Hello Kitty Hello Playtime!: Outdoor Fun Kit

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Some would say that I, at 29, am too old for Hello Kitty. They would be wrong. Dead wrong. Neville-Chamberlain-“peace-in-our-time” wrong. As a practicing khairailurophile (a term of my own coinage, meaning roughly “greeting-cat-lover”), I’ve got clothes and tchotchkes galore—in fact, I recently redecorated my bathroom with accoutrements honoring my favorite bow-wearin’ Japanese goodwill ambassador. (My brother’s gonna love it when he comes home from college this summer.)
So I’m 100% behind this adorable, practical kit, which uses Hello Kitty’s Svengali-like power for noble ends: getting kids outside and playing! It includes sidewalk chalk (Mark Bradshaw’s favorite), a yo-yo, a jump rope, an inflatable ball, and a color-in storybook about the joys of open-air frolicking. Pair it with Fancy Nancy’s latest—all about exploring nature—and you’ll have trouble keeping even the girliest girl inside this summer!

Little Oink

by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Jen Corace are a winning combination: their previous collaborations “Little Pea” (about a wee vegetable who has to eat all his candy—yuck!—before he can have spinach for dessert) and “Little Hoot” (about a young owl who wishes he could go to bed early like all his friends, and didn’t have to stay up and play) are my go-to picture books for three- or four-year-olds, kids who are just beginning to understand the humor in topsy-turvy stories. Their latest, “Little Oink,” continues the laughs, with the tale of a piglet whose least favorite time of day is “mess up time,” when, at his parents’ behest, he has to unmake his bed, unfold his clothes, and muddy up his T-shirt. Even that’s not enough, says Papa Pig: “I still see toys in their bin, mister. Please—not another word until this room’s a total pigsty.” Only after he’s untidied to Papa & Mama’s specifications can he play his favorite game—house! Where he gets to sweep and scour and scrub as much as he wants. With whimsical, colorful illustrations (Papa Pig’s mustache is a hoot) and a sneaky message about delayed gratification, this is a great read-aloud for clutterful little ones.