Reviews for 12 years and up
The Game Boy by Nintendo has always been a great little electronic game system for kids. This latest version, the Advance SP, is an improvement over the older SP Game Boy model, mostly because its screen is much brighter now — clearly visible in just about any condition except direct sunlight. And like the earlier SP version, it’s still widely considered to be the pinnacle of Game Boy design — easy to pocket and transport while keeping the screen scratch-free. Simple cross-shape directional pad controls, 2 shoulder buttons, 2 face buttons, and a start and select key are easy to use. This is a great system for kids new to the gaming world, and you can find lots of games that appeal to both boys and girls. And for little kids (ages 4-7), we recommend the Leapfrog Leapster L-Max (see our review).
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This The Body Book & kit by Klutz (who make wonderful craft products for kids) does a great job educating preteen girls on how to take care of their bodies naturally and inexpensively. It features skin care and other body care tips and recipes, and includes supplies, such as a face brush, pumice stone, nail buffer and more, to get started. One example of a recipe is a hand and foot scrub made from sugar, oil, and lemon juice. Kid-testers insist that the recipes work! And the full-color spiral bound book also discusses good nutrition, including delicious recipes. Girls will have fun learning from the Body Book, and thus, may not feel the need to go out and buy expensive products.
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Hasbro and Tiger Electronics (with help from Gibson Guitars) have certainly done their homework in designing the Power Tour Electric Guitar, an inexpensive, great looking, and great sounding way to learn electric guitar. Designed for 10-15 year-old girls and boys, the uniqueness of this guitar lies in the fact that there are no strings! Instead, the guitar fret is color coded, and the flashing lights prompt beginning players where to place their fingers. When in the guitar’s “learn mode,” players are introduced to one segment at a time, moving at their own pace as the guitar’s flashing lights slow down or speed up depending on the player’s ability. Once each segment is mastered, they move on to the next one. Kids can plug in their MP3 player or other music source, and play along with songs, or make up their own. The guitar is designed to look and sound like a real Gibson guitar, and kids can change the sound “type” to “metal,” “punk,” “digital,” or “indie.” The guitar comes with a built-in speaker, strap, cable, and DVD instructions. The built-in speaker that comes with the guitar works just fine, but a Power Amp is also available on Amazon.com for an additional $39.99 (click on “Click Here,” and search for “power tour amp”). We’ve featured the Power Tour Guitar in white — it also comes in black. You may be scratching your head thinking, “all that noise,” but trust us, this gift will “rock!”
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This company (BeBoP) specially designs acoustic kids guitars with small necks and soft nylon strings for easy playing. You can order them in 1/4 size, 1/2 size (shown here), and 3/4 size, depending on your grandchild’s age. Unlike many other beginner guitars (or toy guitars), they’re built with high quality materials and come with a one-year limited warranty against defects. What’s also great about these guitars is that in addition to their size, some are decoratively designed solely with kids in mind — this one has a nice dancing animals pattern around the soundhole. Be-Bop guitars are not toys. They have a linden laminate top with basswood back and sides, black body binding, gold 14:1 geared tuners with perloid buttons, and a mahogany neck with ebonite fingerboard. And the guitar’s tone is sweet and clear. This gift package includes a padded “gig bag,” guitar strap, 2 picks, an electronic tuner, and special edition songs CD. This is a great value starter set. And for granddaughters who are a bit more serious about learning guitar, check out Daisy Rock guitars (click “Click Here,” then search on Amazon.com under “Daisy Rock”). Daisy Rock guitars are not inexpensive, but they are beautifully crafted by a female guitarist especially for girls! Any of these guitars will be music to your ears.
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In this ultimate educational gift for boys and girls 10 years and older, History and Science are combined to provide a fabulous learning opportunity. The Milestones in Science kit takes an interdisciplinary approach, helping kids reproduce 100 experiments, while learning about the 140 scientists and civilizations that spawned them. Most importantly, your grandchild will appreciate the kit’s fun, hands-on approach to learning what would normally be considered “heavy stuff.” Also included is a beautifully illustrated 96-page book that walks your junior scientist through a world of microelectronics, atoms, light, magnetism, and much more. An amazing gift for your amazing grandchild who enjoys science, science kits, and history.
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Fly Pentop Computer, Charger & Supplies$79.99 at Amazon.com |
It may take you a while to understand exactly what this gift does — it did for us. But once we got a “grasp” on it, we realized this pen does wonders! Brought to you by LeapFrog, the company that makes LeapPads and Leapsters for younger children, the Fly Fusion Pentop Computer is an electronic pen with a brain (built-in computer) that’s targeted to kids ages 8-12. The Fly is a fat pen with a tiny optical scanner near the point. As you draw words, numbers, or pictures, the pen responds. For example, you can draw a calculator and tap the numbers to help figure out math homework. You can also play games, learn geography, translate words from another language, and make music (by drawing keyboards or drums). It’s just like a computer, but the mechanisms are a pen and paper, instead of a keyboard and screen. To hear a menu of options, kids draw an “M” with a circle around it on the special dot-matrix FLYpaper. They then tap their drawing with the Fly Pen, and wait for the voice to recite menu options, including scheduler, calculator, time, notepad, settings, and games. To select an option, they print a check mark to the right of the “M,” and the computer announces their selection and options. Wow! You can also purchase the Fly Through Math (multiplication and division for grades 4-6), Spelling and Algebra software cartridges separately — programs that literally coach kids through homework. And you can also purchase really fun games, like Totally Stumped, a trivia game that won the 2006 Parents’ Choice Gold Award. This introductory kit comes with the FLY Pentop Computer, earbuds (tiny headset), carrying case, FLY Launch Pad Guide, charging dock, rechargeable battery, AC adapter, 17 games, 35 FLYpaper pages, 3 interactive FLY-FX cards, interactive map, 1 silver face plate, and 1 AAA battery. Additional paper, accessories, and interactive learning and game cartridges (already mentioned) are sold separately. Winner of many awards from both toy and technology experts. This pen is sure to impress kids and adults alike!
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If you’re looking for a hot new electronic gift for older kids — this Flip Video Camcorder is it! Its most appealing feature is probably its size, easily fitting into your grandchild’s jacket pocket or purse. It’s also simple to use, with one-touch recording and digital zoom. This model holds 60 minutes of TV quality video on 1 GB of built-in memory — meaning tapes and memory cards are not required. Your grandchildren can watch their videos instantly on TV (connection cable is included), or email and share them online (similar to the way one would share digital photos on Snapfish or Kodak Gallery). The Flip does have a USB that plugs directly into a computer, but the configuration may not work with every computer setup. So you can also puchase a USB extension cable for less than $10, and ensure that when they receive this gift, they will be ready to open, aim and shout, “action!”
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This 3-in-1 Game Table is just the right addition for a basement or large playroom. Three beloved indoor games (ping-pong, air hockey, and pool) all combined in one table! The play surfaces slide in and out of place in seconds. The pool game includes balls, two cues, a triangle and chalk. Air hockey includes 2 pucks and pushers, and ping-pong includes 2 paddles, balls, and a net. The table is reasonably sized but not too big, measuring 36″ x 20″ x 9″. This will definitely keep the grandkids busy on a rainy day, and for this gift, you will instantly be named a “champion!”
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Lip Gloss is “in” for many teenage girls. This mini lip gloss set by Sugar Cosmetics and sold by Sephora (also a big hit with teens) comes in twelve colors representing delicious ice cream and other desert-like flavors. Lemon custard, cherries jubilee, cheesecake, butter pecan, chocolate and vanilla are some of the lip-smacking treats. The colors look great. But beware — our teen consultants tell us that these glosses are highly addictive, so be prepared to refill their candy bag!
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These unique Neoprene iPod cases are made from Neoprene (the material that wetsuits are made of) to insulate and protect valuable electronics. From lunch bags to laptop cases, Built NY products are taking off like wildfire. We’re featuring this Electric Pocket which can hold an iPod™ or other MP3 player, cell phone, digital camera, etc. It cleverly ties onto things, much like luggage tags do, to belts, backpacks, handbags, or anything with a belt or loop. All of these products are fleece-lined and stretch to fit a wide range of gadgets.
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