“Moxie Girlz Art-titude Dollpack – Sasha”

My daughter keeps asking for this—and, no ladies, my daughter is not “manipulating” me (y’all are telling me a whole lot about your fathers).

Let me be specific: my daughter is asking for a Moxie girl doll (she even carried around a ragged expired coupon to help me get one). My choice on my daughter’s behalf is “Sasha.”

“MasterPieces Mysteries of the Pyramids 3D Pyramid Puzzle 365 Pieces”

Since my daughter is supposed to be educated in the classics (the African ones at her imaginative core)—and I say ‘supposed’ because I do not consider her progress satisfactory, this puzzle is meant for my daughter literally put her ancestral core back together.

In the same manner that young, middle-class American families in the 1950s valued learning Greek and Latin (Roman), touching on The Old Kingdom should be considered fundamental for serious African-feeling peoples.

“Ravensburger The Solar System—Set of 8 puzzleballs”

My youngest son should have this (he really doesn’t need any stereotypical toys because he has tons, seriously). what he really needs is more of my time—like we need to go camping or something.

“50" Hi Performance Nylon Glider: Green Fractal by X-Kites”

What my youngest son teaches me is that being a father is physical. This big-ass glider is a promise to this kid that I’m going to get my old ass out into a field and fly this thing with this boy.

This aircraft is also a reminder to me and my son that his grandfather, my father, was a licensed pilot. So model airplanes is something very special to me.

“The Last Airbender—Appa Deluxe Figure”

My daughter went crazy over the Last Airbender movie and the DVD series. But these air-bender toys should actually shared between the two children. However, my youngest two children have two different mothers—so now you know what kind of “evil” man I am (and I’ll see you church next Sunday).

So my daughter should keep the toys with her since she has an order of magnitude fewer toys than her brother.

Warning from a fellow consumer: “As soon as she got this toy she was [disappointed] with it. Its hard to fit Aang into the seat, its small in general, and the face looks terrible.”

“The Last Airbender 3-3/4" Figures Aang”

My daughter often calls her brother “Aang,” casting him in the role, often against his will. So I’m pretty sure this will work out for her very well—until she starts pining for the rest of the action figures.

Tip: don’t buy the “Aang” “spirit-mode” doll just get the figure here and ‘encourage’ your child to make that glider he flies around with…

“Ravensburger Illustrated World Map—240 Piece puzzleball”

This purchase seems to be a hit… only time will tell… what is important about this globe is that there is no “correct” rotational axis, normal to the equator (placing Europe on top of Africa). Also there are no political boundaries.

“Ghost in the Shell W.H.A.M. 1/24 Scale Tachikoma—Metal Finish Version With Ishikawa”

Like, I’ve been saying: getting toys for my youngest son is a challenge. This one from Japan, inspired by the Ghost in the Shell TV series (not the film), worked out well.

“Darice Chalkboard—Black”

This is one of these gifts that often vanish from the hands of my children. Sometimes I feel like I’m supplying the ’hood with educational gear (which fine with me—what is not fine is adults taking these tools from the children).

Me having more rapt attention from my children would have made this item more effective for my little ones for many years (instead of just a few). I’ll keep trying.

Such attention comes from both parents keeping the same standard of behavior—even happy couples in the suburbs can command such attention spans from their brood.

“Wild Planet Explorer Ops Survival Watch”

I got two of these for my kids. This children’s tool had mixed results. I think I got these for my little ones when they were too little. The mothers, not being madly in love with me (for “obvious” reasons) and failing to understand the value of things coming from me (more of a subconscious, ironically childish thing from these ladies—none of these mother’s, by the way, are younger than me), seem to let these items slip away from the children. I’ll keep trying.