Posts Tagged ‘netflix’

We’re all familiar with a place where you rent books for free: It’s called the library, and there’s probably one in your kids’ school. But the library does have its limitations: it’s only open certain hours, you have to visit in person to get the books, and you can’t count on one particular volume being there, no matter how much you want to borrow the newest Rainbow Fairy book.

BookPig is the answer for voracious young readers. With plans ranging from $13 to $27 and kids able to hold onto 4 to 12 books at a time each month, swapping them out for others just like Netflix, BookPig will keep even the most ardent bookworms in printed matter. Also like Netflix, BookPig has an automatic recommendation engine: if you liked this, you’ll like that, that sort of thing.

But unlike Netflix, BookPig keeps track of your child’s reading level, making suggestions on target for her unique development. Kind of cool to watch your child progress from Winnie the Pooh to A Wrinkle in Time.

You’ve seen Hello Kitty socks and backpacks and stuffed dolls and change purses; keychains and barrettes and lunch boxes. But you’ve never heard her speak (in fact, in repose, Kitty has no mouth). Until now.

Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater was an animated show that aired for one season on CBS in 1987. It lives anew on Netflix Streaming, where the whole 13-episode season is available. The show takes on the “hey, kids, let’s put on a show!” conceit, with Kitty and her friends involved in stage productions of classic fairytales and movies: Pinocchio and Rumplestiltskin, Star Wars and Jaws. At the start of each 15-minute segment (two in each half-hour episode), the theater fills with animated animal patrons, as the show’s cast, including Kitty, horse around backstage. Then Kitty says “Once upon a meow” (ugh) and the show-within-a-show begins.

This ain’t Shakespeare. But the takeoffs of stories parents already know are cute and non-shrill enough to not annoy parents, and entertaining enough to while away a few hours for kids. There’s no violence, nothing scary, and very little else to worry parents, and with cuddly ‘n’ cute animal characters as protagonists, this should entertain a wide age range of kids, from four to eight.

As your baby whizzes through developmental stages, discarded toys litter your place like shrapnel. A greener option is BabyPlays Toy Rental Program, which works much like Netflix: you pay a monthly fee ($36.99-64.99), you pick toys to put in your queue, and then the UPS guy starts visiting your house with much greater frequency. You can hang on to toys as long as you like with no late fees, or ship duds back right away to be exchanged for ones your child might prefer. If it turns out your kid really loves a particular toy, you can even purchase it at a delightfully discounted price.

Feeling squeamish about your kid getting pre-drooled-upon playthings? No need. BabyPlays sanitizes toys each time they return back home.

Find out more at BabyPlays.com.