GIFT GUIDE 2007
Fifth Grade Gifts
Gifts for a 10-Year-Old or 11-Year-old
From toys that stand the test of time to board games that are anything but boring, we found the best fifth grade products for a ten-year-old or eleven-year-old. Our list of loot is kid-tested, teacher approved, and full of options for any family, so get wrappin'!
World Almanac Puzzler Decks
You've probably heard of the World Almanac. Well, the veritable tome just got a major facelift, transforming it from an unwieldy, though admittedly useful doorstop, into a set of kids' puzzler decks that are seriously fun.
The Hidden Grail: Sir Percival and the Fisher King
It's unlikely that your kids have ever listened to a bard in action. Enter Odds Bodkin, a world-renowned storyteller equipped with harp and 12-string guitar. This CD, based on the King Arthur legends, is the story of a sheltered boy who grows up in the woods, with only his mother for company. When ...
Fractiles — 7
Symmetry is a beautiful thing, and it's also a great lesson in geometry. That's what makes this magnetic tiling toy such a must-have. This refreshing set of manipulatives includes 96 magnetic tiles in yellow, red and blue, and a steel magnetic activity board. The tiles three shapes are types of ...
Blokus
Deceptively simple in appearance, Blokus is an addictive game of strategy and spatial reasoning. Resembling a 3-D game of Tetris, the playing board is a simple grid onto which players fit differently shaped tiles as they spread their pieces towards the center of the board. The catch? Each of your ...
Cirque du Soleil
Hopefully, your child has been receiving a good helping of the arts at school, along with his reading, writing, and 'rithmatic. More and more, though, it falls to parents to fill in the gaps. Fifth grade is a prime year to wow your child with a live performance, and Cirque du Soleil could be just ...
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
In this children's classic, 12-year-old Claudia Kincaid decides to teach her parents a lesson by running away from home. After researching the matter thoroughly, she settles on the Metropolitan Museum of Art as the perfect hideaway, and drags her little brother Jamie along for the ride. What ...
The Dark is Rising
This fantasy series melds adventure, magic, and myth in an epic battle between the powers of Light and Dark. Before there was Harry Potter, there was Will Stanton, the seventh son of a seventh son who discovers on his eleventh birthday that he is one of the Old Ones, dedicated to battling the ...
Speed Stacks
What, a wildly popular activity that kids are addicted to that's not a video game? That's right. It's called "sport stacking". And it involves "up stacking" and "down stacking" 12 specially designed cups into pyramid formations as fast as possible. There are international competitions aired on ...
Flip Video Camcorder
Have a budding movie-maker on your hands, but not sure you're ready to shell out big bucks for a camera? This camcorder is an affordable option and it's so easy to use, even a fifth grader can shoot video whenever the spirit moves him. There's no fancy footwork required here-- to record kids simply ...
Prang Brush Pens
Reminiscent of the supple brushes of Japanese calligraphers, these colorful art pens make perfect stocking stuffers for kids, whether or not they're artistically inclined. The smooth brush-like pen tips allow kids to vary their pen strokes from thin to fat by applying different amounts of pressure ...
"Princess Academy"
Miri may live within the walls of a kingdom, but she's anything but royal. Her family barely ekes out a living by working the local quarry-- hard and dangerous work. Then one day, news arrives of a prophesy stating the kingdom's new princess will come from her tiny village. All eligible girls are ...
The Marvelous and Fabulous Me Quiz Book
Is your daughter a perfectionist? A peacemaker? An introvert? This kit will help her find out. A fun take on the ever-popular personality test, which kids of this age group tend to love, this box packs in more than fifty quizzes to give girls insight into what makes them tick. Some of the quizzes, ...
Celestial Seeker: The Ultimate Star Finder
If you've ever tried to locate the constellations with your child on a pitch black night, fumbling with the guide book and a flashlight, you'll appreciate this great toolkit for stargazers. The Celestial Seeker is a handheld device illuminating twenty constellation transparencies with night vision ...
Bananagrams
If Scrabble's point system and competitiveness gets your little wordsmith down, this funky anagram game is the perfect alternative. Simple and portable, all you need is a flat surface and this set of ceramic tiles which comes in a banana-shaped canvas case. Players take tiles from the "bunch" which ...
Gobblet!
Our six-year-old product tester loved it, our nine-year-old product tester loved it, and then many of our elementary-aged product testers were up in arms because they couldn't pry the game away from the grown-ups. The beauty of this game is that it can be relatively easy to play and win, or, bump ...
River Crossing
A hiker wants to cross a scary river. Kids put down logs he can step on so he doesn't get chomped by gators. No problem, right? Wrong! This marvelous game of logic and spatial relations consists of a magnetized guy, a bunch of toy planks and tree stumps, and 40 "challenge cards" from ...
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