Category: for 9-year-olds

  • Backyardigans

    [amazon_link asins=’B001NGPLA4,B003MEBTYW,B003P5GDM6,B003PVBJL0′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’47b9e070-40bd-11e7-9175-efbf230205ba’] This is a Nick Jr. cartoon that was very popular with our kids. The music is particularly good. 5 animal friends play together with a different theme (Egypt, under-the-sea, space, cowboy, etc.) each episode. The friends take turns being the ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’ and the overall tone…

  • Robot Turtles board game

    [amazon_link asins=’B00HN2BXUY’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’e6f31b11-3fe2-11e7-ac5f-47259560c847′] This is a clever game that got a lot of media attention when it came out, touting its ability to teach STEM concepts, specifically logical thinking. The box says for ages 4 and up but I don’t think 4-year-olds are able to grasp all the rules of the game,…

  • LEGO Life magazine

    LEGO has a free magazine that comes out 5 times per year. In some ways the thing is one huge ad, but the puzzles and activities (mazes, code-breaking, etc.) are pretty fun and our 6-year-old looks forward to it coming in the mail. The cost is free, but you do have to sign up for…

  • Ask magazine

    [amazon_link asins=’B0160CLMWQ’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’69160609-3fde-11e7-b716-27b6d77d64cf’] I had never heard of Ask until we got it as a gift. It’s somewhat in the same vein as Ranger Rick, but with a much snarkier tone. There is Marvin, a raccoon character in Ask, but unlike Rick, Marvin is a bit of a jerk. There are no…

  • Wallace and Gromit

    [amazon_link asins=’B003V8II2A,6303521517,B002RZ0V6E,B003V8IH26′ template=’ProductGrid’ store=’matchstickkidboo’ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’8d406508-3fd9-11e7-98d4-7d9ab68c2887′] I remember seeing “A Grand Day Out” at an animation festival around 1990, and then seeing “The Wrong Trousers” and “A Close Shave” a few years later. I was so thrilled by them (not least by the incredible chase scenes toward the end of ‘Trousers’ and ‘Shave’) that I…

  • Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

      Calvin and Hobbes ran as a daily newspaper comic strip from November 1985 and November 1995. It was an essential part of my childhood and manages to resonate with children and adults today. Watterson did not have children during the time he was writing the strip, yet showed real insight into the dynamic between…