LeapFrog’s LeapPad Explorer Tablet

Engadget.com has a quick blurb…No word on exact date but seems it will be out in stores or online for the US in June or July. Looks like they a will be priced at $99 but I think it won’t be too long before you can get them for a bit less. Fingers crossed. We have many LeapFrog products and love all of them, LeapFrog Fridge Farm Magnetic Animal Set,  LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Alphabet Set in French, Leapfrog Tag Reader and books (many of them plus the maps) and the LeapFrog Fridge DJ Magnetic Learning Radio. (Don’t pay more than $25 for this. The price I found on Amazon is absurd and on the LeapFrog site they aren’t carrying it, so if you see it at a store I would grab it as it looks like they are discontinuing it. It is a great toy that last for years and years. Vivien got it at 1 and still plays with it at 4-years-old. Piven has been way into it since about 9 months.)  I plan to get Piven the LeapFrog Chat and Count Phone for his first birthday next month. With our experience with LepaFrog I would buy the LeapPad without hesitating.

Info from LeapFrog’s official press release:

Available beginning summer 2011, LeapPad Explorer will be sold at MSRP $99.99, with downloadable applications priced at MSRP $7.50 and up and game cartridges at

MSRP $24.99. The LeapPad Explorer will be available at leapfrog.com* and at major retailers in the U.S., Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Korea and Thailand.

*Purchases at leapfrog.com are available only in the U.S. and Canada.

RatedbyMom.com has a great post about sunscreens you can check out until the Environmental Working Group (EWG) comes out with their ratings for 2011. Glad I found this post before I head to the beach. I also appreciate the extra mile of checking into a product that can be found at most drugstores as I waited too long before buying it online. 

Related posts:

What to Know Before Picking a Sunscreen

What You Need to Know About Sun Screen SPF

To Slather or Not to Slather: The Sunscreen Debate

Claire Wayman is a friend of mine and former Washington Heights mom to Roman and Anton. She’s starting her own all natural soft furnishings and accessories for babies. Claire’s background is in fashion design. Please help her out by taking a minute to fill out this very short survey. No individual responses will be seen, just a breakdown of the results, so it really is anonymous. The survey is designed for the US market.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VLGN2LT

Here’s a blurb from Claire about Cria:

Cria by Claire Wayman is a line of all natural soft furnishings and accessories for babies. Cria is the name given to the alpaca’s young.

The collection will consist of a high percentage of alpaca yarn which has a luxurious hand-feel. The yarn is hypo-allergenic, warm but light weight, naturally waterproof and difficult to ignite. Products made of alpaca can be hand-washed. Alpaca’s are naturally eco-friendly as they have very little impact on the environment.

Alpaca’s originate in South America, particularly in the Peruvian region. They have been domesticated for thousands of years and are from the camelid family. Alpaca’s are smaller than llama’s and are bred mainly for their high quality fibre. They are now successfully bred in the UK, in the USA and in other parts of the world.

One of the most popular posts I have is Learn to Dress Activity Dolls. I saw Alex has Alex Learn to Dress Kitty which is just as cute and think girls would love it so thought I’d share it here for those looking for such a present. To my surprise Alex took it to the next level by introducing Alex Little Hands, Giant Kitty! Also available Alex Toys Learn To Dress Giant Kitty and Regular Sized Kitty Bundle. Vivien didn’t play with her Russ doll I got her and learned zipping just fine. We haven’t started learning to tie shoes and wasn’t planning on getting a learn to dress doll for Piven, but the life size dolls add an extra level of play! mmmm…Julien (my husband) don’t read this, I know you don’t want another toy in the apartment:)

Classic and loved : Alex Toys Learn to Dress Monkey

For Seseame Street lovin’ kids:  Gund Teach Me Elmo and Gund Teach Me Abby Cadabby

Original post: Learn to Dress Activity Dolls

Mamalaide’s Picks: Learn to Dress Dolls

The version I was attracted to right away is the Little Red Riding Hood, by The Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Daniel Egnéus. I was so moved by the beautifully romantic, richly statruated illustrations and the amazing use of typography to tell the classic tale that I wanted to find out more about Daniel Egnéus.

Daniel, born in 1972 in Sweden, has spent 20 years in Prague, London, Berlin, Bologna and Rome, and has now made Milano his base. He is the inventor of the style “Quotidiano-Straordinario.” Daniel is represented by Traffic Creative Managment in New York City, as well as agencies and galleries in Paris, London, Berlin, and Sao Paulo. He has never been formally trained.

And that was about all I could find about him except for his impressive client list. So having more questions I emailed him with a few questions.

Here is Daniel’s email response:

Can you describe what Quotidiano-Straordinario style is?

Daniel: “Quotidiano-Straordinario means more or less like “the everyday wonder,” and it’s just a word some journalist said once and I sort of liked it. The concept describes the beauty and strangeness in the everyday life, like for example when you leave your apartment you never know what happens inside it, there could be fishes swimming around in the air or the chairs could talk.”

Are your illustrations a combination of pen and ink and watercolor in Little Red Riding Hood? Is your style always to use pen and ink?

Daniel: “Generally my drawings are pen, ink, watercolor, acrylics and pencil, a method which I have used all through The Red Riding Hood.”

Is Little Red Riding Hood the first fully illustrated children’s book you have done? If so, are you planning on another one?

Daniel: “Years back I illustrated a book by Aleksander Puskjin with the title Tsar Saltan. I would of course be happy if someone asked me to do another book, I would love to illustrate Edgar Alan Poe.”

What drew you to / inspired you to illustrate the story of Little Red Riding Hood?

Daniel:  ”Harper Collins contacted me more or less a year ago and proposed the project, which I enjoyed from the first minute.”

Do you sell copies of your illustrations? If so, how or where can people buy them?

Daniel:  ”I usually sell signed giclee-prints and the easiest way is to contact my agent.”

Here is the making of Little Red Riding Hood, which can give you a better idea of how Daniel works:

Below you can see a short film animation in another of Daniel’s styles:

And here are a  few other links I found about Daniel and his work:

http://www.danielegneus.blogspot.com/

Article from the LA Times March 9, 20011:

Artist Daniel Egnéus gives Little Red Riding Hood a stylish makeover

If you know a little girl who loves dress up and wants a red velvet cape like Little Red Riding Hood I bought Vivien this one by Little Adventures. It’s lined on the inside and looks like it’s made very well. Can’t wait to see her in it.

Update March 12, 2011: Typography for Little Red Riding Hood is by Iris Shih.

Visit Mamalaide’s Picks: Books