Spiderwick Chronicles is out on DVD and a surprise hit in our household. When this movie came out last year, I thought it looked a little goofy and it seemed to be in and out of theatres in short order. Seeing it at home was the first time for us, and it was a happy surprise for both me and my eight year-old. We both enjoyed the story, the action sequences and the funny parts. The story is an imaginative tale of a single mom and her three kids who go to live in a mansion they soon find to be under attack by goblins out to get a book that details the world of creatures ordinary people can’t see. While the movie has scenes that make it a bit too scary for little kids (7 and under), my slightly...

Some times, rather than a present for themselves, dads just like to see the kids enjoy a new toy or book. Here is a selection of books for young kids where the dad is the star. I’m an old softie when it comes to books and images of dads spending good times with their kids. My daughter has two or three books that feature dads and daughters and it makes me feel very special that she reserves a special place on her shelf for them. While we have not read any of the titles listed in this article, I’m going to check them out before next Sunday. Here’s an excerpt from the Seattle Times Article and the list of books. One girl likens her dad to a dog. One dad is convinced he’s...

I just got done reading my four year old’s favorite book, Uncover a Shark by (David George Gordon. He LOVES this book, and while the cover says it’s for eight years old plus, he has memorized all the facts about the shark and was explaining to me features of the shark’s anatomy. This series is part book and part model, which he find really intriguing. So much so, that I felt like I was talking to a kid who would one day grow up to be a zoologist or other scientist. The book has all of sixteen pages, but each page also has a three-dimensional plastic part of the shark’s anatomy. The text is about the organ (liver, brain) or body part featured (teeth, skin). Peppered throughout...

Like most people, I have a dirty little secret: I collect tacky souvenirs from monuments and buildings when I travel. Like collections of snow globes, one monument alone is a tasteless souvenir. But put together a FULL CITY of monuments and you make a statement. My wife could never understand this mania, or “neurosis,” as she puts it, until a few years ago when the San Francisco International Airport featured a full concourse exhibit of souvenir monuments from around the world. There, in plenty of glory, were miniature reproductions of every major edifice in the world. Suddenly, my puny collection gained stature and value, rather then just being the goofy past-time of a middle-aged...