Silly Stories by Cranium is another book/game that we got for the holidays.  Our 4 and 6 year old boys have been getting a huge kick out of this twist on the old classic Mad Libs.  Now that the 6 year old is reading and writing it makes this book even more fun.

Write a never-ending supply of hilarious and surprising tales with Cranium Silly Stories.  It’s easy — just write in a funny words with your special erasable Cranium Marker, then flip the page to magically reveal your very own silly story!

Cranium used the general idea of Mad Libs, and made it even better!  Using dry-erase materials, this book can be used time and time again.  It also uses a cover page with windows to write in, so it can be used alone or with a group.   They also made it easier for younger children to play by asking a question to get the word to fill in instead of just asking for a part of speech, which would be too advanced for some.  You get to have the cranium name attached to a book that is perfect for the kids.  Just yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to see my 6 year old asking the 4 year old for “Something you’d Find at a Birthday Party”.  Just too cute.

It is also a perfect travel item.  We brought it with us on a recent car trip, what a great way for the whole family to pass the time.  While away we also brought it with us to dinner, I am always looking for a way to help occupy the boys while waiting for the meal.  It has also proved to be a great way for my 6 year old to practice his reading and writing in a fun way!

Here is an example from one of the boys favorite stories:  Treasure Map

Beware, all ye who seek the treasure of the dreaded pirate Blue [bellybutton].  Follow  these directions…if ye dare!  Start at [soccer] Beach.  Take [7] steps to the [gross] Swamp.  Swim to the Land of [pancake] eating [monster].

Orlando Bloom will not be coming back to star in the fourth Disney Pirates movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.  Orlando was quoted as saying

 Will’s swimming with the fishes. Not this time. No. No. No.

A shame really, since I am a huge Orlando Bloom fan and felt he really played off of Depp’s character well in the Pirate movies.

This follows news that Keira Knightley will also not be returning to the fourth installment of this movie.  Knightley told Moviefone.com a while back

It was a completely fantastic experience, and it was an amazingly large portion of my life, but I don’t think I need to go there again. I think that it’s done. But I’m very excited to see the next one. And he (Johnny Depp) is so wonderful in that character. I think it’ll be wonderful

Can Depp hold it down in On Stranger Tides with some new cast members?  Pirates of the Caribbean 4 is scheduled for release sometime in 2011.

While the project is not officially green lighted, it seems that casting is already being done for the Sasha Paley YA novel, Huge.  ABC Family is getting real close to ordering a series based on the novel that is being described as mash up of Glee and Ugly Betty.

Winnie Holzman of My So-Called Life wrote the script for the show with her daughter Savannah Dooley.  The light drama will explore how young girls deal with all sorts of body-image issues while at Wellness Canyon.  The weight-loss camp sets the background for two girls who fall in love with the same guy.  I like Ugly Betty and I like Glee so regardless of me not being the intended audience for this show, I will give it a whirl.  ABC Family has put together some nice original shows lately.

I saw this sweet look at Cars 2 via Upcoming Pixar that was showcased in Disney’s Annual report. Cars 2 will only be Pixar’s second sequel (the other being for Toy Story–three comes out this year to!) and is scheduled for a Summer 2011 release. Last September, the British Publication Empire brought us more details about Cars 2, including its plot:

Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), his pit team and new pit boss Mater head around the world for the Race of Champions, to take place in five different countries and involve the champions of different disciplines like Formula One and rally driving. First up is a race in Tokyo, starting at Mount Fuji and heading downtown; then there’s a German race through the Black Forest; then “Porto Corsa” in Italy, which is based partly on the Monte Carlo Grand Prix; then a 24-hour race around Paris (so somewhat like Le Mans then) and finally a thrilling climax in London, approaching Buckingham Palace (where the guards appear to be Land Rovers).

Cars is probably (by far) my least favorite of the Pixar films, but no question the kids love it! Also, “least favorite Pixar” is close enough to meaning better than everything else except the rest of Pixar catalog. Cars 2 is being directed by Brad Lewis (who produced Ratatouille!)

American Idol boss Simon Cowell has been collecting all star musicians/celebs to take part in a We Are the World-esque performance of REM’s “Everybody Hurts”. It’s being reported that Cyrus is joining a line-up that already reportedly features Michael Buble, Rod Stewart, Cheryl Cole, Kylie Minogue, Leona Lewis, Take That, Robbie Williams, James Blunt, James Morrison, Jon Bon Jovi and Mariah Carey. Cowell with produce the performance that will benefit the recent tragic occurrences in Haiti. I want to note that this is a report coming from UK publications, and sometimes they can be a tiny bit sketch (but I’d imagine not about something like this!).

The song is in various stages of completion with some of the artists’ having already contributed to the track. “Everybody Hurts” was originally on REM’s 1992 album Automatic for the People (which between you and me was their best album).

Disney/Pixar’s Up keeps adding to the trophy case! Over the weekend at the Palladium in Hollywood, the latest offering from the Pixar took home the 2010 Producers Guild of America’s Award for Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures (must have used really small font on the trophy). Pixar basically can bank on having an annual award tour schedule and 2010 has been no different!

Just a couple of days ago we told you that Up garnered multiple BAFTA nominations, and has already taken home a couple of Golden Globes, People’s Choice, and Critics’ Choice Awards.

That’s it?

Nope. It was also chosen by Ebert and AFI as a Top 10 Film of the year, and took home National Board of Review and Annie honors.

Not a bad year and they are coming back this year with Toy Story 3!

Last week, Variety reported that legendary director Martin Scorsese may be eyeing adapting the award winning kids book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and went as far as to say it may even be his next project.

The book was written by Brian Selznick in 2007, and won Randolph Caldecott Medal for children’s fiction the following year. It was published by Scholastic Press. GK Films is set to independently produce a live-action feature of the picture book and is reportedly in discussions with several studios including Sony and Paramount about distribution. Shooting is scheduled to start on June 1st in London. I did some searching and found the book trailer and a rather lengthy interview the author did with Reading Rockets and embedded them below.

Book Synopsis – Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo’s dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

So for Hot New Releases I will not repeat what I have already talked about last week, so you have to keep up with these posts if you really want to get a feel for what is going on.   Plus I am mostly going to touch on what I personally think is pretty cool.  Please shop Toys using the BSCkid account to give something back as well.

LEGO Star Wars Rebel Trooper Battle Pack 8083 by LEGO – it just makes sense that LEGO and Star Wars just top the charts, this particular pack has the rebels, and for me and kids, last weeks Snow Trooper pack just looked a bit cooler.  That being said, you have to have some good and some bad guys to have a true battle.

Topps Club Penguin CardJitsu Fire Trading Card Game Series 3 Value Deck by Disney - I never got into card games, but this one looks interesting.  Last time we were in Disney we got to see a lot of Club Penguin stuff was going on.

Ty Beanie Baby – Alvin – Alvin and the Chipmunksby Ty – I am kind of surprised to see so many of the Ty Alvin and the Chipmunks on the top 100 Hot New Releases, but I guess it makes sense with the movie that came out. 

Two colors of the Bakugan Carry Case – Clearby Bakugan – made the list today and my 6 year old is still really really into Bakugan so that is no surprise.

Melissa & Doug Sticker Collection – Fashion by Melissa & Doug – Glad to see this on the list, I love Melissa & Doug toys as they put out quality stuff.  This sticker collection is probably pretty darn cool if you have a girl in the family.  I will be able to tell you about that soon, but as of now it is still just 2 boys.

The list is still very heavy with Zhu Zhu Pets toys as well, just in case you thought that fad was over.

Justin Bieber and Usher Raymond recently did an interview with the Q100 radio station (The Bert Show if that means anything to you) in Atlanta and we have about 20 minutes of it below for you to check out!

It’s going to be a busy next month for Justin, as earlier this month we told you that Justin would be a presenter at the Grammy Awards at the end of the month. Then next month he will be hosting Pop-Con with Selena Gomez and storming the Superbowl Fan Jam on February 4th-5th!

Enjoy!!

If my husband has his favorite game of game night in Feed the Kitty!, I have mine in The Story Telling Game by iplay.  This is a game that I picked up at their annual toy sale which they have at their warehouse in NJ.  My five year old son chose it to play for this week’s game night.  It was such a hit that the boys (4 and 6 years old) wanted to play again the next night too.

Make up silly stories using picture cards and your imagination!

For a mother of two boys with distinct personalities this game works for us on two levels.  Our 6 year old enjoys competition and having a goal in a game.  The Story Telling Game accomplishes that by having a winner and the goal of getting rid of your cards while telling the story.  While my 4 year old is creative a big talker, so he loves the telling of the story.  From an educational point of view there are many things I love about The Story Telling Game.  Before we get into that though, let me give you a quick overview of how the game is played.  First, 5 cards are dealt to each player (there are 150 cards total) and the youngest player will start the story by laying down a card and using that card as the basis to the start of the story.  We start the sand timer at that point.  The next player must say the first part of the story while using the cards in their hand to add to the story.  This continues until the sand in the timer runs out.  If you are telling the story while the sand runs out you have to take all the cards in the story.  Also, if you cannot tell the story correctly when it is your turn you also have to take the cards.  Once the round is complete a new story is started until one player has used all of their cards.  We gave our boys a little leeway in the telling of the story, especially the 4 year old.  Surprisingly, he did much better at this game than we originally though and had a blast doing so.

Skills used and developed in this game include;  memorization, creative thinking, and expressive language.  Each card also has 3 languages on it (English Spanish, and French), so you can teach your child another language while playing.  The cards have a nice large picture of the item so that reading is not required to play for younger children.

The horse was eating an apple while the dog was barking in the background as we started the car to take the bird to the magic show where the magician was pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

That might be an example of a round in the game.  The only suggestion  I might make for some of the younger children is removing some of the cards that might create a scary story.  I know that our 4 year old did not like when the witch card was played.  It probably didn’t help that my husband used it in the following way

. . the scary witch snuck up from behind and . . .

iplay has a real hit on it’s hand in our household.  As both a mother of two and former teacher, I give The Story Telling Game two thumbs up!

Note:   We use the rules as a guideline for our family, we may change the game rules a bit to accommodate all family members, we will try to note this when possible.