The fidget cube is likely the second best known type of fidget toy – second only to the fidget spinner. Widely available and immensely popular, the fidget cube is beloved by young and old alike.
What is it?
The fidget cube offers a variety of different types of fidgets attached to one cube. There are some varieties of the “fidget cube” which actually have more than six sides and offer even more fidgets. Different fidgets cubes generally include some combination of the following gadgets to keep your fingers busy:
Buttons
Disk
Gears
Joystick
Loop
Rotating / Spinning Disc
Sliding Blocks
Soft Button
Squishy Balls
Stress Ball
Switch
Tactile Massager
Worry Grove / Stone
Other
By including multiple options, fidget cubes offer something for everyone looking to fidget and numerous ways to cope. The physical manipulation of the fidgets can help to cope as can the soothing feel and the distraction that the fidget cube offers.
How Much Does it Cost?
Like their cousin the fidget spinner, the fidget cube comes in a variety of forms and varying quality levels. Most cubes though range from about $8 to about $15.
Our Review
Appeal Rating (3.5 Smiles)
We give the fidget cube an appeal rating of 3.5 out of 5 smiles. The fidget toys version of trying to be everything to everyone (or more precisely something to everyone), the fidget cube is an effective fidget and can offer several different coping options. That is the fidget cube’s biggest strength but can also be its biggest weakness. If you enjoy or benefit from one particular type of fidgeting, you would be better to get a fidget toy that focuses on that than a fidget cube that offers a bunch of options you will never use.
Durability Rating (3.5 Stones)
We give the fidget cube a durability rating of 3.5 out of 5 stones. While I have not personally experienced these breaking, I have read numerous reviews where one or more of the individual fidgets either broke, stopped working, or never worked in the first place.
Portability Rating (4 Bags)
We give the fidget cube a portability rating of 4 out of 5 bags. Some fidget cubes are bigger than others, but most of them are still small enough that they are easy to carry around. However, with various fidget possibilities sticking out from the cube, they can be hard to carry around in a pocket or easily get tangled up with headphone cords, etc.
Noise Rating (3.5 Decibles)
We give the fidget cube a noise rating of 3.5 out of 5 decibles. Many of the fidgets included on the cube work base on a click or a bang which can lead to a lot of noise (particularly in a quiet room)
Overall Rating (3.5 Fidgets)
We give the fidget cube an overall rating of 3.5 out of 5 stones. Some people really love the fidget cube which is evidenced by their sales over the last couple of years. They aren’t our favorite fidget, but they can be a good introduction to different types of fidgeting.
As fidget spinners burst on to the seen in the summer of 2017 (despite having been around for years), the squishy burst onto the popular culture scene in the Spring and Summer of 2018.
What is it?
The evolution of the stress ball, squishies are generally made of a slow rising foam that slowly retakes it original shape after being squished by its user. They come in all types of shapes and sizes including sports equipment, animals, food and much much more. They range in size from less than an inch to well over a foot.
I keep a soccer ball in my car that I can use while I am driving. The foam is sturdy enough to use it as a traditional ball and squishy enough to live up to its name. In addition to the slow rising forms, there are a number of other types of squishy fidgets that have a more rubbery feel. These, too, come in a variety of forms and sizes.
Squishy fidgets can represent a variety of different coping mechanism. The physical aspect of playing with and squeezing them relieves tension. Watching the foam slowly reform to its original shape is an effective distraction and is also soothing. Like other types of fidgets, they can draw a crowd thereby serving as a social fidget.
How Much Does it Cost?
You can get small and average size squishy toys in the range of approximately $5 to $10. You can find better deals if you are interested in buying several at the same time (in a bundle). Large squishy toys can cost in excess of $10.
Our Review
Appeal Rating (4.5 Smiles)
We give the squishy an appeal rating of 4.5 out of 5 smiles. Sometimes the simplest things are the most effective. There isn’t a whole lot to these squishy fidgets, but they are captivating. No matter how many times you squeeze it down to the smallest size you can manage, you will still be mesmerized watching it slowly retake its original form. Both fun and soothing, the squishy fidget can help to cope with all kinds of difficult emotions.
Durability Rating (4 Stones)
We give the squishy a durability rating of 4 out of 5 stones.By thier very nature, the squishy takes a lot of abuse. It’s hard to imagine any object lasting too long which is designed to be squeezed and manipulated like the squishy. Eventually, the print on the squishy will wear off, and foam doesn’t last forever. Think of that old nerf football you used as a kid – after a few years, there was no mistaking the fact that it was well used, but it still worked. The squishy is a lot like that. It might not look as pretty after a while, but it will still serve its purpose.
Portability Rating (4 Bags)
We give the squishy a portability rating of 4 out of 5 bags. Some of the smaller rubberized fidgets are small enough to fit in your pocket, but most of the foam fidgets are at least large enough that they wouldn’t be comfortable to carry around all day in your pocket. That said, they are made of foam and are extremely light, so if you have a bag you can carry a bunch of them.
Noise Rating (5 Decibles)
We give the squishy a noise rating of 5 out of 5 decibles. This one was easy – they’re made of foam. Kids will find ways to make noise with them (picture throwing them into a pile of metal spoons), but used the way they are intended, they make no noise and are the perfect fidget for a quiet room.
Overall Rating (4.5 Fidgets)
We give the squishy an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5 fidgets. My squishy soccer ball is one of the few fidgets that I keep handy and has become another personal favorite. Strangely addictive, immensely soothing and just down right fun, you can’t go wrong with the squishy in your fidget collection.
The Infinity Cube holds the distinction of being my favorite fidget toy to date. At first glance, it looks a little bit like the lesser known cousin of the Rubik’s Cube, and I didn’t think much of it when I first saw it. The real measure of a fidget toy though is how much you find yourself using it. From the first moment I picked up, the Infinity Cube has been my favorite, and I’ve yet to find another fidget that comes even close.
What is an Infinity Cube?
The Infinity Cube is a series of eight blocks hinged together in such a way that you can flip the blocks and change the shape of them over and over without stopping or back tracking. This ability to “keep going” gives rise to the “infinity” part of the name. If you’ve never used one, imagine a folded sheet of paper that you can continuously unfold over and over again without ever completely unfolding the paper
The infinity cube is both addicting and soothing as you manipulate the blocks using either one hand or two. When you first start using it, you will find yourself concentrating on how it works. This can be an effective coping mechanism as it diverts your attention from whatever you are dealing with. As you use it more and more though, you will get the feel of it and how it works and find yourself using it without even thinking about it. (I sometimes use mine while working on the computer – for example as I write this!) The sound of the blocks folding and unfolding as well as the constant motion in your hand can be very soothing not to mention the tactile feeling of the cubes.
How Much Does it Cost?
Like many fidget toys, the Infinity Cube comes is variety of materials and sizes. They are also manufactured to varying levels of quality. You can get a cheap plastic version for $5 or so though these lose some of their effectiveness in their lack of quality. A good plastic Infinity Cube will cost from $10-$15 dollars and works well. One of my new favorites (the OctoCube) is rubber coated a little bit smaller than most infinity cubes, and costs approximately $10. I also sprang for a high quality metal one for personal use that cost me in the range of $20-$25.
Our Review
Appeal Rating (5 Smiles)
We give the infinity cube an appeal rating of 5 out of 5 smiles. If we could have given it a higher rating, we would have. As indicated above, the Infinity Cube became, and still remains, our favorite fidget toy. They are fun to use and hard to resist. They help kids (and adults) cope in a variety of ways. The constant movement of the cubes has a soothing impact and the physical manipulation of the toy can be a welcome distraction.
Durability Rating (5 Stones)
We give the infinity cube a durability rating of 5 out of 5 stones. While it would seem like the numerous hinges might make this fidget toy more susceptible to breaking, we haven’t found that to be true. Particularly our metal infinity cube had withstood all kids of use, dropping, falling and multitude of little hands without any signs of excessive wear and tear.
Portability Rating (4.5 Bags)
We give the infinity cube a portability rating of 4.5 out of 5 bags. We really wanted to give it a five. After all, when all eight blocks are aligned flat, it will easily fit into your pocket. Even as a cube, it’s easy to hold. However, it would likely be a little large to carry around in your pocket (the OctoCube is a good alternative), and that is the only reason we knocked off half a bag.
Noise Rating (4.5 Decibles)
We give the infinity cube a noise rating of 4.5 out of 5 decibles. The infinite cube is by no means loud. That said, there is a “banging” together of the cubes that does make some noise. If you use it gently, you can minimize the noise, but who wants to do that?
Overall Rating (5 Fidgets)
We give the infinity cube an overall rating of 5 out of 5 fidgets. No surprise here! The Infinity Cube is our favorite when it comes to fidget toys. It is fun, engaging, easy to use and just the right amount of addicting. If you plan get only one fidget toy for yourself, or someone else, make it the Infinity Cube!
Welcome to Fidgets 101. In this series, we will review a variety of fidget toys over the coming months. Before we do that though, an introduction to Fidgets 101 is in order. Unless you’ve lived under a rock for the last couple of years, chances are that you’ve played with, seen or heard about Fidget Spinner. They burst onto the scene in the Summer of 2017, seemingly out of nowhere, and became the focus (pun intended) of young people everywhere. Fidgets, though, have been around forever. From the Chinese baoding balls (sometimes called Chinese Stress Balls) created in the 14th century to greek worry beads known as kompoloi which were used by monks 800 years ago to todays fidgets spinners and cubes, there have always been outlets for human’s insatiable need to fidget.
What is A Fidget?
A fidget is any sort of object that people fiddle with to help them to maintain their focus on something else. As described in more detail in the video below, a fidget is a kind of coping mechanism.
The science is still out on why fidgets work. One theory is that fidgets occupy our “floating attention.” We all have what is called “floating attention” which is that little bit of attention that is placed away from our principal activity no matter what we are doing. For some people, their floating attention isn’t well regulated and gets spread across tons of activities. Using a fidget gives that “floating attention” something to focus on which allows you to focus better on the primary items of focus.
Fidgets occupy that part of your brain that distracts the rest of your brain with random thoughts (i.e., your floating attention).
Bodily movement is part of the thinking and expressing process and fidgets thereby help with that process.
Fidgeting serves as a mini-ritual offering the benefits of rituals like familiarity, structure and predictability.
Fidgeting may create an emotional attachment to the fidget which can serve as a temporary proxy for an actual attachment to a person.
Fidgeting may be a way of maintaining some physical movement in our increasingly sedentary lifestyles.
Regardless of the science behind fidgets and maintaining your attention, we have noticed in working with hurting young people that they offer other significant advantages. Whether it is coping in terms of distraction, soothing, physical activity or social interaction, fidgets can be a valuable tool in a young person’s coping tool box.
How Fidgets Work
There are all kinds of different fidgets from the popular fidget spinner to the very common clicking of a pen or mechanical pencil.
Lexi Walters Wright from Understood.org identified six different types of fidgets based on how those fidgets work to help people to focus and calm down:
Calming Fidgets help young people who “need help feeling settled so they can sustain their attention.” This category includes items like Wiki Sticks, fuzzy pipe cleaners, plastic nuts and bolts, coiled bracelets and key chains and weighted lap pads.
Alerting Fidgets help young people who need a little color, noise or light to help them focus. This category of fidgets includes Klicks, Pop Tubes, spinning tops and color changing light up balls.
Chewy Fidgets are exactly what they sound like – these are fidgets are for young people who concentrate better when they keep their mouths occupied. This category includes chewable pencil toppers and silicone jewelry.
Resistance Fidgets are for young people who need to keep their hands busy pushing, pulling or squeezing. This category would include stress balls, squishy toys and magnetic balls and disks.
Tactile Fidgets are those that include different textures to help people focus. The Koosh Ball (and all its knock offs) is probably the most famous fidget in this category which also would include play foam, kinetic sand, rubbery squeeze toys, pop beads and velcro strips.
Popular Fidgets is the final category reserved for the most popular fidget – the spinner.
Fidgets are a great tool and an awesome way to help kids cope, but sometimes their use can get out of control. If that happens with your kids, perhaps you can consider a fidget contract like the one created by understood.org to help with the situation.
My Personal Introduction to Fidgets
When I was in high school in north-central Texas in the 1980’s (yes, I’m that old), I was part of the school’s debate team. If you are not familiar with the exercise, it is where two teams of two people debate a predetermined proposition sometimes arguing for and other times against the proposition in a fast thinking and even faster talking format. At the time, many of the debaters in the area were fond of a technique called the “Bel-Air Flare.” It is not entirely clear where the name came from (the trick pre-dated the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and the story I was told was that it was named after Bel-Air High School in El Paso Texas where the move originated). The “trick” of the Bel-Air Flare was to spin a pen around your thumb and catch it without dropping it. At any point when you were walking around a high-school debate tournament, you could look in rooms and see hundreds of debaters doing the “Bel-Air Flare” in the midst of their high stakes arguments. As I look back now, I realize that this was just a pre-cursor to today’s multitude of fidget toys. A way to focus by channeling energy into a fairly inconsequential activity.
Types of Fidgets
Fidgets come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and types. The classification system above based on the needs met by the fidget is fine but for purposes of this series, we prefer to group fidgets based on how they actually work:
Liquids: These fidgets utilize liquid, or liquid properties, to capture attention.
Magnetic: Magnets are fun, and they’re also captivating. These fidgets include magnetic components.
Manipulable: Whether they are chains or cubes or twisty, these fidgets engage the use by manipulating and moving their parts.
Puzzles: One purpose of fidgets is to keep your hands busy. These fidgets do that in the form of a puzzle that needs to be solved.
Resistance: Resistance fidgets are exactly what they sound like. They are meant to be manipulated, squeezed, pulled and pushed while offering some resistance.
Spinners: When someone mentions fidget spinners, it brings a certain image to mind of the poplar toy. However, there are a variety of different types of fidgets that captivate by spinning.
Tactile: These fidgets are effective because of their feel.
Old School: Fidgets aren’t new, and this category is likely to leave you feeling just a little bit nostalgic.
Other: Some fidgets defy easy classification. You’ll find those here.
Introduction to Fidgets 101
In this series, we are going to work through a number of different types of fidget spinners. Our goal is to further explain some of the fidgets you probably have already heard about and perhaps introduce you to some more. Each review will explain the type of fidget, a description of each fidget and a thorough review based on the following criteria:
Appeal
Description: Fidgets used to help people with ADHD are not meant to be toys. However, we acknowledge that the more “fun” a fidget is, the more likely it is to engage the young adult using it and the more likely it is to get used. This will be a measure of how fun and engaging the fidget is.
Rating Scale: 1 (kind of fun) to 5 (over the top fun) smiles
Durability
Description: Some fidgets are more likely than others to last. Of course there is variability even within fidget types in terms of how items are manufactured and how long they will last. This section of our reviews though will look at how likely the fidget is to last in the hands of child.
Rating Scale: 1 (easily breakable) to 5 (indestructible) stones.
Portability
Description: Desktop fidgets are great, and they can be a lot of fun. That said, you never know exactly when you’re going to need a fidget. This part of our review will let you know if you’ll be able to shove that fidget into your pocket or if you’re going to need a U-Haul to move it around.
Rating Scale: 1 (difficult to carry around) to 5 (easy to transport) bags
Noise
Description: At Hope 4 Hurting Kids, we love kids and consequently noise doesn’t bother us that much. That said, we recognize that some fidgets do have the side effect that they create quite a bit of noise. We’ll let you know which fidgets work well in a library and which fit better at a concert in terms of noise.
Rating Scale: 1 (very noisy) to 5 (totally quiet) decibels
Overall Rating
Description: This overall rating will take everything about the fidget into consideration from price to effectiveness to its impact on other people in the room. This is the rating to look at for finding the best overall fidget.
Tell Me About When Moms and Dads Go to Jail is both a book for children about when mom or dad goes to jail and also a guide for parents and other helping adults to help kids deal with incarcerated parents.
Who Is This Book For?
This book is aimed primarily at elementary aged kids from 6 to 11 and the adults who love them.
Our Synopsis of the Book
The first half of Tell Me About When Moms and Dads Go to Jail is meant for kids whose parents have gone to jail or prison. Written as a first-hand account from a child whose dad has gone to prison, this portion of the book answers important questions like:
Where is Dad going?
Where was Dad?
Why do people go to jail?
What does jail look like?
Where does he sleep?
Where does he eat?
What does he do all day?
Is He safe?
What does He wear?
What happens if he is hurt or sick?
Is it a secret?
What do I tell my friends?
What is visitation like?
When will he leave?
What can I do?
The next part of the book includes activities kids can do. The final section includes tips for parents and professionals on helping school aged children, handling conflicts and a long list of helpful resources.
Amazon’s Synopsis
Here’s how Amazon describes the book:
“This book will help you understand what is happening to your mom or dad who goes to jail…”
Ideal for use with children aged 6-11, this is an invaluable resource for supporting the wellbeing of children whose parent is incarcerated. It explains what jail is like and why some people have to go there, while reassuring children that their parent loves them, is safe, and is working hard to come home again. Included are activities to help children manage their feelings, tips for parents and professionals on how best to support them, and a list of resources for additional help and information.
What We Liked
This book is a very needed resource. So often when a parent goes to jail, the child is lost in the shuffle. Tell Me About When Moms and Dads Go to Jail can help a child suffering the trauma of the loss of a parent to incarceration to answer the question they have. The list of resources at the end of the book is topped notch.
What We Didn’t Like
The story intended for kids is a bit dry and the pictures seem more like stock photos and aren’t likely to captivate kids.
Recommendation
We recommend Tell Me About When Moms and Dads Go to Jail for kids whose parents are going to or in jail or prison. It answers many of the questions they likely to have and includes a lot of helpful information for parents and other adults interested in helping them through this traumatic experience.
When Dinosaurs Die is part of the series of books by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown that also includes Dinosaurs Divorce – A Guide For Changing Families which we also highly recommend. It is a colorful and well written explanation of death and grief designed to help give kids who have lost a loved information about what is going on.
Who Is This Book For?
This book is aimed primarily at kids in first through third grade though younger and older kids who have experienced a death will most definitely benefit from reading the book or having it read to them.
Our Synopsis of the Book
When Dinosaurs Die is a thorough yet accessible explanation of death and grieving for kids. It is divided into ten sections:
What Does Alive Mean?
Why Does Someone Die?
What Does Dead Mean?
Feelings About Death
Among Friends
Saying Good-bye
Keeping Customs
What Comes after Death?
Ways to Remember Someone
Glossary
The book answers common questions that kids may have when they are grieving the loss of of loved one. It is very engaging with wonderful illustrations that kids will enjoy. Terms like death are defined in a way that kids can understand without talking down to them or minimizing the impact of grief. Take, for example, the book’s definition of death:
When someone dies, her body stops working. The heart stops beating, and breathing stops. The brain doesn’t send or receive messages. She no longer can see, hear, touch, taste, smell, eat, play, feel or think. She cannot move.
The books explains various ways that people can die, and while it’s impossible to cover all possible causes of death, the book does a good job of exploring some of the common ways people can die that kids may encounter. The book deals with common misconceptions like how death is different than sleeping and makes the finality of death clear. It also includes explanations of what a funeral is, the various rituals that people may go through to remember the person who died and how your friends might react to the death of your loved one. There is also an extensive discussion of the emotions go along with grief and how all of those emotions are ok. It also includes suggestions for coping.
Amazon’s Synopsis
Here’s how Amazon describes the book:
Straightforward and compassionate, When Dinosaurs Die explains death, dying, and coping with grief and loss in simple and accessible language for young kids and families.
No one can really understand death, but to children, the passing away of a loved one can be especially perplexing and troublesome. This is true whether the loss is a classmate, friend, family member, or pet. Here to offer advice and reassurance are the wise dinosaurs from Dinosaurs to the Rescue, Dinosaurs Divorce, Dinosaurs Travel, and Dinosaurs Alive and Well. This succinct and thorough guide helps dispel the mystery and negative connotations associated with death. This helpful book provides answers to kids’ most-often asked questions and also explores the feelings we may have regarding the death of a loved one, and the ways to remember someone after he or she has died.
Satisfying and comprehensive, this indispensable book is a comforting aid to help all children through a difficult time in their lives.
What We Liked
This book does an awesome job of helping kids to understand death and dying as well as mourning. The illustrations are top-notched. The tone of the book is informational without being condescending or dry. One of the things the book does extraordinarily well is address the different faith traditions and beliefs surrounding death and what happens after death while encouraging kids to ask questions. No book can make grief easy, but When Dinosaurs Die can take some of the mystery out of death and grief for kids.
What We Didn’t Like
Honestly, we couldn’t find anything about this book that we didn’t like.
Recommendation
We highly recommend When Dinosaurs Die for any child who is grieving the death of a loved one. In fact, it ranks in our top three books for grieving kids.
The Pigeon Has Feelings, Too! is a board book aimed primarily at younger children and potentially very early readers. It recommended age range is 0-4.
Our Synopsis of the Book
This book is the fun story of how the bus driver “tricks” the pigeon into showing his HAPPY face. The pigeon doesn’t want to show his HAPPY face but does show the bus driver his ANGRY and SAD faces before finally revealing his HAPPY face when the driver tells him he doesn’t have to.
Amazon’s Synopsis
Here’s how Amazon describes the book:
How does it feel to be a Pigeon? Well, the bus driver is trying to get him to act happy, but as we all know, this is one bird that is not going to be told what to do! Throughout this hilarious board book, Pigeon runs through his signature gamut of emotions while attempting to thwart his old nemesis.
What We Liked
This book is a fun introduction to some very basic emotions for kids. As part of a series of book based on the Pigeon, the child reading this book may already be drawn to the characters. While the book does focus on showing what emotions look like in a fun manner (on a pigeon), it does so as part of a fun story.
What We Didn’t Like
Honestly, for its intended purpose, there is nothing that we didn’t like about this book.
Recommendation
Kids need to start the process of recognizing and naming emotions early in life.Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! is a great tool for introducing kids to the basic emotions of happy, angry and sad. We highly recommend Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! for anyone who has, or works with, kids from birth up through pre-school and potentially even early elementary.
Emotional Monster is fun little book for introducing the youngest of kids to the idea of emotions. It also introduces the concept of breathing as a means for dealing with growing emotions.
Who Is This Book For?
This book is aimed primarily at toddler and pre-school aged children. It is bright and colorful and meant to be read to children.
Our Synopsis of the Book
The description included in the book reads:
Every child can become emotional at times! They’ll have monsterous fun learning about different emotions, from happy to sad to angry to more.
That exactly what is covered in the book. Each page includes a “Monster” (a colored box with an emotion face in it) covering the following concepts:
Happy
Sad
Feeling like an emotional monster.
Angry
Tired
Content
It’s ok to be emotional.
Emotions grow.
Take a deep breath.
Amazon’s Synopsis
Here’s how Amazon describes the book:
This is a read aloud kids book that is written in an easy to read style with 10 colorful illustrations and is ideal for children from preschool to little kids.
Sometimes I am happy.
Other times I am sad.
I feel like an emotional monster.
Every child can become emotional at times! They’ll have monstrous fun learning about the different emotions, from happy to sad to angry and more. Kids will also learn the value of taking a deep breath when feeling overwhelmed by their emotions. Bright and vibrant illustrations bring each emotion to life, sparking your child’s imagination. Make reading time a fun occasion with this great book from the You Are Loved book series!
Read along as Emotional Monster is a beginner reader book that any child will enjoy, especially at bedtime.
What We Liked
This book is simple book for young kids. The illustrations are vibrant and colorful, and we appreciate the author’s desire to introduce a vocabulary of emotions for even young kids. The book is also successful in showing kids what emotions look like. The book is helpful in accomplishing both the See It! and Say It! components of the Super Simple Feelings Management Technique. We also appreciate that the book introduces the idea of coping in a very basic way for kids.
What We Didn’t Like
As with most books meant for really young children, there isn’t a whole lot to this book. While it is well done for what is intended, we would have like to have seen more emotions (including some basic emotions like fear and disgust among other) included.
Recommendation
Although it isn’t our favorite book on emotions for young kids, we gladly recommend Emotional Monster for preschoolers and younger children. Although there isn’t much to the book itself, it does serve as an opportunity for parents and other caregivers to begin the conversation about emotions with young children.
The book is meant to help kids understand bullying including who does it, why it happens and how to prevent it. The targeted age group is kindergarten through 3rd grade though we think it would be beneficial if read to younger kids and even for slightly older elementary aged kids who could read through it themselves.
Our Synopsis of the Book
This book is a great introduction to the issue of bullying and will give kids a good handle on what bullying is, why it happens and how to stop it. It explains the difference between people who sometimes hurt others and bullies who do it repetitively. It also makes it clear that bullying can be either physical or emotional and assures kids who have been bullied that they are not alone. The books an explanation of why some bullies bully and offers several suggestions for helping kids to deal with bullies. There are questions for the kids to consider about their own situation throughout the book as well as helpful suggestions and resources for parents at the back of the book.
Amazon’s Synopsis
Here’s how Amazon describes the book:
Barron’s A First Look At books explore the dynamics in relationships among children of preschool through early school age, and encourage kids to understand personal and social problems as a first step toward solving them. Written by an experienced psychotherapist and counselor, these books promote positive interaction among children, parents, and teachers. The language in each book is simple and direct―easy for younger children to understand. Full-color illustrations on every page. This approachable picture book explores the difficult issue of bullying among children. It helps kids accept the normal fears and worries that accompany bullying, and suggests ways to resolve this upsetting experience.
What We Liked
There is a lot to like about this book. It is frank and informative and covers the basic things kids need to know about bullying. In ways a child can understand, the book starts by defining bullying and explaining that bullies come in all shapes and sizes. The book explains reasons why some bullies pick on people and also explains why bullies do they what they do. It offers a number of suggestion on how to deal with bullying – first and foremost being to tell a trusted adult. Like other books in this series, this installment packs a lot of great information into a short and accessible book. It is beautifully illustrated in a way that can help the child relate even better to the concepts being shared.
What We Didn’t Like
We’re big fans of this series, and like the other installments, there wasn’t much about this book that we didn’t like. The book comes off a bit sympathetic to the bully in trying to explain why they might do what they do which could put off someone being bullied, but it is an important truth that serves to help the reader better understand the issue of bullying.
Recommendation
This is a great book for kids who are being bullied, kids who might be bullying others and frankly any kid who is likely to experience bullying at some point. Bullying is huge issue in schools and with kids of all ages, and we highly recommend Stop Picking On Me: A First Look At Bullying by Pat Thomas for all kids.
The Invisible String is a wonderful story meant to help kids who are feeling the anxiety, loneliness and hurt of being separated from someone they love.
Who Is This Book For?
This book is aimed primarily at elementary aged kids, but the story is universal and I can see older kids, teens and adults finding comfort in the story presented in this book. Whether the child has been separated from their loved one for short time (if suffering separation anxiety), a long distance (as in a divorce) or permanently (as in the case of death), the message presented in this book will help the child to remember that no matter the distance, they are still connected to their loved one by love.
Our Synopsis of the Book
When Liza and Jeremy are awakened by a thunderstorm, they cry out for their mother and plead with her to stay close to them. Mom explains that no matter the distance between them, they are connected by an invisible string. As the children pepper their mom with questions, they come to find out that this invisible string called love connects them to all the people they care about and that care about them. The kids are reassured that even the family pat has an invisible string and that it can reach to the depths of the ocean, the top of the mountains and all around the world. This invisible string can reach all the way to heaven where Uncle Brian is.
Amazon’s Synopsis
Here’s how Amazon describes the book:
“That’s impossible”, said twins Jeremy & Liza after their Mom told them they’re all connected by this thing called an Invisible String. “What kind of string”? They asked with a puzzled look to which Mom replied, “An Invisible String made of love.” That’s where the story begins. A story that teaches of the tie that really binds. The Invisible String reaches from heart to heart. Does everybody have an Invisible String? How far does it reach, anyway? Does it ever go away? Read all about it! THE INVISIBLE STRING is a very simple approach to overcoming the fear of loneliness or separation with an imaginative flair that children can easily identify with and remember. Here is a warm and delightful lesson teaching young and old that we aren’t ever really alone and reminding children (and adults!) that when we are loved beyond anything we can imagine. “People who love each other are always connected by a very special String, made of love. Even though you can’t see it with your eyes, you can feel it deep in your heart, and know that you are always connected to the ones you love.”
Thus begins this heart-warming and reassuring story that addresses the issue of “separation anxiety” (otherwise known as the sense of existential ‘aloneness’) to children of all ages.
Specifically written to address children’s fear of being apart from the ones they love, The Invisible String delivers a particularly compelling message in today’s uncertain times that though we may be separated from the ones we care for, whether through anger, or distance or even death, love is the unending connection that binds us all, and, by extension, ultimately binds every person on the planet to everyone else. Parents and children everywhere who are looking for reassurance and reaffirmation of the transcendent power of love, to bind, connect and comfort us through those inevitable times when life challenges us!
What We Liked
This book has a simple message and it presents it well – we are all connected by bonds of love that can’t be broken by our actions or distance or even death. It is beautifully illustrated and a great message for people of all ages. It also lends itself well to talking to kids about the connections in their lives.
What We Didn’t Like
This book is a great reminder for kids that love binds us together no matter the time or distance. The books strength, it’s solitary focus on this one concept means that there is not much depth. So, we learn that the string reaches to heaven which should help grieving children, but there isn’t any exploration of that topic. That said, we wouldn’t really expect that kinds of depth in a book like this, and it’s not fair to fault the book. Fortunately, there are plenty of ideas and activities out there that you can use along with this book to help kids. Check out the following add-on resources:
We recommend The Invisible String for any child or teen who is missing someone. Whether as a result of death, divorce, deployment, incarceration or any other reason, if a child is left missing a parent or another significant person in their life, this is a great book. The Invisible String is on our short list of book to recommend for grieving kids.
Appeal Rating (3.5 Smiles)
Durability Rating (3.5 Stones)
Portability Rating (4 Bags)
Noise Rating (3.5 Decibles)
Overall Rating (3.5 Fidgets)
Name: Squishy
I keep a soccer ball in my car that I can use while I am driving. The foam is sturdy enough to use it as a traditional ball and squishy enough to live up to its name. In addition to the slow rising forms, there are a number of other types of squishy fidgets that have a more rubbery feel. These, too, come in a variety of forms and sizes.
Appeal Rating (4.5 Smiles)
Durability Rating (4 Stones)
Noise Rating (5 Decibles)
Overall Rating (4.5 Fidgets)
Name: Infinity Cube
Appeal Rating (5 Smiles)
Durability Rating (5 Stones)
Portability Rating (4.5 Bags)
Noise Rating (4.5 Decibles)
Overall Rating (5 Fidgets)
Welcome to Fidgets 101. In this series, we will review a variety of fidget toys over the coming months. Before we do that though, an introduction to Fidgets 101 is in order. Unless you’ve lived under a rock for the last couple of years, chances are that you’ve played with, seen or heard about Fidget Spinner. They burst onto the scene in the Summer of 2017, seemingly out of nowhere, and became the focus (pun intended) of young people everywhere. Fidgets, though, have been around forever. From the 
Desktop fidgets are great, and they can be a lot of fun. That said, you never know exactly when you’re going to need a fidget. This part of our review will let you know if you’ll be able to shove that fidget into your pocket or if you’re going to need a U-Haul to move it around.
About the Book
About the Book
About the Book
About the Book
About the Book
