Top Green Gifts for Earth Day 2009 (continued)

Second Grade: Schoolhouse Is it arts and crafts or creative play? This paintable schoolhouse is both! Wholesome fun with an environmental mission, the easily assembled cardboard toy features a lively classroom, a recycling center, and a roof stacked with solar panels. Because it's made from partially recycled corrugated board, when your child has finally grown out of it, you can recycle the entire thing. The only part that isn't recyclable is the non-toxic water-color set, which conforms to all testing standards. Every part of the product is made in the United States, and the company focuses on e-commerce and dropship programs to lesson their carbon footprint. For an extra boost of social consciousness, the toys are made by Panhandle Special Needs, Inc. in Sandpoint, Idaho, which provides employment to people with special needs. (Imagination Box, $35) Where to buy

Alpha Animals Animal lovers of all ages will enjoy this tricky trivia game, which features a spiral gameboard made of 100% recycled materials and six fair trade wooden animal pieces, hand-carved in Kenya. Start on the letter A, roll the die, then name an animal, fish, bird, reptile, or insect that starts with the letter. If you're right, you move on to the letter B, and get one step closer to the series of animal kingdom questions in the stack of trivia cards. But beware: these aren't your typical animal quick facts, and parents as well as kids may find themselves stumped by questions such as "What is a marmot most closely related to: antelope, fox, squirrel or weasel?". The game can also be modified into a "Tiger Cub" game for younger children. A roaring good time! (Green Board Games, $28.99) Where to buy

Recycled Crafts Box Book by Laura C. Martin If one person's trash is another's treasure, then this book is overflowing with gold! Filled with fantastic ideas for transforming your family's heap of garbage into an endless stream of craft supplies, it teaches kids to look at "useless" things in a whole new light. From stilts made from empty paint cans to dolls created from plastic yogurt cups, laundry soap jug guitars to cardboard castles, there are ideas galore here. In between all the crafting, kids get a history of trash and some non-preachy insight on how the invention of disposable items like razors and paper towels got us into this mess in the first place. Craft-tastic! (Storey Publishing, $10.95) Where to buy

 Check out last year's Top Ten Green Toys for Earth Day.