NAME: Booktastic!
TYPE: Boardgame
PRICE: US$29.95 plus shipping
(as at October 2004)
AVAILABLE FROM: Suppliers listed on website, or order through that same website.

RATING:

REVIEW: The aim of the game is to create the most valuable collection of books, with two to four players - or using teams. Booktastic! features three skill levels for the casual reader (no wrong answers, opinions only), avid reader, and collector, as you travel around the board on a dice roll to visit the Bookshops. At each one, you can buy, sell, or trade books to build your collection.

The original Best Selling Modern Fiction Edition was followed by a Children's Edition, and an Australian edition is in preparation. The supplimentary sets of playing cards (for the different editions) utilize the original playing pieces and board, which keeps the costs to a minimum. However, the board of the Australian Edition is likely to vary slightly in place names.

Great fun for library professionals, patrons or just the common-or-garden variety of bibliophile. If you don't get this game, you'll be missing out on the best diversion ever created for literate literature lovers.

NAME: Poet's Corner
TYPE: Wine
PRICE: Around AUD$9.00 (in Australia)
AVAILABLE FROM: All good bottle shops (in Australia). See here for U.K. outlets.

RATING:

REVIEW: Described by a Well Known Wine Critic as "a blend of Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, this has a fresh techno nose and is a light, easy-going white", this is a perfect refreshment for adults playing Booktastic! in the privacy of their own homes, or other places apart from a library - where completely different types of whine are common.

NAME: TolsToys Storyteller dolls
TYPE: Objects d'art
PRICE: Varies from US$35 to $75 + shipping
AVAILABLE FROM:TolsToys-Anastasia Fine Imports, Boulder, CO. Order through the website.

RATING:

REVIEW: A range of well known children's stories, such as Raggetty Anne (pictured), The Three Little Pigs, and The Speckled Hen are brought to life, together with the more traditional Russian folk tales. Each doll is carefully turned on a lathe out of a branch of linden wood, then hand-painted, and lastly, lacquered. The craftsmanship is obvious.

NAME:The Crocodile Hunter : Steve Irwin Talking Doll
TYPE: Action figure
PRICE: Was AUD$99
AVAILABLE FROM: Appears to be completely sold out. Watch eBay. ToyWebb had a "toy collectable" one for AUD$129 (as a guide to their current value). ToyWebb has a number of other Steve Irwin alternatives - all 6" tall talkers, ranging from AUD$34.99 +PPH (Night Rescue Steve Irwin) to AUD$49.99 +PPH (Steve Irwin With Agro The Crocodile)

RATING:

REVIEW: Crikey! A 16 inch plaything in shorts ....

NAME: Navajo Storyteller Doll
TYPE: Objects d'art
PRICE: US$12 - 20 + shipping
AVAILABLE FROM: The Gathering Place, Thoreau, New Mexico. Order via website.

RATING:

REVIEW: Armfuls of attentive children eagerly listen to the whispers of the storytellers. These hand-formed terra cotta dolls are hand-painted with great detail. Notice the turquoise jewelry and clothing accents on the little children.

NAME: Nancy Pearl Library doll
TYPE: Action figure
PRICE: US$8.95 + shipping
AVAILABLE FROM: McPhee website, eBay. Pallets lists them at US$7.19. In Australia, buy from the NSW State Library Shop (price unknown) or POP Shop in Sydney $19.95 + $ 4.75 +PPH. Phone is 02 93324840. Or Independent Studios at Brookvale; price unknown.
(October 2004 prices)

RATING:

REVIEW: Maybe the world's best-known library toy! From the McPhee website: Each 5" tall, hard plastic Librarian Action Figure is modeled after Nancy Pearl, a real-life librarian in the Seattle area. Press the button on her back and her arm will move with amazing "shushing action!" Comes with a tiny plastic replica of her most recent book, Book Lust, and a stack of random literature. The card features a brief history of libraries on the back as well as a realistic check-out card in a classic library sleeve along with two bookmarks and a Nancy Pearl trading card. The WLW review sample has sparked a number of VERY interesting conversations!

NAME: Yano Interactive Storytelling Doll
TYPE: Soft toy with voice chip
PRICE: about AUD$139, varies with supplier and country of purchase. More information to come shortly. Best price will be shown here. Were on sale at Barns and Nobel for US$49 + shipping.
AVAILABLE FROM: to be advised

RATING: not yet rated

REVIEW: No sample yet received for review. From the website: Yano's incredible range of facial expressions, gestures, hand movements and voices make him seem real. Has a range of stories available separately.

NAME: Geekman
TYPE: Action figure
PRICE: unknown
AVAILABLE FROM: to be advised

RATING: not yet rated

REVIEW: no sample yet supplied for review, but may be a great companion figure for the Nancy Pearl Library Action figure...