seen how we did, and our marks are pretty good

In a previous blog, I told you that Webkinz would be coming to Cranesbill. After meeting with the manufacturer’s representative, we decided that the Webkinz, while certainly popular, were not a good fit with our space, even if they were inciting riots elsewhere, We also were concerned that even though the little animal figures were compelling, the problems very much concerned us. As I traveled around this summer, talking to other bookstore owners, I realized that the equation might not turn out as well as we had hoped. Webkinz are still available in many places, including Dayspring Gifts in Chelsea, and I apologize to anyone who had expected them to be in our possession by now.

We are getting ready to have what we hope will be a great Christmas, and here are some of the things we have in store already or that are coming soon:

Toddler toys are always about giving young children their first practice at skills they need to master for kindergarten. Those that train hand-eye coordination include lacing shoes, peg pounding toys, simple puzzles, build a buddy sets, and art supplies designed for little hands. For mental development, we have word cards, games like Ravensburger’s Mix and Match and First Nature Game, Gamewright’s Feed the Kitty, and magnetic letter and number sets, to be used on the fridge or on a plastic magnetic board. Bathtime toys include floating boats, bath squirters, crayons and even plastic books that can withstand the bath without getting waterlogged. For babies, too, we have a sealed water mat that allows them to push submerged items around in an underwater world. Finally, we are continuing to stock a few soft toys for babies, although stuffed animals are not our bestsellers. And a few young children will enjoy the large cars designed to please the youngest vehicle enthusiasts.

School aged children certainly have a lot to learn, but as any child development specialist, or for that matter any parent, will tell you, play is the best way to accomplish learning. Art materials are always a good way to encourage creativity and individual expression, and here we have you well covered.

There are many new kits by Alex, Bead Shop, Melissa and Doug, and 4M that allow both boys and girls to experience the reward of completing a project that they can keep. We have brought back the learning games, such as Number Race, Pizza Fraction Fun, and Silly Story Laboratory. There are also new kits to build wooden toys for boys: fire engines, jet fighter planes, tractors, and so forth. We have games that promote learning without being directly related to skills: Gamewright and Ravensburger make excellent card games; Ravensburger’s Enchanted Forest and Rivers, Roads and Railroads are the kind of board game that your kids will want to hold onto for their own kids.

There are some excellent pretend boxes for all ages, including Pretend and Play Supermarket, Design and Drill, Car Designer, Costume Designer, and Cartoonist. Once again, we have wonderful cooking sets from Toysmith, and boxes for Movie Star Magic, Mermaid Treasures, and Beads. Those who enjoy fabric arts can take advantage of Knot A Quilt and Knot a Poncho sets. Anyone who has worked with polymer clay will know Sculpey, a mainstay in my parenting experience that is available in small color sets, and that will be stocked in small squares in many colors for the coming holidays. Origami books, kits, and papers

Science stuff is here in the form of kits to experiment with that are centered on making items, demonstrating aspects of scientific inquiry, mining gold and crystals out of provided materials, and learning about forces like magnetism, weather, ecological phenomena, and even things like forensics, fingerprints, and secret codes.

At some point in elementary school, kids are ready to join in family games, and we have a selection on hand. Out of the Box makes Apples to Apples, and we have both the adult version and the expansion sets for it, as well as the Apples to Plles Junior 9+. There is Blokus, a strategy game, as well as No Stress Chess, that helps beginners to develop strategy in an easy format. An intriguing new form of Scrabble has a raised grid to keep letters in place and a built-in turntable to facilitate multiple players. We also have the Thinkfun solo games of Rush Hour, Tipover, and Rush Hour Railroad, with demostration sets left out for kids to enjoy in the store.

The final category of toys is probably an offshoot of Harry Potter, that is, toys that enable children to perform magic and to experience other fantastic worlds.
We have two sizes of Melissa and Doug Magic sets, plus some individual tricks for those who are not just starting out but who want to expand their repertory of performance. There are wandmaking kits in the form of a book that is also a kit. There are Pirate Chests to be decorated. We have large plastic sticker sets (like Colorforms) in both castle and pirate formats. There is the game of Dragonology, which is a companion to the Dragonology book that has been very popular with customers of all ages.

If there are any toys that you have knowledge of that we should consider stocking, please call the store and request them. We will be listening and hoping that you will find our selection good enough to skip a trip to Ann Arbor.