Knights and Dragons Figure Toob by Safari Ltd

Okay, earlier I was talking about the Safari LTD Toobs and how cool they were. I thought that I would just get a little more specific about the Knights and Dragons Figure Toob. I know we have talked about knights and such here before; this little tube of fun is just a miniature battle waiting to happen. What you have in this Toob are eight knights, two horses, one catapult and a dragon. Four knights are obviously on one side and four are wearing opposing colors. Most of the knights are bowlegged so that they can take turns riding the horses. That is cool. The plastic that they are made of is pliable enough that they fit well and stay put. The dragon is cute. The catapult arm is flexible so that you can pretend to fling stones in battle. I guess you could put a pea or a rice grain on it and actually flick something, but we haven't yet. I really like the portability and packaging of the Toobs in general and I think they did an excellent job on the characters in this one. Long live the King!

A Dragon You Do Not Have To Slay

Put away your sword and lance, oh mighty knight! This legendary beast need not be slain. That is right; without an arrow being fired, you can bring home this wonderful, mythical beast. Folkmanis has created an amazing and colorful creature that your little one can control as his or her very own dragon! It is the magnificent Earth Dragon! This beast is over 19 inches tall and has a workable mouth. I am not sure which Folkmanis puppet is my favorite, but this one definitely makes the top 10. (Probably because I am a sucker for a cool dragon.)

I feel obliged to mention that although the Earth Dragon in pictured with all manner of gemstones surrounding it, we don't really keep jewels around the toy store. Sorry.

If you feel that this benevolent beast is a bit too big and brash, you might want to check out our smaller Blue Dragon. Or, if you are just going for all around cuteness, try the mini Red Dragon. It is a finger puppet!

-Brian

Blood and Guts

I am not a fan of battle. First of all, I’m a girl. Secondly, it is scary. Thirdly, I’m a girl! I would rather everyone just get along and be happy with one another. However, I am a grown up and I realize that it’s not that easy and battle has occurred and will continue to occur. I also have a husband and 2 boys who have fighting in their DNA. I know that it’s on the boy gene. I’ve read Bringing Up Boys! So, if they are going to fight – we might as well give them accurate toys! I am a home school mom too and anytime we can throw a little history into the mix, we should.

I have not found any knights better than Schleich. They are hand painted models that are 1:20 in scale. They have knights with different colors so that one boy can be the fleur knights and one can be the lion knights. The horses coordinate in color as well. You could also go with crusader versus black knights. These could be introduced right along with a history unit on medieval times and battle techniques. There are other battle machines like battering rams, catapults and quintain. My kids have a huge bucket of Schleich knights and horses and they love setting up elaborate battles. And, since it’s done in miniature form, this cuts down on the plastic sword and light saber fighting in real life…so it’s a win win!