If your child is interested in nature or if you want to encourage an interest in the great outdoors, here's a fun way to do so. The Mini Butterfly Bungalow from Insect Lore is a great way to start off with a butterfly growing nature kit. It's much less expensive than the full sized Butterfly Bungalow or Butterfly Garden models also from Insect Lore, which makes it ideal to try out for a younger child. The Mini Butterfly Bungalow comes with live caterpillars or a mail in coupon for live caterpillars, whichever you prefer. The Mini Butterfly Bungalow is a nice way to watch the beautiful "Painted Lady" butterflies grow. Check out the review of the Mini Butterfly Bungalow from Insect Lore.

I come across a lot of toys everyday and some really stand out from the rest. Gallery Ghost:Find the Ghost Who Paints the Most! from Birdcage Press, belongs to that "special" category. I guess you could classify it as a book that you play with. Gallery Ghost is all about the world of art. It is a hardcover book featuring paintings from various international artists including George Catlin, Paul Klee, J.M.W. Turner and many more that are on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The book has a rather unique style - the pages are split in half so you can easily view multiple paintings at the same time.

I'm sure that the burning question in your mind is, "So, how does one "play" with art?". Well, Gallery Ghost also has some mischievous visitors, a ghost, if you can believe it! For every original painting featured in the book, there is also a replica by the ghost. The object of the book/game is to spot the differences between the original painting and the "ghostly" version. There is an included scorecard by which kids can keep track of their work. There is an included magnifier to make spotting the differences easier.

The reason why I liked Gallery Ghost so much is that it's a perfect way to expose your kids to the history of art and artists. Under each painting, there's a short poem poem by Betsy Franco which briefly speaks about the painter’s philosophy or technique. There's also an illustration by Richard Sala which is a cartoon style depiction of the artist. The book is written by Anna Nilsen. Check out the Gallery Ghost: Find the ghost who paints the most! at Birdcage Press.

Admittedly, earthworms aren't my favorite creatures. You can imagine my relief when my brother-in-law volunteered to test the Insect Lore Earthworm Nursery out for me. My neighbor's kids (she has 3 boys) were super excited when they heard about the mini-project as well. So, while I elected to be a passive observer, they thoroughly enjoyed the whole earthworm growing process from start to finish.

To start, you have to buy the Earthworm nursery kit from Insect Lore. It comes with a plastic earthworm habitat which consists of an earthworm nursery and a hatching chamber. Included are accessories like a paint brush and forceps to lift up the cocoons. Enclosed is a mail in coupon by which you can order the earthworm cocoons. Simply follow the instructions and in no time you'll have a bunch of live earthworms! Here's the review of the Insect Lore Earthworm Nursery.

The Baby Alive line of baby dolls from Hasbro have been pretty popular of late. Speaking of Baby Alive reminds me of this friend of mine whose little daughter loved her Baby Alive so much, that she refused to sleep without the doll being tucked in besides her. Unfortunately, during a car trip they took, the doll was left behind. My friend almost had a panic attack when she realized that the doll was no longer with them in the car and she begged me to rush to the nearest toy store and pick up a Baby Alive just like the one she had. It was quite a task getting the doll to lose it's brand new look. Ultimately we had to convince the little girl that her Baby Alive just had a tub bath with magic bubbles which made her look all new again! It worked.

I just took a look at the new Baby Alive Sip 'n Snooze line of baby dolls and found them a pretty good bargain. Needless to say, I've seen better baby dolls like the Corolle line, but they come with a high price tag. The Baby Alive line is basic, simple and affordable. Here's the review of the Baby Alive Sip 'n Snooze doll from Hasbro.

I recently re-discovered the game of Jenga and I'm so glad I did. For those of you who don't know or remember what Jenga is, it's a game in which you have to stack wooden blocks, following certain rules, one on top of another to form a tower. The object of the game is to pull out the lower blocks and stack them on top again without toppling the tower. Hold on, it's not as easy as it sounds. It's a pretty tricky job to remove a block without disturbing the tower, though it's not impossible. You also have to apply strategy in planning out your moves. Here is some great information on Jenga from Wikipedia.

As much as I like the original Jenga game, I'm almost tempted to say I liked the pink Jenga GirlTalk edition from Hasbro better. The "girly" colors of pink and fuschia and the questions on each of the blocks pepped up the game nicely. The Jenga Pink GirlTalk game combines the fun of the original Jenga with the girl talk questions that are incorporated into Jenga GirlTalk. As girls remove the blocks from the tower, they must answer or act out the GirlTalk question printed on the Jenga block. You can get questions like "Who is your best friend?" or "Name someone you have a crush on right now." Btw, if you're looking for another great twist on the traditional Jenga game, try the "Truth or Dare" edition which is great for parties or groups of friends.

Jenga GirlTalk is available for approximately $20 at Toys 'R Us.

There's an exciting movie for all Barbie fans coming out this year. It's called Barbie and the Diamond Castle and it stars Barbie and her best friend Teresa. The name itself is appealing - a diamond castle sounds pretty intriguing, doesn't it! According to the grapevine, the story is based on the two main characters Aliana and Alexa, played by Barbie and Teresa respectively, who come across a girl hidden in a magic mirror. They soon uncover the secret of the Diamond Castle where three magical muses used to live, until they were ousted by the wicked muse, Lydia. It's onto Barbie and Teresa to save the Diamond Castle.

Mattel has come out with a great line of Barbie dolls, character dolls and accessories with the Barbie and the Diamond Castle theme. I particularly like the 2 beautiful dolls representing Alexa and Aliana, and the charming muses dressed in vibrant colors.

Earth Day is on April 22nd. Let's celebrate our wonderful planet and Mother Nature by choosing these eco friendly, environmentally safe and non-toxic toys. We're doing our planet as well as our future generations a big favor by adopting a heathly "green" lifestyle. Take a look at a lovely selection of green toys and eco friendly toys as we celebrate Earth Day together.

• Green Toys
• Eco Friendly Toys
• Organic Toys

Earth Day is on April 22nd. This is the perfect time to remind ourselves that we should recycle to safeguard our planet. Our kids need to realize the importance of recycling, reusing and avoiding harmful materials like plastic.

My Bag and Me from Penton Kids Press is an excellent way to explain the concept of going green to your kids. The easy to read board book has a simple storyline and an included recyclable Tyvek bag which your kids can use to practice what they've learnt. The book as well as the re-usable Tyvek bag are recyclable. You can pick up My Bag and Me for approximately $8-10 from retailers like Target, Amazon, Walmart and Barnes & Nobles, making this a perfect buy for yourself or as a gift to celebrate Earth Day.

I love the Care Bears (yeah, even at this age) and I'm not ashamed to admit it. They have a certain charm which is irresistible. So, I was absolutely delighted at the opportunity to review this wonderful Care Bears Lullaby: A Night Light Book from Brighter Minds Media.

This bedtime board book is ideal to encourage your little ones to go to sleep on their own. The book has a short and sweet story about bedtime as well as a built-in night light. The night light is in the shape of a moon and it lights up to give out a soft glow. The good part is that this light goes off on it's own in about 5 minutes. You can turn on the light, read your child the story and tell your child that when the light goes off, it's time to sleep. It worked pretty well to calm my kids down at bedtime as they patiently waited for the little night light to go off. Also included with the book is a lullaby CD with soothing tunes that are great to complete this perfect bedtime experience.

If someone told me about a ball which is not round, I'd say they are talking through their hat. That was until I saw the Yackle Ball, of course. The unique "X" shape of the Yackle Ball livens up conventional ball play. It's easier to throw and catch. The Yackle Ball travels a longer distance with less arm power which makes it ideal for players who are "ball challenged". If you enjoy outdoor play and are looking for a change, here's the Yackle Ball. Curious? Then read the review of the Yackle Ball.