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Gifts for the Gifted: the Best of Hoagies' Products
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Finding
the right gifted for a gifted child, parent or professional can be stressful, and overexcitabilities
of the gifted can make stress seem... even more stressful. Modern
advertising can be frustrating and misleading to even the strongest individual.
And we get caught up in the craziness...
When shopping for gifts for the gifted, think about the unusual. Consider
making a donation to a charity instead of another toy, for our globally aware children. Some gifted families boycott "giving"
altogether, opting instead to spend extra time with other family members,
perhaps cherishing each other's company, or perhaps donating their family time to help
those less fortunate. For more ideas, visit
Gifts to Share: Humanitarian Opportunities for Gifted Families
When gifts are appropriate (even a gift to yourself!), Hoagies' Shopping Guide offers a variety of
ideas, from Smart Toys to play with, Software Favorites to play, Nerd Shirts to wear, Kids & Teens Books and
Magazines for kids and young adults,
Books for Parents & Professionals, Journals, and Educational Products for parents and professionals,
Music for the eclectic gifted ear, and Movies Featuring Gifted Characters.
Check out the best of...

- Be sure to visit all the Smart Toys pages
best-of-the-best toys for our kids and grandkids - ALL the toys and games on these pages are
excellent choices for gifted kids of all ages!
These are the best of the best, but ALL the toys
and games listed on the pages above are terrific fun for gifted kids - check
them all out!
The 24 Game
Create the number 24 from the four numbers on a game card. You can add,
subtract, multiply and divide. Use all four numbers but use each number only
once. Available from simple addition and subtraction, right up to fractions,
decimals and algebra. Click for 24 Challenge tournament schedule.
Decks listed in order of difficulty
Apples to Apples, Party Box Edition or
Apple Crate Edition (includes Expansion Set #1 and #2)
(ages 12+)
This game receives rave reviews from our gifted community, for
family or group fun!
Also check out... (And for a full list of the words in each set, visit
Munching Apples fan site)
-
Apples to Apples Jr. (ages 7-12) fun as soon as they can read!
-
Apples to Apples Jr. 9+
(ages 9-14) an intermediate level, tons of fun! (or from
Amazon)
-
Apples to Apples Apple Crate Edition
Apples
to Apples Customizable Cards create your own green and red apple cards
(for inkjet printers)
Bedlam
Cube
19,186 Solutions, and So Hard to Find Just One (or from
MindWare UK or
Amazon)
Thirteen bright pieces fit together to form a 4x4 cube. Looks so
deceptively simple... I've never met a cube puzzle I couldn't solve,
until now!
Blokus
(or from
Amazon or
MindWare UK)
Take turns placing as many of their 21 geometric shapes on board as
they can, but only the corners of their own pieces may touch. The real
challenge comes toward the end of the game... Or take a new twist,
with Blokus
Trigon or from MindWare. Also
Travel Blokus
Card
Golf
Play golf with a deck of cards? You bet! There's a course
provided, but you can play ANY golf course in the world - all you need is
the distance and par for each hole. Use the deck to play and score
your holes, and see if you can beat par. We had fun playing it with
teens and adults; good beginning as young as kids can add 3 digit numbers.
Not bad for quick mental math practice, either! Easy to carry and play
almost anywhere...
Cranium
Tin Edition
(12 to adult) or
Cranium
Cadoo (7 and up)
Spell a word backwards, hum a tune, answer a multiple-choice question,
draw with your eyes closed, and more when you play Cranium, with 14 talent-tapping activities
designed to bring out the best in you and your friends... Cadoo is the
funky fusion of tic-tac-toe, general knowledge, sculpting skill, and scavenger
hunt designed for kids
-
Cranium Booster Box 2
- Cranium
Cadoo Booster Box 1
-
Also...
Cranium
Turbo
(12 to adult) Adds 6 new activities to the original 10, for even more Cranium fun!
-
Cranium
Hoopla
(12 to adult) Players act, draw, and craft hilariously clever clues to get the other players
to guess the answers on their cards - great party game!
-
Cranium
Whoonu (8 to adult) have unforgettable fun as you reveal your
favorite things, share hilarious stories, and bond over surprising
connections. You'll be amazed at what you'll learn about your friends and
family -- especially those you think you know best!
-
Cranium
Family Fun
(8 to adult) Cranium fun for the whole family, with sculpting, guessing,
drawing building and flipping in every game
-
Cranium
Zigity
(8 and up, much younger gifted child) Quick card game, complete a puzzle,
spell a word, sum it up, or match instruments...
-
Cranium
Conga
(7 and up) Fast-paced "guess what I'm thinking" game will get your whole family
acting, sculpting, guesstimating, and picking hilarious words
-
Cranium
Bumparina
(7 and up, much younger gifted child) Quick strategy game, no reading
required. Place your bumpers to head the balls your way, but watch out
for you opponent - one twist of a bumper can wreck your plan!
-
Balloon Lagoon
(5 and up) While the merry-go-round music plays, compete thinking, matching, flipping and fishing as
you collect balloons
-
Cranium
Hullabaloo
(4 and up) Twister meets Simon Says... Listen closely and think fast as you
bounce, twist, spin, high-five, and dance to the music, sounds, and friendly
voice of Hullabaloo. Rewards quick thinking, cooperation,
and creative problem-solving. Also
Cranium
Hullabaloo DVD Game: Amazing Animal Adventure
-
Cranium
Cariboo
(3 to 6 years) Teaches wee ones a few colors, shapes, numbers, and letters
-
Chrononauts
(or from
Amazon)
The card game of history! Also try
Early American Chrononauts! From the folks who bring us
Fluxx
Check out their other games...
Nanofictionary,
Aquarius,
Proton, and more...
IceHouse
a high-speed game of pyramid stacking, or try a beginner set in
TreeHouse,
then
add
Zendo
makes IceHouse into a strategy game plus...
Equate
(or from
Amazon
or
MindWare UK)
Strategic math thinking game. Don't forget
Junior Tile Set for more integers (or MindWare), or the
Advanced Tile Set for negative numbers and exponents (or MindWare).
Equate classroom set and
Equate Junior classroom set available, too!
Equate
Activity Notebook Level 1,
Level 2, or
Level 3...
Fluxx
The card game where the rules always are... in Fluxx! Also available in
EcoFluxx,
Family Fluxx and
Zombie
Fluxx versions. Or get
Fluxx Blanxx, and make up your own Keepers, Actions, Rules and
Goals! Other Fluxx Editions:
German Fluxx
and
Japanese Fluxx
Fractiles-7
magnetic symmetry tiles by Fractiles
(or from
Amazon)
Make butterflies, snowflakes, optical illusions and more. Young minds will
love learning about the different kinds of symmetry. Just start placing the
tiles on the magnetic board. Neat travel toy, too!
Fractiles-7 Travel
(or from
Amazon)
and
Fridge Fractiles
Gamepuzzles for the joy of
thinking, by Kadon Enterprises
Wonderful acrylic (and some wood) puzzles for kids (my kids loved them
since 2 and 3, my husband and I still love them!) and adults
- Roundominoes,
Super Roundominoes and Grand Roundominoes
- Rombix Jr. and
Rombix
- Deka-Star and
Kite Mosaik
- Hexnut and Hexnut
II
- Quintachex
the most beguiling checkerboard ever!
- Dezign-8
Gemlok
by Pywacket LLC
The roll of the dice determines your moves, but your strategy determines
your fate. You finally land on a diamond and a ruby and two emeralds. But
can you keep them from being taken by the other players? This game
plays better than it sounds - and it's a visual/spatial playground!
Dice and moves like you've never seen before, and strategy different than
any other game - it's fun every time
Jurassic
Jumble
from the makers of SET (or from
Amazon)
-
Fun family game of switching and swiping dinosaur cards and bones, for up to
9 friends or family members of all ages!
Kapla
Blocks
by Kapla
"KAPLA" is from the Dutch "KAbouter PLAnkjes" which means
"small planks". Its design proportions are based on the elementary
progression of odd numbers: one, three, five. Unlike traditional cubes,
KAPLA is long and thin. It is perfectly balanced between 2 ideas: building
and sculpting. This single set can create an unlimited number of
structures... Fun for kids of ALL ages - you should see the college
students buildings!
Add Kapla Color
Squares in
Red,
Orange,
Light Blue,
Dark Blue,
Yellow, or
Green - 40 planks in color in each Square, to mix and match with your
natural maple Kapla blocks. And try the
Kapla Blue Book - Advanced for great construction ideas. Or get
two-color block sets (20 pieces each color) with suggestion book included:
Red and Orange with Book,
Light Blue and Dark Blue with Book, or
Yellow and Green with Book. Now larger sets available!
Kapla 280 Piece Building Set in Wooden Box or
Kapla 1000 Piece Building Set in All Natural Box
Keesdrow
by Pywacket LLC (2 to 6 players
or more in teams, also a great solitaire game)
The ultimate word seek game! Real wooden tiles contain 4 letters
each, double-sided for more combinations, and then distributed in an 8x8
board - it's a new challenge with each game. Find words in adjacent
letters, use letters your opponent already used for double or triple points,
but watch out for "red" letters...
Klutz
Books
From paper airplanes to Legos, marbles and jacks, from juggling to peg
solitaire to desktop football, from knitting and sewing to watercolor art to
thumbprint art... There are so many of these great books, they get their own
Hoagies page! Click Klutz
Books
to investigate them all...
Lego Mindstorms
by Lego
Legos and computers - a perfect combination for our children! Choose one
of the first 2 kits if you don't have a PC or for younger kids; the rest
allow PC programming of their Lego creations!
-
Mindstorms
NXT the terrific new Mindstorms kit! Also available from
MindWare Online
-
Robotics Invention System 2.0 the old Mindstorms kit...
- Building
Robots With Lego Mindstorms : The Ultimate Tool for Mindstorms Maniacs -
sound like anyone you know? A companion book...
-
Extreme Mindstorms: an Advanced Guide to Lego Mindstorms - the book!
Quarto
by Gigamic
The goal is to establish a line of four pieces, with at least one common
characteristic. You decide your opponent’s next move. Not as easy as
it sounds... my 13-year-old strategy expert says, "I've played a bunch of
times, and haven't figured out all the strategy yet - that's saying
something!"
SET
The
Family Game of Visual Perception (or from
Amazon.com)
Purchase this great card game, or play the
on-line
version that changes daily, plus resources for teaching with SET. Also
from SET Enterprises:
-
Quiddler
word game
-
Triology
gin rummy with SET cards! (this one's also a board game)
-
Xactika more figures, more challenge
Five
Crowns now there's five crowns to contend with!
Jurassic
Jumble
family game of switching and swiping dinosaur cards and bones...
-
Settlers
of Catan
Catan is an imaginary unexplored island, and players are explorers and
settlers. The playing surface is made of hexagonal tiles that, depending on
their placement, create a different environment each time the game is played.
Settlers must use their resources to develop their island home, building roads
and houses to create new towns. But watch out! There's a robber on the island...
Expansion sets include
Settlers 5-6 Player Expansion,
Seafarers
of Catan,
Cities
& Knights of Catan,
Starfarers
of Catan,
Settlers
of the Stone Age,
Settlers
of Catan Travel Edition
Snafooz
the foam puzzle that forms a cube!
Snafooz 6-packs contain 6 different colors and 6 challenge levels. Build
all 6 cubes, or combine different colors to form lots of interesting
shapes...
Spy Alley Game
(or from
MindWare)A little bit of paranoia helps in this business,
what with secret agents from all over the world following you around the
board as you try to pick up clues to their identity and keep your own well
hidden...
ThinkFun (was Binary Arts) great logic
puzzles and games for all
ages (mostly labeled 8 years and up, but great for gifted kids much
younger)
-
River Crossing
Use tree stumps and planks, and try to cross the river
-
River Crossing Jr. larger, easier to handle pieces, easier to solve
challenges
-
River
Crossing 2 - more puzzles for your River Crossing
-
GRIDWorks place the pieces by visual logic clues...
-
TipOver
Topple a path from here to there... or
Spiderman TipOver
-
Subtrax
a new twist on classic peg solitaire...
-
Smart
Mouth Stretch your vocabulary and quick thinking skills - great new
addition! (or from
Amazon.com)
-
Rush
Hour (or from
Amazon.com)
-
Rush Hour Card
Set 2,
Set 3,
Set 4 (or from Amazon,
Set 2Set 2,
Set 3,
Set 4)
-
Railroad
Rush Hour
2 exit choices, and blocks that move in two directions!
Tsuro
The Game of Influence,
by Wizkids Games
Build your own path, without your opponents steering you in the wrong
direction - or off the board!
VisualEyes
The 'What You See is What You Get' Game!
Appealing to the visual learners, and everyone else. Find words
or phrases among the pictures
Zome System
DaVinci Kit,
Explorer
Kit,
Glow-in-the-Dark Adventurer Kit,
Crazy Bubble
Kit, (or from
MindWare
Adventurer or
Creator)
from triangles to DNA strands, the smart new building toy
Great math learning tool, too! Available lesson
plans, model instructions, on-line manual. My kids (and their parents)
love this stuff!
Plus
literature including lesson plans for K-12, Kepler's Solid essay and more...
Naked Zome Explorer - Explorer Kit without the box, save almost 40%
Paul's Big Bag
of Parts 1/2 pound of assorted parts

-
Descartes' Cove by Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (6 CD set for gifted grades 6
through 8)
- In a leaky lifeboat, students survive an ocean storm and become marooned
on a deserted island once inhabited by Rene Descartes. They discover his
parchment notebook, pick up a map and other gear, and begin their journey
through the island tunnels, volcanoes, underground rivers, jungles,
abandoned mines, sunken ships and many more surprises. At each step, they
solve increasingly difficult puzzles and math challenges, earn gold coins,
and make entries in their own journal. As they master each math concept,
they prepare to tackle the final quest... For more great details, read
Blending instructional
design principles with computer game design: The development of
Descartes' Cove.
- Doctor
Walt’s CAD For Kids
by
CADKEY, ages 8
and up (age 6)
- Provides a dramatic introduction to both basic drafting and powerful
solid modeling. Create fancy cars, fascinating creatures, intricate robots,
and hundreds of other items with minimal effort...
-
Everett Kaser Software runs
on all ALL levels of Windows (age 6 to adult)
- Logic and puzzle games designed to stretch your mind, not the storage
capacity of your hard disk or the speed of your CPU. Sherlock,
Honeycomb Hotel, Dinner with Moriarty, Hero's Hearts, Decartes Enigma,
Floyd's Bumbershoot, Lunatile, Solitile, Knarly Mazes, and more... each
different than the one before, but each tons of fun - there's a logic game
for every learning style!
-
Logical Journey of the Zoombinis
by The Learning Company, ages 9 and up (age 5)
-
Zoombinis
Mountain Rescue
Zoombinis Island Odyssey
Help the Zoombinis complete their journey by solving lots of different
puzzles...
-
World
of WarCraft
and World
of WarCraft Expansion: Burning Crusade by Blizzard Entertainment (age 12)
- The world's largest interactive gaming community, with more than 8.5 million
gamers world-wide. Create and customize your own hero, then explore an
expansive world with miles of forests, deserts, snow-blown mountains, and other
exotic lands. Visit huge cities and delve through dozens of vast
dungeons... Or play the stand-alone version
WarCraft III Battle Chest or
WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos
and
WarCraft III Expansion: The Frozen Throne

-
Zoo
Tycoon 2 Zookeeper Collection by Microsoft, all ages
10+ (7
all the way to adult!)
- Build pens and habitats with an eye toward the needs of each animal species.
Tend to your human animals by locating gift shops, restaurants, drink stands,
and bathrooms. Happy and well-fed animals will cavort and play, making your
guests very happy. And happy guests results in more money for you to improve
your zoo. It's a balancing act...
Visit
Software Favorites for software for all ages, that keeps their interest, for days, months
and years!

- The Adventures of Everyday Genius...
by Barbara Esham, illustrated by Mike Gordon

Visit Mainstream
Connections for many great reviews and endorsements by the Eides,
Silverman, Reis, Baum, and many more!
-
If
You're So Smart, How Come Can't You Spell Mississippi?

- Katie always thought that her dad was smart; he is one of the busiest
attorneys in town! People are always asking him for advice! She has been a bit
confused since asking for help with her weekly spelling list. How can her "very
smart" dad struggle with one of her spelling words? This definitely did not make
sense. The word "Mississippi" had changed everything...
- Stacey
Coolidge's Fancy Smancy Cursive Handwriting

- How does Stacey do it? How can Carolyn not do it? Carolyn has been
practicing cursive handwriting every day for weeks, but she is not getting any
closer to Frederick, the class guinea pig. It's a good thing her teacher, Mrs.
T., is able ot turn her frustration into confidence...
- Mrs.
Gorski, I Think I Have The Wiggle Fidgets

- David doesn't know how he ends up in such "situations." At the time, it just
seems like such a great idea. His teacher, Mrs. G., has had about enough; he can
tell by the way her voice changes when she speaks to him. This time, he believes
that he has come up with the best idea yet - the perfect plan to make everything
better...
-
Last
to Finish: A Story About the Smartest Boy in Math

- One by one, Max's classmates turn in their finished papers before the timer
rings. Not Max, as soon as the teacher starts the timer, "it"
happens! His heart begins to pound. Once his heart begins to pound, his hands
begin to sweat and his brain freezes! Math must not be his thing...
-
Anthony
and the Magic Picture Frame: The Story of the Boy Who Traveled into the Past by
Stepping through the Picture Frame on His Bedroom Wall
by Michael S. Class
- Turns American history into a grand time-travel adventure. Gorgeous
hardcover with phenomenal illustrations that bring the reader right into
history. Anthony walks on the moon with Neil Armstrong, plays baseball with Lou
Gehrig, and flies from New York to Paris with Charles Lindbergh, storms the
beaches of Normandy on D-Day, cries with survivors of the Holocaust, and watches
battle-weary marines raise the American flag on Iwo Jima. He is with Thomas
Edison at the invention of the phonograph, the light bulb, and the motion
picture camera. He meets FDR, and works with Doctor Jonas Salk to conquer polio.
Be sure to visit Anthony's authors' blog
The Right Frame of Mind
for more discussion on the lessons of history
-
Becoming
a Problem Solving Genius: A Handbook of Math Strategies
by Edward Zaccaro
- Every math student needs a tool belt of problem solving strategies to call
upon when solving word problems. In addition to many traditional strategies,
this book includes new techniques such as Think 1, the 2-10 method, and more...
-
The Big Wave
by
Pearl S. Buck
- The famous story of a Japanese boy who must face life after escaping the
tidal wave destruction of his family and village...
-
Challenge Math For the
Elementary and Middle School Student
by Edward Zaccaro
- "Math is often taught as all scales and no music. This book contains the music!"
I couldn't have said it better myself - tons of fun problems...
-
Eats,
Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
by Lynne Truss
- Who would have thought a book about punctuation could cause such a
sensation? Or try the
audio CD version - listen to "Cutting a Dash," the hit series about
punctuation that inspired the hit book...
-
Fractals, Googols and Other Mathematical Tales
by Theoni Pappas
- Explores real numbers, exponents, dimensions, the golden rectangle in both serious and humorous ways. Penrose the cat, the parable of p, the numberline that fell apart, Leonhard the magic turtle and many others offer an amusing and entertaining way to explore mathematical ideas...
-
The
Gifted Kids Survival Guide (For Ages 10 and Under)
by Judy Galbraith
- The ultimate guide to surviving and thriving in a world that doesn't always
value, support, or understand high ability...
-
G Is for Googol: A Math Alphabet Book
by David Schwartz
- Entries include abacus, binary, cubit, diamond ("There are no diamonds in math. We put diamond in this book so you would know it doesn't belong here"), equilateral, exponent, Fibonacci, googol, y-axis, and zillion
-
Grammar
Snobs Are Great Big Meanies: A Guide to Language for Fun and Spite
by June Casagrande
- We all know one, some of us is one... a Grammar Snob! A
fun way to learn grammar, while we learn to laugh at ourselves...
-
Harriet the Spy
by Louise Fitzhugh
- Unflinchingly honest portrayal of childhood problems and emotions changed
children's literature forever. ...remains one of the best children's novels ever
written. The fascinating story is about an intensely curious and intelligent
girl...
-
Innumeracy:
Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences
by John Allen Paulos
- Sprinkling his discussion of numbers and probabilities with quirky stories
and anecdotes, Paulos ranges freely over many aspects of modern life, from
contested elections to sports stats, from stock scams and newspaper psychics to
diet and medical claims, sex discrimination, insurance, lotteries, and drug
testing. Readers of Innumeracy will be rewarded with scores of
astonishing facts...
-
Listen!
by Stephanie Tolan
- Award-winning story about a girl who loses her mom, and finds herself,
with the help of a wild dog... Christopher Award, for media that “salutes
the highest values of the human spiritˮ (all readers)
-
A
Mathematician Reads the Newspaper
by John Allen Paulos
- Reveals the hidden mathematical angles in countless media stories. Real life
perspective on the statistics we rely on and how they can mislead is for anyone
interested in gaining a more accurate view of their world. Humorous and
knowledgeable...
-
Q
is for Quark: A Science Alphabet Book
by David Schwartz
- Really cool science alphabet book, for beginner to adult!
- The Math Curse
by Jon Scieszka
- Did you ever have one of those days where everything is a math problem? You have 10 things to do, and 30 minutes till the bus leaves. Is there enough time? You have 3 shirts and 2 pairs of pants. How many outfits can you make?
-
Metropolis: Ten Cities: Ten Centuries
by Albert Lorenz
- In tracing the evolution of the metropolis, architectural illustrator
Albert Lorenz dazzles readers with his extraordinary visual depictions of
some of the greatest defining moments in human history (a hit with the
visual spatial learners!)
-
My
Town
(or visit Usborne Books and search
on "Young Geography")
-
Award-winning, fun flap book that looks at the town where we live, with maps
and more...
-
The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure by Hans Magnus Enzensberger
- In 12 dreams, a 12-year-old boy who hates math discovers the amazing world of numbers: infinite numbers, prime numbers, Fibonacci numbers, numbers that magically appear in triangles, and numbers that expand without end...
- Powers
of Ten
by Philip & Phylis Morrison
- Starting with a view of a billion light-years, the book moves inward, with
each page being 1/10th the scale of the previous one. In 25
steps, you're looking at a picnic by the shores of Lake Michigan, then
plunging into a human hand, down through the cells inside it, the DNA inside
the cells...
-
A
Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson
- From primordial nothingness to this very moment, A Short History of Nearly
Everything reports what happened and how humans figured it out. [Bryson's] aim
is to help people like him, who rejected stale school textbooks and dry
explanations, to appreciate how we have used science to understand the smallest
particles and the unimaginably vast expanses of space...
-
Smart
Talk: What Kids Say About Growing Up Gifted
by Robert A. Shultz and James R. Delisle
- Hundreds of kids from around the world, ages 4 to 12, share their deepest,
truest thoughts about about peers, families, school, and their futures.
Being gifted has its upside and downside, and the kids talk about both...
-
by
Carole Hamburger
-
Wonderful stories of a family of dots, and their adventures. Picture
books, but for older kids, full of great vocabulary and idiomatic phrases and
more!
The
Star Pupil: A Dot's Quest to Find His Place in the World

-
A dot's quest to find his special calling. After excelling in school, he heeds
his parents' advice to follow his heart and to always be himself
-
The Zippity-Do-Dot: The Dot Who Dared to Pick Her Knows

-
The escapades of a feisty little dot who pursues her dreams...
- The
Survival Guide for Kids with ADD or ADHD
by
John F. Taylor
- Great guide to ADHD and what it means (and doesn't mean!) to your life at
home and school. How to deal, and how to succeed!
-
Surviving
the Applewhites
by Stephanie S. Tolan - Newbery Honor title! When Jake
Semple is kicked out of yet another school, the Applewhites, an eccentric family
of artists, offer to let him live with them and attend their unstructured
Creative Academy...
- The
Way Life Works: The Science Lover's Illustrated Guide to How Life Grows,
Develops, Reproduces, and Gets Along
by Mahlon Hoagland and Bert Dodson
- This book is what happens when a biologist and artist share an interest in
life from bacteria to humans, and collaborate on taking their knowledge public.
Superbly written, delightfully illustrated, and supremely informative...
-
The
Weighty Word Book
by Janet Stevens, Paul M. Levitt and Elissa S. Guralnick
-
From Abasement to Zealot, an alphabet book kids of all ages can really dive
into! With stories and puns and mnemonic memory clues for the
definitions...
- Words
That Make a Difference
by Robert Greenman- and
More
Words that Make a Difference
by Robert Greenman and Carol Greenman
- Passages from the New York Times (Words) and the Atlantic Monthly (More
Words) demonstrate hundreds of our language's most interesting words. Both
books feature wonderful literary passages, many by renowned authors, with More Words reviewing
the history of the vocabulary through the ages and pages of the Atlantic Monthly...
- The
Wrong Word Dictionary: 2,000 Most Commonly Confused Words
by Dave Dowling
- Even good writers sometimes find the right word elusive. Or is it illusive?
The correct usage for more than 2,000 words that people commonly misuse is
provided in this concise and accessible handbook that assures, insures, and
ensures that anyone who wants to communicate accurately and effectively chooses
the right word every time...
Young Adults
-
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
- A murder in the Louvre reveals a sinister plot to uncover a secret that has
been protected since the days of Christ. The victim, in the moments before his
death, manages to leave gruesome clues at the scene that only his granddaughter,
noted cryptographer Sophie Neveu, and Robert Langdon, a famed symbologist, can
untangle... (some violent and sexual content)
-
Digital
Fortress
by Dan Brown
- When the NSA's invincible code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code
it cannot break, the agency calls its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a
brilliant, beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through
the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage--not by guns or bombs --
but by a code so complex... (some violent content)
-

- The
Gifted Kids Survival Guide: A Teen Handbook
by Judy Galbraith and Jim Delisle
- Written with help from hundreds of gifted teenagers, The Gifted Kids'
Survival Guide is the ultimate guide to surviving and thriving in a world
that doesn't always value, support, or understand high ability. Full of
surprising facts, step-by-step strategies, and practical how-tos, and
inspiring quotations, featuring insightful essays contributed by gifted
young people...
-
A
Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, or
A
Short History of Nearly Everything: Special Illustrated Edition
- From primordial nothingness to this very moment, A Short History of Nearly
Everything reports what happened and how humans figured it out. [Bryson's] aim
is to help people like him, who rejected stale school textbooks and dry
explanations, to appreciate how we have used science to understand the smallest
particles and the unimaginably vast expanses of space...
-
The
Universe in a Nutshell
by Stephen Hawking
- It's no secret that many people who own
A Brief History of Time
have never finished it. Hawking's The Universe in a Nutshell aims to remedy the
situation, with a plethora of friendly illustrations to help readers grok some
of the most brain-bending ideas ever conceived...
-
Welcome to the Ark
by Stephanie S. Tolan
-
In a world of random violence and multiplying militias, four brilliant young
misfits are thrown together in a group home for troubled youth. Isolated by
their special abilities, Miranda, Doug, Taryn, and Elijah are unable to cope in
a society that regards them as freaks. But in the experimental program they dub
the Ark, the four discover they are not alone...
-
Usborne Books

- Usborne Books are fascinating, lavishly illustrated books written with
humor, drama, and tons of information. Check out these marvelous books
for your gifted children ages birth to adult and beyond! Gifted kids LOVE
Usborne Books!
- Visit Hot Topics book list for lots more great titles for kids and teens!

-
Computer
Gear
random bytes of fun
-
Techie T's, including Mac T's, Windows Fatal Exception, plus
Linux Shop,
Fun T's and
Techie Things...
-
Hoagies'
Gifted Online

- Show off your support for Hoagies' Gifted Education Page!
Hoagies'
Gifted Online features ©Hoagies' cheetah across the world logo on
sweatshirts, T-shirts, mugs, mouse pads, and more! Shop here for your favorite teacher or parent.
Thanks to Café Press for supplying our products
-
ThinkGeek

- Mostly computer geek (including "child process" onesies, and
circuit board ties!), but other geek wear and toys as well. Home of
the TV remote watch, Binary watch, Rotating Earth Watch, Swiss Memory USB
(yes, a Swiss Army knife with a USB flash drive built in!) and more...
-
- Visit Nerd Shirts for more great products!

Magazines (for kids and teens)
-
Cobblestone Publishing
-
Series of magazines for children,
on history and heritage and more
 |
Appleseeds Vocabulary, geography, math and science, ages 7 to 9
|
 |
Calliope World History Magazine, ages 9-14
|
 |
Cobblestone American History Comes Alive, ages 9-14
|
 |
Faces World Cultures, ages 9-14 |
 |
Footsteps* Celebrates African-American heritage and achievement, past and present, ages 9-14
*Discontinued, but past issues still available |
 |
Odyssey
Discovery science, math, space, astronomy and more, ages 9-14
|
Cricket Magazine Group
Series of monthly magazines for children, with stories, poems, activities, songs, and more
 |
Babybug ages 6 months to 2 years, small board book format |
 | Noodlebug
video series for ages 3 to 5, available in VHS or DVD. Combines
live-action and animated footage and incorporates classical music... |
 |
Ladybug ages 2 to 6
|
 |
Spider ages 6 to 9
|
 |
Cricket ages 9 to 14 |
 | Cicada literary magazine for
teens young adults |
Also from Cricket Magazine Group
Bringing kids the breadth and wonder of the Smithsonian's collections and
research. Sponsored by the Smithsonian
 |
Click
investigates the sciences, nature and the environment, ages 3 to 7
|
 |
Ask explores the world with inventors, artists, thinkers, and scientists of the
past and present, ages 7 to 10
|
 |
Muse stimulates, delights, and challenges every curious child, with articles on
space, genetics, lasers, rain forests, computers, physics, math, visual arts,
earth sciences, and almost everything else in the universe, ages 10 and up
|
Kids Discover Each full color issue covers a single topic with no advertising. Past topics
include Christopher Columbus, Kings and Queens, Pyramids, and Native Americans
Puzzlemania (assorted puzzles),
Mathmania (math puzzles),
Top Secret Adventures (world geography and culture),
Which Way USA (USA geography)
,
and
High Five (preschool)
by
Highlights ages 4 to 12
Monthly puzzle magazines for kids
Scientific
American and
Scientific
American Mind
One of the best science magazines available to non-science professionals...
adult (older gifted children)
And their new
magazine
Scientific
American Mind investigate, analyze and reveal aspects of the human mind!
Wired
Great reading for leaders in the field of digital information, adult (older gifted
children)
Visit Magazines for more great titles for kids and teens!

-
Tom Chapin
Family Tree,
Moonboat,
Mother Earth,
This Pretty Planet,
Billy the Squid,
Zag Zig,
Around the World and Back Again,
In
My Hometown,
Making Good Noise
- Great family-oriented story songs from Harry's younger brother. Don't
miss Don't Play With Bruno (Moonboat)
and Bruno's Christmas on the Mall (Zag
Zig) - you'll relate! Plus tons more great songs for our kids... and
they don't grate on adult nerves :-)
- Dr. Demento
Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection: The Greatest Novelty Records Of All
Time,
Dr. Demento: 25th Anniversary Collection,
Dr
Demento 30th Anniversary: Dementia 2000,
Very Best of Dr Demento,
Hits From Outer Space,
Dr. Demento's Country Corn,
Dr. Demento Presents: Spooky Tunes & Scary Melodies,
Dr. Demento Gooses Mother,
Dr. Demento Presents: Greatest Christmas Novelty CD,
Holiday in Dementia
- Tons of silly songs, including Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot
Bikini, Bulbous Bouffant, On the Shoulders of Freaks (all on
Dr
Demento 30th Anniversary: Dementia 2000), Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah! (Very
Best of Dr Demento), and more...
-
Tom Lehrer
The Remains of Tom Lehrer (box set),
That Was the Year That Was,
An
Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer,
Songs & More Songs and more...
- Irony and satire at their best... Don't miss The
Elements interactive on the web, or in song (The
Remains of Tom Lehrer or
An
Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer), and New Math (The
Remains of Tom Lehrer)
-
They Might Be Giants
Flood,
Apollo 18,
John Henry,
Dial-A-Song,
NO! and more...
- A great reason for math and computer science majors to add a real rock album to
their collection of John Williams and Weird Al records -- a
bacchanalian celebration of dorkiness, including Particle Man and Birdhouse in
Your Soul (both on
Dial-A-Song)
- Visit Music for the Gifted Mind for more great products!

- Billy
Elliot or
VHS (R)
 - Billy's got problems. His dad has scraped together the fees to send him to
boxing lessons, but Billy has discovered a different aptitude: a genius for
ballet dancing. Since admitting to such an activity is tantamount, in this
fiercely macho culture, is very bad, Billy keeps it quiet. But his teacher,
Mrs. Wilkinson , thinks he should audition for ballet school in London...
-
Dead Poets Society or
VHS (PG)
 - English professor John Keating (Robin Williams) inspires his students to a love of poetry and to seize the day. A compelling warning in it to parents who don't respect their children's gifts.
-
Ever
After or
VHS (PG)
 - Take away the Fairy Godmother, and what have you got left from the
Cinderella fable? The story of a girl for whom a bad stroke of luck is no match
for her internal strength and purity of heart. A romantic drama that purports to
tell the "facts" behind the Grimm brothers' story... (Drew Barrymore, Anjelica
Huston)
-
Finding
Neverland (FS) or
DVD (WS) or
VHS
(PG)
 - Playwright J. M. Barrie finds inspiration for his greatest creation from
four lively boys, the sons of widow Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. Though the
friendship threatens his already dwindling marriage, Barrie spends endless hours
with the boys, pretending to be pirates or Indians--and gradually the elements
of Peter Pan take shape in his mind...
-
Good Will Hunting or
VHS (R)
 - A therapist (Robin Williams) tries to help a brilliant, but troubled young man (Matt Damon) overcome his personal problems and realize his
potential
-
Harriet the Spy
or VHS (PG)
 - An 11-year-old wannabe journalist (Michelle Trachtenberg) who writes all her observations about friends in a diary. When the book is stolen and read by her peers...
-
The
Incredibles (FS) or
DVD (WS) or
VHS
(PG)
- A family of "supers," a brood of five with special powers are desperately
trying to fit in with the 9-to-5 suburban lifestyle. Of course, in a more
innocent world, Bob and Helen Parr were superheroes, Mr. Incredible and
Elastigirl. But blasted lawsuits and public disapproval forced them and other
supers to go incognito, making it even tougher for their school-age kids, the
shy Violet and the aptly named Dash... (Disney & Pixar)
-
Infinity or
VHS (PG)
 - Story of the early life of genius and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman (Matthew Broderick)
-
Kiki's Delivery Service or
VHS (G)
 - Japanese anime. A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service
Disney has acquired the rights for 20 of the films by director Hayao Miyazaki and will be releasing them
on video through their Buena Vista label. Disney can do whatever they want with the soundtrack.
So, they have used "big name" voices, but the gorgeous animation is unaltered.
Titles include:
Spirited Away or
VHS

- Princess
Mononoke (DVD
only)
-
Castle in the Sky or
VHS
-
The Castle of Cagliostro or
VHS
-
My
Neighbor Totoro or
VHS
-
The Last Starfighter or
VHS (PG)
 - A video-gaming boy, seemingly doomed to stay at his trailer park home all his life, finds himself recruited as a gunner for an alien defense force
-
Little Man Tate
or
VHS (PG)
 - The difference is the little boy is human, and not just a brain. He worries about people dying, envies the popular athletic boy, all the while plays music in competition form and forms math problems in his head
-
Matilda or
VHS (PG)
 - Based on the Roald Dahl classic book; cursed with a cretinous family and a witch of a school principal, a bright young girl (Mara Wilson) learns self-reliance--and develops unusual powers
-
Mr. Holland's Opus or
VHS (PG)
 - Being a true musician is about leaving your legacy for future generations, and by inspiring his students, Mr. Holland is ensuring that his passion will live forever, through them
-
October
Sky or
VHS (PG)
 - A West Virginia teenager hopes to break free from his predetermined coal miner's life by winning a national science fair competition with his rocket building designs
-
Real Genius or
VHS (PG)
 - The freshman year of a nerdy kid who enters college at a young age, with a subplot involving computers and military secrets
-
Searching
for Bobby Fischer or
VHS (PG)
 - The chess prodigy (Max Pomeranc) who refuses to become ruthless despite the prodding of his father (Joe Mantegna) and his surrogate-father / chess champion (Ben Kingsley)
- Whalerider
or
VHS (PG-13)
 - One of the most charming and critically acclaimed films of 2003, the New
Zealand hit Whale Rider effectively combines Maori tribal tradition with the
timely "girl power" of a vibrant new millennium. Despite the discouragement of
her gruff and disapproving grandfather (Rawiri Paratene), who nearly disowns her
because she is female and therefore traditionally disqualified from tribal
leadership, 12-year-old Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes) is c
|