International Toy Fair

Little Pim Co. just returned from the International Toy Fair in New York City, where we had a booth. We spent four days meeting buyers, talking to owners of big and small book and toy stores across the country about the virtues of starting language learning at an early age. We also drank way too much coffee. We got to see lots of cool toys - everything from bugs that dance using solar power to magical flying fairies to the latest releases from the big toy companies. There were a few educational items I wanted to share that can help you introduce your children to a foreign language:

Lindenwood Blocks

These high quality hand-crafted looking blocks are available in numerous languages. Each set provides complete alphabets, numerals and animal pictures. The blocks are made from Michigan basswood with child-safe inks and are also perfectly sized for little hands.

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Geopuzzles

Invented by a dad from Wisconsin who created Geopuzzles to help his three children learn geography.

I fell in love with the puzzle where the pieces are shaped liked countries (I was worried my one year old would swallow Andorra, but he assured me they couple countries so that no piece is smaller than one inch). This puzzle can provide a great way for you to teach your child where other countries are and what languages they speak there.

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Kingka Sholeen Lou-Hsiao is a teacher and mother who was helping her two-year old son to learn Chinese when she had the idea to create a fun, hands-on way for him to learn his characters. Kingka is a memory game that teaches over 50 characters and is easy to play, even for parents who don't speak any Chinese.

Sholeen teaches in Montessori schools and the game has been adopted by many top preschools around the country.

Angelina Jolie Uses Little Pim!

On Thanksgiving morning I woke up to an email from my mother-in-law that said "My friend Elaine just read in a gossip magazine that Angelina Jolie is using Little Pim!" Quoi? I confirmed with my husband that his family didn't have some quirky Thanksgiving tradition of fooling the kids... and since they don't... I did a Google search on Angelina, on Brangelina on everything to do with them and their kids, but no mention of Little Pim.

Fast forward to me at the news stand on Broadway, madly leafing through every gossip magazine available - under the scowling gaze of the seller. I found it! There in Us Weekly's "Heide and Spencer Elope" issue was a picture of Angelina Jolie holding Shiloh with the caption

"Angelina Jolie uses Little Pim to teach Shiloh Jolie-Pitt French."

And the Little Pim web address. C'est magnifique.

I have to admit I'm not an avid reader of gossip rags -- I didn't even know who Heide and Spencer were (and still sort of don't) -- but as an entrepreneur, having a celebrity like Angelina Jolie endorse Little Pim was quite a thrill. I have great admiration for her as a mother, a professional and someone dedicated to teaching her kids her mother's native tongue. For a moment, my mind drifted to visions of vacationing with Brangelina and their brood in the South of France. You know, now that I am their language advisor and all. Would they want to stay at the Negresco in Nice or the Eden in Cap d'Antibes? Would we vous-voi or tu-toi each other?

But mostly I am excited that moms getting manicures and haircuts across America could be reading about Little Pim right now.