It’s not an exaggeration to say, “They grow up so fast!”  Every day with a baby brings something new—an expression, a gesture, and most certainly a funny sound. Karyn Siegel-Maier’s Happy Baby, Happy You shares ideas and tips on playing, learning and nurturing your young one. From setting up a natural nursery to making your baby to giggle from silly games, this book will help you build memories and raise a confident, relaxed child.

Babies are ready to join the family at the dinner table as soon as they are old enough to sit without support. So even if eating solid foods is still a spectator sport, here are a few tips on how to make the experience safe and enjoyable for them.

• Make sure your high chair is certified by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA). This should be identified by a seal on the packaging or on the chair itself.
• Always make full use of the restraining belts and straps when your baby is in the high chair. Chairs with removable trays make cleanup easier and will allow you to simply pull up the chair up to the table sans the tray when baby is older.
• Never leave your baby unattended in a high chair.
• Don’t use bibs that tie around the neck; they present a possible choking hazard. Instead use bibs with snaps or Velcro tabs that you can easily pull free.
• Older siblings often enjoy helping to spoon-feed their younger brother or sister, but they’ll need supervision to make sure too much food isn’t being put into the baby’s mouth at once.
• For babies moving onto solid food, introduce one new food at a time and watch for signs of allergy, such as diarrhea, rashes or respiratory problems. The general rule is to let five days elapse between introducing different food items.
• Baby’s first spoon for self-feeding should be made from PVC-free plastic, since metal can irritate gums and new teeth.  A curved handle allows little hands to get a firm grasp and reduces the risk of a poke to the eye, nose or nearby sibling.
• Before the age of three, don’t give baby items such as nuts, raisins, pieces of hard fruit, raw vegetable sticks, and nut butters, which pose a choking hazard.

It’s practically creepy how quickly Halloween came around this year. Luckily, Megan Nicolay,  author of Generation T: Beyond Fashion and Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt, is on hand with some quick and easy costume solutions.

You’ve got a whole week to put together a Halloween costume, but if your procrastination skills are anything like mine, you’ll still be wanting for that perfect costume accessory come Friday night (or Saturday afternoon, even?). And who has the time or resolve to battle the last-minute chaos and crowds at costume stores? Here are two super-cool, super-quick, no-sew projects from Generation T: Beyond Fashion that you can make with old T-shirts from your closet—so you can whip up a homemade Halloween costume on the fly. Speaking of fly…

How about a superhero cape? Superheroes are always fun (make a mask, too!), but this cape could also transform you into a dashing Dracula, a mister mysterioso magician, or even crowned royalty! Let the cape be your statement or personalize your look with some fabric markers or iron-on letters.

If you’re trying to channel some warmer weather with your costume, how about this fringe dance skirt? Pair it with a bikini top (which you can actually make using project #49 from Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt) or other tropical attire and you’re ready for a luau. Aloha!

For more T-shirt transformation ideas, check out www.generation-t.com!

–Megan Nicolay

Benjamin Franklin once said, “The noblest question in the world is what good may I do in it?” And many of us have the impulse to “do good,” but don’t really know where to start, who to contact, and what is needed. Nicole Bouchard Boles’ How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist, shows you how to help others on a daily basis – without having to donate millions or become a full-time volunteer.

She explains how to use your talents, trash, family, computers, and community to contribute to a cause, along with the names and websites of organizations to contact. Maybe you can start by cleaning out your cluttered closets and donating no-longer-needed belongings to one of the groups below:

Be a Fairy Godmother: The Glass Slipper Project (glassslipperproject.org) collects new and gently worn formal wear and accessories for girls who could not otherwise afford prom night finery.  Check out similar organizations like Fairy Godmothers, Inc. (fairygodmothersinc.com), Cinderella Project (cinderellaproject.net), and Becca’s Closet (BeccasCloset.org).

Give the Gift of Sight: Breathe new life into your old eyeglasses and pass them onto one of the 1 billion people around the world who need glasses but can’t afford them. OneSight (onesight.org), New Eyes for the Needy (neweyesfortheneedy.org) and Unite for Sight (uniteforsight.org) are a few organizations that help facilitate the donation process.

Send Toys Abroad: Operation Give (operationgive.org) distributes supplies and toys to civilians in combat zones; The Orphans of War Campaign (orphansofwarcampaign.org) collects toys and soccer balls for Iraqi children who have lost their parents; Beanies for Baghdad (beaniesforbaghdad.com) sends used Beanie Babies and other toys to children in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo, and SAFE (Stuffed Animals for Emergencies) (stuffedanimalsforemergencies.org) collects gently used toys to be redistributed to emergency personnel and organizations to help kids cope in difficult situations.

Books For Schools: Reader to Reader (readertoreader.org) is a national organization that brings gently used (and new) books to schools and libraries in need across the United States.

Trade Some Tools: Help people become self-reliant by donating old tools to the U.K.-based Tools for Self Reliance Program (tfsr.org), or Habitat for Humanity (habitat.org) is also always looking for screwdrivers, saws, shovels and rakes.

Don’t Forget the Pets!: Pet food is easily overlooked when donating to food banks, but when people are struggling to provide for themselves, they are often struggling to provide for their pets. To find specific locations for animal food banks, head to SaveOurPetsFoodBank.org.

Freecycle: The Freecycle Network (freecycle.org) is a large community of people across the U.S. and Canada devoted to reusing items and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Everything listed on the site must be free for the taking.

Some people think that wholesome playtime for kids is akin to buying organic–that in order to really “get the really good stuff” and provide your child with the best in playtime nutrients,  it’s going to cost you. On the contrary, there are many clever ways to keep your child’s mind and body active that use materials you may already have around the house (and if you don’t, can easily get at a 99-cent store)!

I recently asked Bobbi Conner, author of Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun. to share a handful of fun ways to play on the cheap. She recommends going with what you already have (since you’re likely sitting on a treasure trove of toys for your young ones): Do you have a laundry basket? Muffin tin?  Paper bag? How about a box of pasta? Always keep safety in mind, and let the playtime begin:

#1. One Giant Floor Drawing

You will need: large sheets of drawing paper (or butcher block paper), invisible tape, and crayons. To do: Cover your kitchen floor with big sheets of paper. Use invisible tape to hold the paper in place. Challenge your child to use crayons to draw a HUGE drawing or create a “village”—with roads, houses, a river and trees.  When the village is drawn—add a few toy cars to drive through the town!

#2. Lunch Bag Puppet Show

You will need: paper lunch bags, nontoxic markers, scrap paper,  scissors, and glue. To do: For young preschoolers, parents can cut circles (for eyes) and any other desired facial features or accessories (noses, ears, hats, and so on). Glue or draw the parts of the puppet on the bag and then show your children how to manipulate the puppet by placing your hand inside the bag to make the puppet head move and “talk.” They can tell a story with their puppets, sing a song, or put on a puppet show.

#3. Kitchen Table Fort

You will need: several flat sheets, and some toys and props for pretend play. To do: Drape the sheets over the kitchen table or a series of chairs and let the kids haul their toys and books and pillows inside the homemade lair for hours of pretend play.  The game could involve a “camp-out” (maybe a parent can make s’mores in the kitchen!) or a pretend library or school.

#4. Macaroni Mix-Up

You will need: assorted uncooked pasta shapes like ziti, elbows, bow-tie; a  muffin tin; and a paper lunch bag.  To do: Pour ¼-cup of each pasta shape into the lunch bag and mix it up. Challenge your child to sit at the kitchen table and sort the pasta—all the elbows in one compartment of the muffin tin, all the ziti in another, bow-ties in a third, and so on. Preschoolers love to sort! Advanced version: Use tri-color pasta to practice color sorting.

#5. Coupons as Currency

You will need: an old wallet, coupons from the Sunday paper, an empty laundry basket, and canned or boxed foods from your kitchen or pantry. To do: Parents cut out the coupons and stuff them inside the wallet. Give your child a shopping cart (a.k.a. laundry basket) and line up the foods on the table or a low counter so he or she can pretend to be a shopper at the grocery store and “buy” groceries with coupons.

*And don’t forget, your local library is filled with lots of  free entertainment that won’t cost a dime! So whether you’re a parent or babysitter, bring on the next rainy day.

For more than 700 more play ideas for indoors and out, check out Bobbi Conner’s Unplugged Play!

Fred’s false teeth fell five hundred feet,
From the fifty-fourth floor onto 45th street,
Fred flagged a fleet florist,
With five ferns from the florist,
Who said, “Fred, now how will you eat?”

Can you say that five times fast? How about just once? The limerick tongue-twisters of Twimericks: The Book of Tongue-Twisting Limericks will have you flubbing words and switching syllables in nutty, poetic prose.

For games, puzzles, and a look behind the creation of Twimericks, visit Twimericks.com!

Everyone has their own special Sesame Street memories. I remember singing along with the Huey Lewis and the News-inspired lesson on shapes, “It’s Hip to Be A Square,” and my family watching the episode when Maria had her baby when I had a new sister on the way.

Today, things look a little different. Elmo has his own crayon-drawn world, and Cookie Monster has incorporated moderation and diversity into his diet, but the fun spirit of learning and clever songs are still there.

Sesame Street: A Celebration of 40 Years of Life on the Street by Louise A. Gikow takes you back through the memorable stories, songs, and characters, and shows kids how far the show has come over the past four decades. You’ll also get a look behind-the-scenes with photographs from the Sesame Workshop showing everything from the construction of Bert to the puppeteers busy at work on (and under) the set.  This book gives Sesame Street fans and collectors a fresh and unique look at Sesame Street’s captivating history, inside and out.

I pride myself on being on top of all of the latest things. I read four newspapers a day, multiple magazines a month and watch a lot of TV (probably far too much…). Bottom line: I try to be as informed as possible on everything possible.

Yet I only recently discovered the phenomenon that is Bananagrams! The creators call it “an anagram game that is so fast it will drive you bananas.”

All I can say is that this innocent appearing amusement – which consists of 144 letter tiles in a banana-shaped bag – is one of the most addictive games I have ever played.

And I’ve learned that I’m not alone. I started telling friends and colleagues about this amazing “new” game I’d found and they all laughed and said “Don’t you love it? I’m a huge fan.”

Well, now I finally have some news to break to them: there’s a new version of this ridiculously addictive past-time. Bananagrams! The Official Book has just arrived at a store near you.

The book has 575 word challenges to drive you … wait for it … bananas. They range from one banana (easy) to four bananas (hard). I have to admit even some of the one banana puzzles stumped me at first. But the more I did them the better I got. Now I even manage to get through some of the most challenging ones without taking a sneak peek at the answer key!

My advice: don’t come late to this new trend. Get a copy of Bananagrams! now.  Trust me. You’re sure to find it a–peel–ing. (Sorry – I couldn’t resist!)

Kristin Matthews
Director of Publicity

I spent yesterday with music and culture critic Jessica Hopper while she was in New York promoting The Girls’ Guide to Rocking.  A full day of radio and TV interviews ended at Barnes and Noble in Greenwich Village where more than 60 people of all ages showed up to support Jessica on one of the last stops of her multi-city tour.

Throughout the day, women kept thanking Jessica for writing the book they wished they’d had when they were growing up.  But plenty of guys—a cameraman and even Craig Finn from The Hold Steady—said her book would’ve helped them too, when they were first getting into music.

As a publicist, I’m always imagining a book’s audience, but it’s easy to forget the way a single person can be affected by reading something, even if that person is a lot like me.  Like lots of the women we met, when I was young and wanted to learn, someone said my hands were too small for the guitar.  I didn’t want to play piano like that person thought I should, so I just got obsessed with bands and songs and records instead.

Hearing young girls ask Jessica how they might know if they had musical talent or which instrument they should learn to play, or how they could get people to listen to their new band, or what they should do when learning their instrument starts to get really hard, I was reminded of the ways books can make a difference especially to young readers.

Read an excerpt from The Girls’ Guide to Rocking.

–Andrea Bussell, Senior Publicist, Workman Publishing

Celebrate the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11’s moon landing with these two experiments from The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science by Sean Connolly. Send a homemade rocket zooming off a kitchen launching pad with the Film Canister Rocket experiment, or have way too much fun with physics with the Tennis Ball Moon Bounce. Scroll down for instructions.

Want more Totally Irresponsible Science? Click here to watch the video.

Seems like theme parties are all the rage these days. From clothing swaps to friendly (or not so friendly!) iron-chef throwdowns, people are experimenting with creative ways to entertain on a leaner budget. Now it’s scissor time. Here’s Megan Nicolay, author of the Generation T book series, with a rundown on how to rip the seams out of your next birthday party or girls’ night.

Get ready:
Give your friends fair notice so they can dig deep into the back of their closets for good material! A few things you’ll need to attend to in preparation for your T-shirt refashioning rager:

-Invite all guests to bring a T-shirt or two from home (fitted or baggy, depending on the project they want to make).
-Familiarize yourself with a few no-sew projects from either of the books.

For refashioning beginners, I recommend these two projects from my first book, Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt
#2 Brokenhearted T-shirt, page 30
#16 Outerlace tank top, page 56

And these three projects from my new book, Generation T: Beyond Fashion: 120 New Ways to Transform a T-shirt
#1 Pinup Girl halter, page 28
#30 Pillow Talk knotted pillow, page 98
#101 Back in Action T-shirt, page 260

Get set:
In terms of materials, you can get by with providing the bare minimum: scissors and safety pins, but here’s a suggested list in case you want to have a whole spread.
-copies of the books (for guests to flip through in case there’s another project they have their heart set on)
-scissors (sharp ones, not the pair you’ve been cutting paper and cardboard with for the past 3 years)
-chalk
-safety pins or 1″ round punk pins/band buttons
-ruler (or other straightedge, if making Brokenhearted tee)
-stuffing (if making Pillow Talk pillow)

Get extra credit:
Make a DIY playlist, mix your tee with some tea, or make a paper runway–whatever puts you in the par-tee mood. And don’t forget to charge your camera battery!
-Play some tunes
-Serve some iced tea to go with your Tee Party
-Have an impromptu fashion show
-Take pictures!!

Go:
-Get your craft on.
-Get your party on.
-Take home the best party-favor ever: a one-of-a-kind, made-by-you design!

P.S. Megan’s blog has lots of pics of some of the tee parties she’s been hosting while on tour.