Read
Tucked away in the back of Kids at Heart Toys is our book room. Lining our shelves is a carefully chosen selection of literature for children of all ages. We have books for baby: both soft cover and board book. Our picture books will inspire imagination, introduce cultural diversity and impart knowledge of the world. We also have beginning books and young adult titles to encourage the young reader.
We have our own personal book-buyer, with ten years experience selecting the very best books. She has an expansive knowledge of children's literature, both classic and contemporary.
Our books will remain trusted friends in your child's library and encourage a love of reading. Here are a few books we've come to love.
It’s not really hard to count up to ten…touch the holes with your fingers and you’ll see that you can! ONE shiny green frog, grinning with delight, introduces toddlers to the joys of counting. As kids move from page to page, meeting such adorable creatures as four chatty parrots, six fuzzy bunnies, and seven golden chicks, they can physically “pet” the die-cut animals and feel the numbers growing. A ladybug-filled spread at the end encourages children to try their skills: I can’t count them all! Now tell me, can you?
My Mother's Sari is a beautifully illustrated book celebrating the bond between mother and child. Her child plays, imagines, dances, hides and dreams within the folds of her mother's sari. This story tells of the magic of everyday togetherness withing the beauty of their culture.
Meet Halibut Jackson. Halibut Jackson is shy. He’s so painfully shy that he sews suits for himself that allow him to blend into the background everywhere he goes. He’s perfectly content to live his life hidden from everyone else – until he gets an invitation to a party at the palace. He’s always wanted to see the palace, so he makes a special suit of silver and gold that will allow him to blend in to the luxurious background. Too bad it’s a garden party! Poor Halibut Jackson! Everyone notices him – but everyone loves him and they all want him to make them splendid suits like his. By the end of the book the still-shy Halibut Jackson has his own shop full of fabulous work and the many people who love it (and him) and his shyness doesn’t keep him isolated any more.
A collection of Norse myths describing the exploits of the Aesir gods and goddesses, beginning with the creation of the world and ending with the day of reckoning. D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths, a treasured part of so many children's libraries, has returned to print after more than twenty years. A beautifully illustrated introduction to Norse legends, children will read about: Odin the all father, Thor the thunder god, Loki the mischievous god of the Jotun Race, and Ragnarokk, the destiny of the gods, Bragi, the god of poetry, and the famous Valkyrie maidens protecting Odin's Valhalla. Textured illustrations throughout depict the wondrous other world of Norse folklore and its fantastical northern landscape.
Marjorie Winslow's Mud Pies and Other Recipes, illustrated by Erik Blegvad, is a cookbook for dolls originally published in 1961. This charming and fastidiously complete resource has been reissued thankfully by the New York Review Children's Collection. Now anyone in need of a menu for entertaining and a kitchen full of dirt and branches need look no further. This cookbook provides recipes for each course (Wood Chip Dip, Gravel en Casserole, Leaves en Brochette, Honeysuckle Wine) as well as suggested menus for a wedding banquet, summer luncheon and other occasions.
"Doll cookery is not a very exacting art," Winslow explains in a preface. "The time it takes to cook a casserole depends upon how long your dolls are able to sit at the table without falling over." Furthermore, the author continues, "If a recipe calls for a cupful of something, you can use a measuring cup or a teacup or a buttercup. It doesn't much matter." A tree stump works well for a counter, Winslow advises, while a cake pan can be cut from the bottom of an old milk carton.
"Mud Pies" delights because, like the very best children's books, it gives children their due. Winslow's recipes appeal to the considerable wit, sophistication and imaginative prowess of many young children. Mud Puddle Soup, for one, instructs cooks to "Find a mud puddle after a rainstorm and seat your dolls around it. Serve." For Dollypops, "Pick a dandelion from the lawn carefully, so as not to disturb the fluff. Hand it to your doll and tell her to lick.".
