Toy Review - Spot It by Blue Orange

This game is awesome.  It is easy to learn and fun to play.  The game rules say that it is for ages 6 and up and I have found that to be true.  I have played it with kids as well as adults and it really is a blast!

There are several different ways to play, but they all center around matching your card with another card.  Now, each card has several images on it.  Any two cards will have one, and only one, matching image.  The image may be a different size, but otherwise it will be the exact same image.  It seems like it is not possible, but the brainiacs at Blue Orange games have figured out how to do it.  The games are fun and intense.  They are also, at times, hilarious; you know you just have to match two images and you know that you are staring right at them, and yet you can't see them.  It is funny.

I highly recommend this game.  If you need a great game for a game night, this is the one you want.  It is also a good travel game since it comes in its own portable tin.  Try it out today!

Toy Review - The Magician's Apprentice Card Tricks Unshuffled by Melissa and Doug

The following is a special review by toy tester, Micah, age 13:

The Magician's Apprentice Card Tricks Unshuffled by Melissa and Doug is filled with very cool magic tricks all containing cards. It comes with four different card decks, an x-ray deck, secret code deck, duplicate deck, and a stripper deck. I can’t tell you too much about them because your friends might be watching. This product also includes trick cards and a very detailed book of tricks. With a little practice and patience you’ll be tricking people in no time. So have fun and go fool someone.





Stupendous Fancy Nancy

Fancy Nancy is a book written by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. They are published by Harper Collins (who has a great interactive website for kids to explore the world of Fancy Nancy). The books are about Nancy, a normal little girl who has a flair for the fancier side of life. The books are about Nancy's daily life and how she desires for others to understand her need for flair! They have amazing illustrations that depict this story in vivid detail. The hardcover books even come complete with glitter on the covers, of course! Nancy wouldn’t have it any other way. Teachers and parents alike will LOVE the fact that these books teach very young readers very sophisticated words like: fuchsia, plume, frilly, tiara, stupendous, accessories, posh, limousine, chauffeur, parfaits, curtsy and dressing gown. These books also explain what these words mean so children immediate relate to this new vocabulary and because it's Nancy using the words, they don't seem complicated at all. It's an incredible concept and little girls LOVE it. What little girl does not love being fancy, feeling like a princess and wish everyone around her would "get it"? The first book in the series is Fancy Nancy. Other titles include Fancy Nancy: Bonjour Butterfly and Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy. Since the hardcover books have come out, there have been SO many additions to the line!

There are:

- Paperback "I Can Read" books (which are specifically designed for early readers)
- Sticker books
- Nancy's Favorite Fancy Words Book (which is really an ABC book)
- The Fancy Nancy Board Game
- Fancy Nancy Card Game
- Glitter puzzles & Cameo puzzles
- Fancy Nancy Dress Up Game
- Fancy Nancy Color forms Set
- And perhaps best of all – DOLLS!!

The cloth plush dolls by Madame Alexander come in 18 and 29 inch varieties and come with all the special details you would expect Fancy Nancy to have. She has a tutu, fuzzy shoes, moveable glasses, hair bows and a tiara. She is truly an amazing doll!!
Come on, get Fancy!