The 1960s were a magical decade in the world of toys. Toy companies like Wham-O, Hasbro, Mattel and Kenner were churning out captivating toys faster than toy stores could keep… Read the rest of the article: Light Bulb Baking – The 50-year history of The Easy Bake Oven

This beautifully illustrated picture book takes more than one read to take in all of the delightfully layered pages. At its first level, it tells a sweet story about an… Read the rest of the article: The Memory of an Elephant – A beautifully illustrated multi-layered picture book for all ages

Pre dinosaurs, trilobites roamed the earth's sea floors for nearly 300-million years before becoming extinct for unknown reasons.

I'm a sucker for trivia, and Listomania is on my top-ten list of fascinating facts books. As the title reveals, the book is loaded with fun tidbits of information (over… Read the rest of the article: Listomania – Over 1,200 fun facts organized by lists

As a continuation of Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter, author Lloyd Kahn (former Shelter editor of Whole Earth Catalog) brings us Tiny Homes on the Move, which showcases 90 nomadic homes… Read the rest of the article: Tiny Homes on the Move – nomadic houses that offer an adventurous yet simpler way of life

A few years ago my then 8-year-old daughter, Jane, started reading collections of old Nancy comic strips. I'd never paid attention to the strip and assumed it wouldn't appeal to… Read the rest of the article: Over 1000 hilarious Nancy comic strips from 1946-1948

At first glance, I assumed John Kenn Mortensen's ghoulish images were storybook illustrations that were originally drawn on large sheets of paper. Then I read his tiny introduction and discovered… Read the rest of the article: Sticky Monsters – Magnificent monster drawings on Post-it notes

In the early 1900s, wrapping paper as we know it did not exist in America. People "dressed" their gifts in tissue paper. But in 1917, the greeting card company Hall… Read the rest of the article: All Wrapped Up – A collection of wrapping paper from its artistic glory days of the 1960s

Without question, cocktails are the most fun and playful type of drinks on the menu, with their vibrant colors, toy-like swizzle sticks, plastic straws, paper toothpick umbrellas, swords of stacked… Read the rest of the article: Kiddie Cocktails: hooch free drink recipes in a beautiful book

I'm always amazed when one of my daughter's friends comes to me and says she's bored. As if I'm supposed to put on a pair of tap shoes and dance… Read the rest of the article: Unbored – A zillion ways for kids to keep busy and engage with life

I saw the movie Dawn of the Planet of the Apes over the weekend and was amazed by its greatness. I applauded at the end with the rest of the… Read the rest of the article: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Rise of the Planet of the Apes: The Art of the Films

When Carla Sinclair was offered a free hypnotism session, she jumped at the chance. "I wanted to see if a hypnotherapist could actually put me in an altered state of some kind. I wasn't sure what to expect, but romanticized about meeting a bearded man in a white lab coat swinging a pendulum in front of my face."

(click image to embiggen) This wonderfully cute yet sophisticated cookbook for children reminds me of when I took my picky 3-year-old to Paris. She lived on bread and butter for… Read the rest of the article: How to make squash soup [a recipe for kids]

"The Oldest Living Things in the World is an amazing hybrid," says Carla Sinclair, "part traditional coffee table book displaying gorgeous photographs, and part memoir of Rachel Sussman's journey trekking around the world to photograph the oldest living things that she could find."

As a big fan of Game of Thrones, I was happy to get my hands on this Westeros pop-up book. But oh my goodness, I had no idea how amazing… Read the rest of the article: Incredible Game of Thrones pop-up book folds out to 3D Westeros map

Every talk this week had a message that could help us shape our personal lives as well as the bigger world around us. I want to conclude my TED coverage… Read the rest of the article: TED2013: Takeaway roundup

Imagine strolling through New York's Central Park with earbuds, listening to music that changes its melody and emotion as you pass each statue, monument, pond, and play area. For instance,… Read the rest of the article: TED2013: Bluebrain's location-aware albums

Today's TED2013 line-up was once again filled with amazing people with super-charged ideas and skills. I really can't pick any bests out of the bunch, but here are three talks… Read the rest of the article: TED2013: My Top 3 Wednesday TED Talks

One of the biggest charmers at TED2013 so far has been Romo the Robot, who rolled and whizzed around the stage with one of his creators, Keller Rinaudo. With large… Read the rest of the article: TED2013: Interview with creators of Romo iPhone robot

Yesterday I linked to a video of Baile Zhang's "invisibility cloak," which was demoed at TED2013. The video was hosted by Dropbox, which killed the link (too much traffic). Here's… Read the rest of the article: Video of "invisibility cloak" at TED