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NAPPA's Award-Winning Gift Ideas for Kids 

Gift-giving made easy with these award-winning toys, DVDs, software, music, and more

NAPPA Gold LogoJust in time for holiday giving, the National Parenting Publications Awards bring you the best gift ideas for children. For the past 18 years, NAPPA has set the gold standard in evaluating children’s products, with its team of expert judges and family testers highlighting the cream of the crop in children’s entertainment and learning. Here are the 117 NAPPA Gold Award-winners for 2008.

You can find more sure-bets for kids among the NAPPA Honors winners highlighted at NAPPA.Parenthood.com.

Toys
This year’s gold award-winning toys encourage children to understand their world, from basic skill-building and effective personal interactions to the environment and cutting-edge technology.

For infants and toddlers

Bonz Band BoxFor preschoolers

For ages 5 and up

For ages 7 and up

Note: All NAPPA-winning products have, to the best of our ability, been judged to be safe and well-constructed. They have been checked against the most recent government safety recall lists. However, we do not warrant their safety or appropriateness for your child and we are not liable for any injuries that may result from their use.

DVDs
This year’s NAPPA winning DVDs are the finest batch yet. Every title is one that you can happily add to your collection and enjoy sharing with the children in your life.

For infants and toddlers

  • Baby Einstein: 10th Anniversary Special Edition Baby Mozart; The Baby Einstein Co., 2008; 28 min.; $19.99
  • Little Laureate’s My World Colors; Little Laureate, 2008; 30 min.; $24.99

Elmo's World Summer Vacation DVDFor preschoolers and up

  • Abby in Wonderland; Genius Products, 2008; 42 min.; $14.93
  • Elmo’s World: Summer Vacation; Genius Products, 2008; 51 min.; $12.93
  • The Biscuit Brothers: Go Make Music! Vol. 2; Biscuit Biz, 2007; 144 min.; $14.99

For ages 5 and up

For ages 8 and up

For ages 12 and up

Storytelling & Spoken-Word
Many of today’s storytellers and spoken-word artists attract a strong following. Whether you’re familiar with these artists or not, it’s easy to be a fan of these NAPPA Gold winners.

For younger children

For elementary students

  • Tell Me A Story 2: Animal Magic; written by Amy Friedman, read by various artists; D & F Productions, 2007; $18.95
  • Tipingee, Brer Rabbit and the Mouse that Barked: Tales of Love and Laughter; LuAnn Adams, 2007; $15

For tweens and teens

  • Trouble (Audiobook); written by Gary D. Schmidt and read by Jason Culp; Scholastic Media, 2008; $34.95 (nine CDs)
  • Women of Vision; Susan Danoff, 2008; $15

Books
Having a supply of inviting books and magazines around the home can pique children’s curiosity and ensure their future love of reading. Here are the best among this year’s strong collection of NAPPA entries.

Ten Tiny Babies by Karen KatzFor infants and toddlers

  • Because You Are My Baby; by Sherry North, illustrated by Marcellus Hall; Abrams Books, 2008; $15.95
  • Eebee’s Laundry Time Adventures; Every Baby Co., 2008; $14.95
  • Say Daddy!; by Michael Shoulders, illustrated by Teri Weidner; Sleeping Bear, 2008; $15.95
  • Ten Tiny Babies; by Karen Katz; Simon & Schuster, 2008; $14.99
  • Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns; by Richard Van Camp; Orca Book Publishers, 2007; $9.95

For preschoolers and up

  • Alphabet Animals: A Slide-and-Peek Adventure; by Suse MacDonald; Simon & Schuster, 2008; $12.99
  • Crocs!; by David T. Greenberg, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger; Little, Brown, 2008; $15.99
  • Dr. Ted; by Andrea Beaty, illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre; Simon & Schuster, 2008; $14.99
  • A Kitten Tale; by Eric Rohmann; Random House/Knopf, 2008; $15.99
  • Monkey with a Tool Belt, by Chris Monroe; Carolrhoda, 2008; $16.95
  • Trucktown: Smash! Crash!; by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by David Gordon, Loren Long, and David Shannon; Simon & Schuster, 2008; $16.99

For ages 6 and up

  • Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School and Other Scary Things; by Lenore Look, illustrated by LeUyen Pham; Schwartz & Wade/Random House, 2008; $15.99
  • Arthur of Albion; by John Matthews, illustrated by Pavel Tatarnikov; Barefoot Books, 2008; $24.99
  • As Luck Would Have It; by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by Daniel San Souci; August House, 2008; $16.95
  • Maybe a Bear Ate It!; by Robie H. Harris, illustrated by Michael Emberley; Orchard/Scholastic, 2008; $15.99
  • Wabi Sabi; by Mark Reibstein, illustrated by Ed Young; Little, Brown, 2008; $16.99

For ages 9 and up

  • Cicada Summer, by Andrea Beaty; Amulet/Abrams, 2008; $15.95
  • Defiance; by Valerie Hobbs; Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005; $16
  • Every Soul a Star, by Wendy Mass; Little, Brown, 2008; $15.99
  • 52 Days by Camel: My Sahara Adventure; by Lawrie Raskin and Debora Pearson, photographs by Lawrie Raskin; Annick Press, 2008; $26.95/$14.95 (paperback)
  • George Washington Carver; by Tonya Bolden; Abrams Books, 2008; $18.95
  • How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming; by Lynne Cherry and photojournalist Gary Braasch; Dawn Publications, 2008; $17.95
  • Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Writing Thank-You Notes; by Peggy Gifford, illustrated by Valorie Fisher; Schwartz & Wade/Random House, 2008; $15.99
  • Science on the Loose: Amazing Activities and Science Facts You’ll Never Believe; by Helaine Becker, illustrated by Claudia Dávila; Maple Tree Press, 2008; $22.95/$10.95 (paperback)

For ages 12 and up

  • A Thousand Never Evers; by Shana Burg; Delacorte/Random House, 2008; $15.99
  • Generation Green: The Ultimate Teen Guide to Living an Eco-Friendly Life; by Linda Silvertsen and Tosh Silvertsen; Simon & Schuster, 2008; $10.99
  • ghostgirl; by Tonya Hurley; Little, Brown, 2008; $17.99
  • My One Hundred Adventures; by Polly Horvath; Schwartz & Wade/Random House, 2008; $16.99
  • Susanna Hits Hollywood; by Mary Hogan; Delacorte/Random House, 2008; $8.99
  • The Postcard; by Tony Abbott; Little, Brown, 2008; $15.99

Music
Wow, what a playlist of terrific winners we have from this year’s highly competitive music competition! All of these share a common bond: a love and compassion for children and for the world in which we live. Enjoy!

Lullabies

For toddlers and up

  • Best Pals—Kathy & Janet Lennon Sing Their Favorite Childhood Songs; Kathy & Janet Lennon; KatJan, 2006; $17
  • It’s A Gymboree Party!; Parachute Express; Trio Lane Records, 2007; $15
  • Tall as a Tree; Hullabaloo; Hullabaloo Music, 2008; $12

For preschoolers and up

For ages 4 and up

Software, video, and websites
This year, the NAPPA judges and kid testers noted an increase in the number and quality of online offerings, enhanced features that personalize play, and a raising of the bar in software that enables kids to explore their creativity and practice musical performance skills. These were the best of the best:

For preschoolers and up

  • Bob the Builder Can-Do Zoo; Brighter Minds Media, 2008; $19.95. Requires: Windows 2000, XP, or Vista, or Macintosh OS X 10.3.9 or newer
  • Tag Reading System and the Little Engine That Could; LeapFrog Enterprises, 2008; $49.99 (Tag Reading System) and $13.99 (Tag-enabled book)

For early elementary students

For tweens and up

Family resources

  • KidZui: The Internet for Kids; Clifford Boro, 2008; free; for ages 3 to 12. Requires: high-speed Internet connection and Adobe Flash Player 9+
  • Parents Activity Center; Scholastic, 2008; free; for parents and kids ages 5 to 12. Requires: web browser with Flash

December 2008

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