However, when I saw the options of books that were available, my face couldn’t contain the smile. The available books are divided into special occasions and age groups, so there is something for everyone.

As soon I saw the book, “The Monster at the End of this Book” I knew that was the book I wanted to do.  It had been my daughter’s favorite book when she was a child and this book was going to be for her son, Keegan. I could already picture myself reading it to Keegan over and over as I had his mom.

My initial contact with the company representative came in the way of  an email offereing my choice of 3 books to review in Keegan’s age category. The one that I wanted was not among the three and my enthusiasm ebbed a little. I wrote to my contact, Lauren, and she immediately replied that I could do the book of my choice and she would have a voucher issued for that book. 

In fact, every time I had a question, Lauren responded immediately. She was an excellent representative of the company. Once I had my book ordered, it arrived within 2 weeks and is every bit as wonderful as I imagined. 

The entire process was very simple and took less than 15 minutes to complete. I chose a book, uploaded the picture of my choice and typed in the text I wanted on the front page. You can choose the color of the text as well as the size.

The book arrived and it is a hardcover keepsake, the pages were glossy, thick paper that are 8.5 X 11 in size.  It is truly going to be a book that will be enjoyed time and time again and I would highly recommend this company. This recommendation comes not only for their product and prompt customer service, but for the memories that will come from using their product.

Now, I’ve got a book to go read to a very special grandson!

Written by Perri, a homeschooling mom of 6 kids – 2 that are grown and out of the house and 4 younger ones who help wreck and clean the house. Perri also has two precious grandchildren. She spends a lot of time doing ministries with her church, volunteering in the community and baking a mean cheesecake. She blogs about her family’s life at My Life in Bits & Pieces.

To enter leave a comment on this giveaway post telling us what child in your life could really use this toothbrush. Entries will be accepted through October 5, 2009 at midnight (C.S.T.) and the winner will be selected using Random.org. Only residents living the U.S. or Canada may enter.

You can receive a second entry by blogging about the contest (linking to it) or becoming a fan of Props & Pans on Facebook. Just e-mail us with a live link or let us know you have it posted on your site.

You do not need a blog to enter, just leave us your e-mail address so that we may contact you. As always, it is Props & Pans policy NOT to distribute any information you give us (including your e-mail). Thanks for entering!

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Philips created the power toothbrush for kids ages 4-10 and actually took into consideration the challenges parents face in getting kids to brush their teeth. Our son loved the design and that he could switch out the face plates which came with the brush to pick the design he liked best. The handle has two gripping locations and two age-appropriate brush heads – both accommodate different ages. It is rechargeable and sits on a small base. I like the size because it doesn’t take up a lot of room on your bathroom counter.

The best part is the KidPacer^® technology that provides music tones which indicate when the child should move on to brushing the next section of their mouth. In the past our son has had trouble remembering to brush in the back for more than one second. Now his toothbrush encourages him to brush for an appropriate amount of time and he finds it to be a fun game.

Another positive addition that Philips included is Kidtimer^® which helps children reach the recommended 2 minute brushing time by slowly increasing the KidPacer^® tones over a 90 day period.

Ethan has been using the Sonicare for Kids^® toothbrush now for over a month and the results have been excellent thus far! His teeth are certainly cleaner and the difference has been easy to see. He finds brushing to be more of a game than a chore and he’s actually excited to use it. For just under $70 on Amazon.com I give this toothbrush big props for all the extras it offers that are geared towards kids.

Written by Emily, who is a married working mother of a very energetic 7 year old son. Last year they moved to the country to live on a rock road. Emily was stuck with dial-up internet for 13 months and kissed the installation guy who recently put in high speed at their house. She writes at her personal blog, Fenicle and loves to review new things.

I’m sure you can guess what it does just by the title and looking at it. The Moo Mixer moos every time you mix your chocolate milk of course. There is a trigger button that activates the internal whisk that runs on 2 AA batteries (which are not included). One plus is that the tumbler is dishwasher safe.

This would be a cute gift for young kids who love chocolate milk or that crazy aunt who’s obsessed with collecting cows. Either way you can give the gift of a bellowing moo for under $13!

So when we got the MY FIRST UNO deck from Fundex Games I was pretty excited. It’s a smaller deck with bigger cards which are perfect for little hands. He’s a little big for the Yo Gabba Gabba characters (can we get some Power Rangers?) but still, he is familiar with the characters and it wasn’t boring to him.

The rules are slightly altered for little guys as well. Only five cards in your hand vs. seven and a couple of other very minor alterations that keep the game moving and keep things simple for the wee ones.

Fundex Games makes a large line of great family games including some oldies but goodies that I thought were gone forever – GNIP GNOP anyone? They also carry a large assortment of Yo Gabba Gabba merchandise if you have any big DJ Lance fans in your house.

We had a great time and he picked up on the rules and how to play within the first hand. I’m giving this fun, family time activity a huge prop!

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 5 year old boy and 3 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.

There are two rather distinct halves to Boogie SuperStar. The singing is the easiest for competitors to grasp and you sing the words in time with the lyrics being shown on screen. That is not complex, but the dancing is much more difficult to master. There are various moves you must perform such as the hand bike (what exactly is that move?).

You can play with many players and mix up singing and dancing. I was at a major disadvantage playing it because there was only one song I had heard, but that’s because I am a loser. I know that many of these songs are very popular to girls who still read Teeny Bopper magazine (remember the days?). I still had a lot of fun playing it, and the husband even busted out a few dance moves and songs. We had a great time with it, and now I’m going to pass it on to a little girl I know who I’m sure will have an even better time with it. Especially if she has a slumber party.

It’s a prop from me, and a BIG prop if you have pre-teen/teenage girls.

Written by Andi, who teaches local high school students about abstaining from sex. She has also had two kids in 16 months. Andi’s husband thinks she needs to practice what she preaches. You can read about her adventures (or misadventures) in motherhood at her personal blog, Parenting 101.

I’m pleasantly surprised after reviewing the new Robeez 2008 Fall Collection of soft-soled shoes! Honestly, I’ve always stayed away from purchasing the Robeez brand because of the price and instead went for other types of soft-soled shoes. However, now that I’ve actually used them and compared them; I realize just how different the Robeez are.

I really like them a lot! They’re incredibly soft on my daughter’s feet and they don’t leave any elastic marks around her ankles (and we have had issues with this). So far I haven’t noticed the toes getting scuffed up from so much crawling either.

The selection is great, and not just for girls. It’s hard to find adorable boys shoes, but they have everything from animals, sports and music to your classic loafers and more. Of course the girls selection includes shoes with ribbons, hearts and bows. Plus they have the classic Mary Jane’s and just about everything else you’re looking for. The new fall collection is superb as there is truly something for everyone.

You can’t go wrong with soft-soled shoes. Robeez is approved by the American Podiatric Medical Association and recommended for baby feet; don’t miss out on these great shoes. I’ve certainly changed my opinion on them.

Written by Andrea, who is a stay at home Catholic wife and mother. She strives daily to perfect her vocation as wonderfully as possible. Andrea has two young children and hopes someday to have more. Her interests stem from being a mother and living her faith. She blogs for fun about things that interest her at Momma In Flip Flops.

When I first discovered the Haba toy line I knew I was on to something. Not only are they lead free and non-toxic, but they are also educational, developmental and creative. Plus children are able to work through problem solving on their own.

I purchased this Marble Track for my son at Christmas and it is his favorite present. In fact, he asks to play with it everyday. My brother got the Ski Jump to add to the bottom of the track, and he loves to launch the marbles off onto the hardwood floor and chase them through the house.

My son is 4.5 years old and developmentally delayed with both fine motor skills and gross motor skills, and he has a visual processing disorder. This toy is perfect for him because he has to construct a three-dimensional track using his fine motor skills and visual perception (alright it’s my fine motor and visual perception…he just likes to zoom the marbles).

All of the Marble Track components are made from unfinished, solid wood and made in Germany. Haba’s large selection of toys are worth taking a glance at.

Written by Marcie, a full-time mom and wife, a part time writer, and a Chicago native. You can find Marcie at My Two Boys, A Child Chosen, Discussing Autism, and Chicago Moms Blog where she writes about adoption, special needs, and about living life in both worlds.

What’s not fun about a name like Wiggity Bang Games? The name alone is fun to say and after reviewing a few of their new games I can honestly say they are even more fun to play! They recently introduced Whizizzle Phonics (another cute name) which is a line of card games aimed at helping kids ages 4 and up learn words.

I tried this out with our 5 year old who just completed pre-k and has learned most of the sounds of words and he loved it. The Whizizzle game comes in two sets, games 1-2-3 and 4-5-6. As you increase levels, the phonics builds upon what you went through in the previous game. For instance, in level 1 the game focused on short vowel sounds and level 2 concentrated on long vowel sounds. We are working our way through level 3 right now and I’m amazed at his attention span while playing this game. It is more unique than traditional flashcards because it concentrates on using sight, sound and color.

The other fun new game we got to try was FlapDoodle, a family-fun board game for ages 6 and up. Our entire family played this together and what we loved is that the game encouraged us to be creative. So often we cruise through the day on auto-pilot and forget we even have an imagination. With FlapDoodle players move ahead when they draw a card and complete the task. One task might be to answer a crazy question like, “If you could build a house out of any material what would it be?”

At first I found the tasks to be childish and silly, but after jumping up and down and singing, ‘I’ve got ants in my pants and they want to dance!’ I was even laughing at myself. The key to FlapDoodle is to unwind and have fun. There are all kinds of obstacles and the first player to make it through the FlapDoodle factory wins.

I give this game huge props for bringing the family together in a way that lets them have fun, use their creativity and learn new things about each other.

Written by Emily, who is a married working mother of a very energetic 5 year old son. They reside in Southern Indiana (a little too close to the Kentucky border). Someday she’d like to visit Intercourse, PA and have her picture taken with the welcome sign. She writes at her personal blog, Fenicle and loves free samples and trying new things!

My children were recently given a selection of puzzles from the Great American Puzzle Factory, which is part of Fundex Games. Imagine our delight when we opened the boxes of the Make’em Move puzzles to find that they have wheels that turn as well as other pieces of each scene that move. On the race car puzzle the driver’s scarf flows in the wind and the checkered flag waves in the winner.

The fire truck’s ladder moves so you can pretend you’re climbing up and down and the bell moves. You can find something for every child’s interest. The great thing about these is that after your make your puzzle, you have something to play pretend with!

All of their puzzles have nice, large pieces which lock together easily for little hands. This makes putting them together fun and not frustrating for little ones who are just learning.

And I noticed at the Fundex Games website that they have brought back JARTS! JARTS! I am so buying some Jarts this summer! I’ll introduce my family to some real fun. All the puzzles are great and I give them props!

Written by Gidge, who is a mother of a 5 year old boy and 3 year old twin boys. A transplanted Hoosier, die-hard Colts fan and professional call center manager, she likes long walks on the beach, penguins and playing ping-pong. Her turn-ons include sleep and silence. Read all about her life here.