It’s mid-December folks. Like a bullet train. White knuckle time. With parties in motion and merry children abound, it’s time to jump on the fast track with those holiday gifts. And Wink’s gift guide is your golden ticket. The fun stuff on this week’s list focuses on the kiddos in your life. (For grown-ups, check out Gareth Branwyn’s Picks and Cheapies But Goodies Under $20.)
Juxtabo
Ages 6 and up
$30
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Much like a colorful, 3D version of dominoes, Juxtabo has simple rules that allow children as young as six years old to play. The strategy encourages development of quick pattern recognition, but also flexibility as you plan, since the “board” changes with every turn… Juxtabo is the recipient of the 2015 Academics’ Choice Brain Toy Award …avid puzzlers beware – Juxtabo just may prove addictive! – Chloe Quimby
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: The Illustrated Edition
by J.K. Rowling (author) and Jim Kay (illustrator)
(Arthur A. Levine Books)
$24
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You may have read Harry Potter before, but you’ve never read it like this. Almost every page features some kind of full-color illustration by artist Jim Kay. Illustrations come in a wide variety of forms, ranging from small page ornamentations to whole page spreads. The full-page illustrations have a ton of detail and color and will likely make you stop mid-page to appreciate them. It never occurred to me that Harry Potter required illustrations, but after reading this it’s clear why someone thought they would make for a good experience. – Alex Strine
The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game
Ages 3-7
$15
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A children’s game where the first squirrel to forage enough acorns to fill up their log before winter wins!… While luck plays a large role in this game, there are some simple strategies which young players will quickly learn to impede other players or increase their chances of winning. The game is a fun way to practice color matching, sorting, and turn taking… The Sneaky, Snacky, Squirrel Game is at the top of my recommendation list for fun preschool-aged games that the whole family will love to play. – Mike Evans
Star Wars Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy
by Matthew Reinhart
(Orchard Books)
$20
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Pop-up artist Matthew Reinhart captures the brilliance and excitement of Star Wars with this pop-up Guide to the Galaxy. The intricate renderings of Star Wars characters, creatures and vehicles are truly a work of art, and the book’s cool interactive goodies like 3D pull-outs and a map of the galaxy are just plain fun. The grand finale battle between rebel hero Luke Skywalker and Sith Lord Darth Vader is complete with illuminated (really!) light sabers… This book is a fantastic gift for a Star Wars fan of any age. – Mary Wozniak
ZOOB
Ages 6 and up
$25
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ZOOB is the first construction set I’ve seen that encourages organic, free-flowing builds. There are five basic ZOOB shapes centered on a ball-and-socket connection. When you click them together you have full 180-degree freedom in how the connection is oriented, leading to creations that are curvy, complicated, or ones that repeat like vertebrate in a spine, or carbons on a chain, or even amino acids on DNA… The plastic pieces are largish, unlike lego, so the finished forms can be quite hefty. – Kevin Kelly
Cabinet of Curiosities: Collecting and Understanding the Wonders of the Natural World
by Gordon Grice
(Workman Publishing)
$17
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The term “cabinet of curiosities” means different things to different people. For the author of this wonderful book for kids, it was a cigar box full of treasures that he started accumulating at the age of six, beginning with the found skull of a skunk… This book focuses on the natural wonders only, and, specifically, those waiting out there to be found by the young scientists, collectors, and curators of tomorrow…This is a beautifully illustrated book that will undoubtedly spark the curiosity in any kid who reads it. – Aaron Downey
Brock Magiscope
Ages 5 and up
$178
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After several years of looking for a microscope suitable for a busy family I found one: The Brock Magiscope #70. It has a single-moving part that my 5-year-old son could handle. He could put a leaf in and focus it right. The viewing field is amazingly bright and clear, good enough for high school work… We can press the lens of a smart phone to its eyepiece, and get pretty good microphotography shots. Best of all it is practically indestructible. The thing is simple and rugged as a hammer. It was built for the abuse of K-12 classrooms, which is probably as grating as a war. – Kevin Kelly
Build Your Own Gotcha Gadgets: Electronic Gizmos to Play 20 Tricks
by Ben Grossblatt
(Klutz)
$21
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Build Your Own Gotcha Gadgets comes with a multifunction electronic circuit, wires, and sensors that kids can use to build a variety of pranksterish devices: A cookie jar that sounds an alarm when the lid is removed, an electronic whoopie cushion, an intrusion detector, a fake lie detector, and more. Once you try a few projects from the book, it wouldn’t be hard to come up with other ways to use the components, both mischievous and mild. – Mark Frauenfelder
Olympian’s Boxed Set
by George O’Connor
(First: Second)
$44
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The author and publisher definitely designed these books to be taught to young people… The six volumes come in a handsome slipcase, which also includes a large full-color poster of the pantheon on one side and an extensive Olympian family tree on the other. Although these books are in comic book form, with spare dialog, they still manage to pack in a lot of story and paint a fairly complete portrait of each god. I wish I’d had these books when I was a kid. – Gareth Branwyn
Mini OgoSport Discs
Ages 4 and up
$25
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Like miniature portable trampolines, these 12-inch discs can send the “ball” (a rubber stringy pom) bouncing higher than a hundred feet and are perfect for a game of Ogo-style volleyball (volleying without a net or formal rules). You can also throw a disc like a Frisbee, or play it like paddle ball without the attached elastic string. Fun for all ages! – Carla Sinclair