Giveaway from the Holiday Gift Guide – For Kids: StinkyKids | Leaders of Good | Dolls & Books – US and Canada

We have a special birthday tradition in our house.  Every year, on the night before Rosie’s birthday, the Birthday Fairy comes to our house.  She ties a long ribbon to the birthday girl’s bed, and on the other end?  A special gift.  Very often it is a doll.  This year, on Rosie’s sixth birthday, the Birthday Fairy gave her Joey, one of the StinkyKids!  No, they don’t smell, hehehe.  They are “stinkers” who make good choices.  Joey came with a book, “StinkyKids and the Runaway Scissors” and I loved the story.  It was a script from every day life and helped me with ideas for presenting the concept of “good choices”.  I didn’t grow up with that terminology, so I don’t use it as much as I would like to.  The concept is a very good one.

Rosie with her special gift from The Birthday Fairy

Okay, first, the book and story.  The story was interesting enough to hold Rosie’s attention and the illustrations are colorful and fun.  The children’s faces in the book are very expressive and engaging but simple enough to appeal to a child’s eye.  The message was conveyed with perfect balance – strong enough to be heard without being overpowering or “preachy”.  Sometimes I can tend to get preachy and Rosie rebels with an annoyed “I KNOW”.  Not the author of this book, Britt Menzies.

The author, Britt Menzies, is a mother, wife, and artist.  She has an interesting combination of “right-brain” and “left-brain” skills.  Her education at Florida State University is in accounting and finance.   When her first child was born, she left her Fortune 500 -company job to become a stay-at-home mom and that’s when her passion for art kicked in.  When her daughter asked Britt to paint her as a ballerina, it became the inspiration for StinkyKids.  Besides Joey, there are 9 more StinkyKids characters, all with their own unique personalities, talents and hobbies.  The book also has a “Parent and Teacher Corner” – so smart!  It includes advice on using the story as a Teaching Tool, with questions for discussion.  Just in case, we parents don’t catch all the messages, those are listed for us and there are suggestions to further engage children.  The “Parent and Teacher Corner” is written by Dr. Kelli B. Ritter, PhD.  Dr. Kelli is the founder and president of Effective Parenting, LLC and an expert on using play skills to enhance relationships with children.

StinkyKids - Jen - 12 inch Soft Doll

Now, the doll!  Have you heard of Madame Alexander dolls?  StinkyKids are made by the Madame Alexander Doll Company – a company who’s name equals quality.  Founded in 1923, Madame Alexander has been making award winning dolls for over 88 years!  The StinkyKids are soft and loveable!  A tagline is “Love your StinkyKids… they’re so stinkin’ cute!!” and it’s true.  They are cute, cuddly and attract children with their open faces and softness.  Along with the name “StinkyKids”, fun for Rosie was the embroidery on the doll’s “tushie”.  I leave that a secret for you to discover on your very own StinkyKid!

I highly recommend StinkyKids for boys or girls (there are four boy dolls in the collection) not only for the quality of the dolls but the excellent messages in the fun-to-read books.

Where to Buy Adorable StinkyKids?

FAO:  http://fao.com  

Barnes and Noble:  http://bn.com

and search for StinkyKids (no space)

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Disclosure of Material Connection:  All opinions are my own unless otherwise stated.  I was sent a StinkyKids Doll and Book for review purposes.  This disclosure is in accordance with FTC guidelines.