Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The History of my Children's Animal Book


I used to work in a Real Estate office about 5 years ago as a property manager. It was probably the most boring job I had ever had. Lunch hour consisted of squeezing into a little cubicle out of view of the front desk and hoping you could actually get to eat lunch without answering the phone.

I started writing during that time just to take my mind off such things as tenant problems, fence disputes and rental arrears. Slowly but surely my scribblings turned into a story about a cheeky pig that had an adventure with his farmyard friends. I wrote it all out in longhand and forgot about it.

When I left that Real Estate office (yay!) , I cleaned out my desk and there was my little story. I had a bit more tim to myself so I typed it up on my computer at home and called it "The Adventures of Percy the Little Pink Pig" and forgot about it for a few more years.

I had a couple of hard drive crashes over the years and lost a lot of files. However "Percy" seemed to always survive. The along came Kindle. Finally Percy had found a home and in February 2013 "The Exciting Adventures of Percy the Pig" was published.

It's a children's animal story that has a message for the children who read. it. There are not too many children's chapter books coming out at the moment, so I hope it does well. So does Percy!
 
 

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Lord of the Rings Lego

Lego Lord of the Rings is a classic set of toys that has been around for many years, but is still popular today. Some of the original characters date back from before the turn of the century and make excellent collectors items.

Some of the better known games in the LOTR Lego sets include Hobbit Urak-Hai Army, Hobbit Attack on Weathertop, The Battle of Helm's Deep, Hobbit Shelob Attacks and The Mines of Moria.

These Lego sets appeal to adults and children alike. The mini figurines are very lifelike and high quality. The prices are very reasonable and start at 10 dollars for a single LOTR character up to a few hundred dollars for the larger sets.

If you are interested in finding out more about these time tested toys, check the links below 
  1. Hobbit Shelob Attacks
  2. Hobbit Gandalf Arrives
  3. LOTR Lego Sets Make Excellent Gifts
  4. The Battle of Helm's Deep
  5. Hobbit Attack on Weathertop
  6. Hobbit Urak-Hai Army
  7. Who's Your Favorite LOTR Character?
  8. Lord of the Rings Mini Figurines


Monday, November 26, 2012

Crayola Digital Light Designer - What is it?

From simple crayon sets, the people at Crayola have been very innovative when it come to keeping up with technology. Below you can see the latest release from Crayola -  the Crayola Digital Light Designer.

This clever little toy lets kids to draw using light. Using a digital pen on a dome shaped object, kids can draw different colore pictures and even create moving animations. There's a lot more you can do with this toy, so I've included some links to it here.....

Click the links below to find out more about the digital designer that kids love!



 

Monday, November 19, 2012

Christmas Toys - What's Old is New Again


It's getting close to that time of the year again when we have to worry about what to buy everyone for Christmas. In our family we have an arrangement where we only buy presents for the kids (well actually grand kids). Otherwise the whole thing gets out of hand and you can spend the next three months paying off Christmas presents and I'm sure that's not what the whole thing is supposed to be about!

Being a Grandma, I like to buy my grand kids some toys that they really want, something that will make them happy. Let the parents worry about the boring presents like clothes and stuff! So what's new in kid's toys at the moment that's good value?

I'm looking at the Lord of the Rings Lego Sets, not only do my grandsons love Lego, it's time to introduce them to the wonderful world of the Lord of the Rings characters and stories. Where to buy these? Amazon is probably the cheapest and most reliable toy store on-line. So that's where I'll be going (or not going if you get my drift) No walking through crowded malls, no parking and no sore feet. Yay!

Lord of the Rings Lego Sets

Friday, November 9, 2012

The Leapfrog Leappad 2 - Education and Fun Combined

It's getting pretty close to Christmas, whether we want to think about it or not! What to buy the kids that's good value for money and isn't going to be just chucked in a corner when Christmas day is over?

There are so many toys that are "must haves" for a few hours but the novelty soon wears off. The best toys are those that can teach kids some real skills, especially if they are something like Mum and Dad already have!

This is where the Leapfrog Leappad 2 tablet comes into it's own. It teaches kids how to use a tablet while keeping little sticky fingers off your own Ipad. It's actually referred to as the "Ipad for kids".

The Leappad 2 comes in two colors, pink - which is presumably for girls, and green - which is for... anybody I guess. It comes complete with camera and video recorder and pre-loaded with a few apps. Where were these things when I was a kid? I was playing with dolls and dinky toys (anyone remember them?) when I was young.


It looks like great fun, doesn't it? A good idea for the kid who has "everything".