We recently picked up “Who’s hiding?” at the library while rummaging through the shelves, and it’s a keeper. Our tots are enamored with Satoru Onishi’s brightly colored, animated animals. Some animals crying, some backward, all adorable and the kiddos love trying to figure out who’s hiding on each page. They’re totally engaged and learning the art of observation and discovery, and we love it. “Who’s Hiding?” is the perfect puzzler book for the 2 and up crowd, giving them a sense of accomplishment after they identify each animal. 18 furry friends like a dog, tiger, hippo, zebra, bear, reindeer, kangaroo, lion, rabbit, giraffe, monkey, bull, rhino, pig, sheep, hen, elephant, or cat. Great stuff. If you can’t find it at the library, when in stock, $10.17, here.

We recently toured a preschool with a special dark room for children to explore and have fun with flashlights. We had a hard time getting our tot to leave the room, she was having such a blast making shapes on the ceiling and dancing about that we decided we’d better bring this entertainment home. We were initially hoping to find a solar-powered flashlight, but we couldn’t find one that we thought would work for a toddler, so we settled on Melissa & Doug’s Sunny Patch Bibi Bee Flashlight. It’s lightweight, brightly colored and the handle is easy for small hands to grasp, plus the on/off switch is pretty easy-to-use. No eco-friend here, but we’ll keep searching. Meanwhile, our toddler can continue her flashlight dance party and strobe light simulation with this sweet little flashlight and it can also be used outside at night or when camping. $12.48, here.

Another score for Nana, who bought this tutu for our kiddos second hand. Everytime our tot hears music, it’s “tutu time” and “tutu time” has become an intergal part of our dance party routine. We aren’t especially girly or into pink, but there’s just something to be said for dressing up in a frilly outfit and dancing. Any tutu will do, of course, but we like Danskin’s all-in-one tutu+leotard combo with a sweetheart neck and attached tulle tutu. It’s perfect for burgeoning ballerinas and recreational dancers alike. We also appreciate that this one piece saves us a step when getting dressed, leaving us more time for dancing. Yay. Turn up the music, it’s time to dance. Available in sizes 2T-6x-7. If you can’t find used, $29.00 & up, here.

No dance party would be complete without an instrument or two. We say the drums are the perfect instrument to help our kiddos get their groove on, so we’re bringing back a cleeo & bea fave this week. And since our dance party instrumentals started with a set of pots, pans and wooden spoons, it quickly became clear we needed to upgrade. Plan Toys makes a great starter drum kit, perfect for toddlers. It comes equipped with drumsticks, two toms, a guiro and cymbal. Made from reconditioned rubber wood, this kit is durable and stylish, though the cymbal is a little wonky, and is the perfect size for storing in our kiddo’s tiny room. As a first drum kit, Plan’s set is not too loud and satisfies our tots. Dance on little ones! Not cheap, but will provide solid entertainment, priceless. Measures 13″ x 13″ x 10″. $50.00 here.

We’ve always loved surf music and now The Venture’s play Telstar is our kiddos’ number one summer jam. We had no idea our little ones could cut such a rug until we put this record on. This awesome 60s soundtrack music reminds us a little of summers past, watching Gidget reruns with Grandma, eating jello pops and slip n’ slides. If you can’t get to the beach (sometimes you just can’t), this record is a great alternative in a pinch. Originally released in 1962, like most Ventures releases, the songs on Teltstar are surf versions of familiar songs. Try listening to “Percolator” or “Let There Be Drums”, both are silly and will turn any tot’s frown upside down. And “Green Onions” has been a family favorite for years, plus seeing our tots dance to these songs is pretty great. If you can’t find it any other way, get it in tandem with the Ventures In Space, $8.95, here.

We can’t think of a sweeter gift for papa. “Daddy Cuddles” authored by Anne Gutman and illustrated by Gorg Halle is one book that our tots love to read with their dads over and over again. We love the cute illustrations, are particularly smitten with the daddy monkies and our kiddos have learned the names of baby animals from this book, too. A great way to express love between babes and their papas, a great book to give any newbie papa, or really any papa for that matter. Board book, perfect for toddlers and younger. $5.95, here.

We may be dating ourselves here, but it’s okay. If we’d never heard the likes of Kim Deal of the Pixies, Amps and Breeders and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, the cleeo & bea mamas may have never learned to play the bass. Sure, there were other influences, but we loved the Kims. They were the first female bass players to inspire us to learn to play because they were both so darn cool. We now have daughters of our own and will be so pleased if they ask us for a bass one day. We think introducing them to the instrument and teaching them to play would be so much fun, so we had to feature the only mini-bass we’ve ever seen in action. This unbranded .245 bass is perfect for the 3+ set, ready to hold their own guitar. We love that it has all the features of the real thing including offset pick ups, full-sized tuning knobs and 20 Frets with Bolt-on rosewood plank neck. Measures 36″ tall, totally adorable. Pictured with power cord and wrenches, but no mention if they’re included. $65.00, here.

We love books about nature and so do our kiddos, so in honor of Earth Day we thought we’d recycle a review of a cleeo & bea fave book. Janice May Udry’s classic “A Tree Is Nice” is on our list of favorites for a few reasons. Not only is it wholesome and sweet, it teaches our tots that trees are beautiful and quite useful in their living state. Marc Simont’s illustrations are fantastic, too. Originally published in 1956 and a Caldecott winner in 1957, “A Tree Is Nice” is just the kind of message we like to convey to our kiddos about caring for the earth. It encourages them (and us) to slow down, appreciate simple beauty and remember not to take it for granted. We particularly like that Urdy mentions babies and cows can nap in the shade of a tree. Too cute. Used and new from $3.50, here.

No kidding. Green Start has created an amazing series of books made from 98% recycled materials. And they’re printed with soy-based inks, too. Quite frankly, the content of the book barely matters in this case, but guess what? It’s great. The story is about what grows in a garden and the life cycle of plants. Educational reading, we love. “The red apple grows on the tree. I pick it and eat it.” At the end of “In the Garden,” there is a how-to section on how to grow your own cherry tomatoes, a few handy gardening tips and yummy recipes like fruit slush and homemade applesauce that can be easily prepared with the kiddos. Haven’t tried them yet, but imagine we will. $6.99, here.

We’re lucky to have a world class zoo in our fair city, but sometimes our weather prohibits us from getting there. On those days, we read Bruno Munari’s “Zoo”. Our tots love this book for its colorful illustrations and funny text. Who wouldn’t love a striped pajama wearing zebra, a leggy giraffe or humpy camel? Bruno Munari was an internationally acclaimed artist, designer, and children’s book creator and a contemporary of another favorite children’s book illustruator Leo Leonni, who we love. Munari has been praised as an illustrator and designer who created children’s books”among the most original, inventive and beautiful ever created.” We love him and can’t get enough of his books. $17.99, here.