Mudpuppy Loves the Attention

It was real treat to see our Mudpuppy Eric Carle’s Brown Bear Floor Puzzle featured as one of ten of Stephanie Oppenheim’s picks in her Top Rated Green Toys post today. Stephanie called the 24-piece puzzle “a friendly low key way of introducing kids to the creatures we share this planet with…without a heavy message.”  

The same puzzle recently won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2009 in the pre-school category. Read more by scrolling down a few posts, or search on “Oppenheim”) right here at the Galiwag. Have a look at other award-winning, battery-free toys from Mudpuppy.

Why we're looking at other blogs, I also wanted to thank some other bloggers for mentioning Mudpuppy toys in recent posts:

Amy described  in her blog Distinguishing Joy how great it was that her son and daughter played with Mudpuppy magnetic figures for hours end when on long vacation car trips.

Natalie, blogging on Hiccupings from Melbourne, Australia, also liked the magnetic figures—especially City Girls.  Funny--she doesn't mention kids---she views the fun figures as a great excuse to decorate her refrigerator.

We love the pictures and Alex’s great review of  Mudpuppy sticker set play scenes were featured on Ohdeedoh, an online community for people “who care about good design, but happen to have children.”

     

And going back to the beginning of school, Debbie wrote a great piece on Mommies With Style about how Mudpuppy keep her daughter entertained whenever it’s time to wait..for school to start, for a restaurant meal, etc. She really liked the interactive journal Lots of Fun on the Go, as well as Constructibles Building Sets, Sticker Set Play Scenes, and First Puzzles.

 

We really appreciate the kind words!

--Susan

 

Galison Holiday Giveaway Contest – Win Your Favorite Boxed Greeting Cards

With the ice skating rink opening in neighboring Bryant Park, our thoughts naturally turned to the approaching winter season.    

Then we counted up our holiday cards, and realized that Galison Holiday has more than 100 different designs to choose from this year!

With so many styles to choose from, we wondered what your favorites are.   Frosty Feline? Giotto Nativity? Andy Warhol Shoe?

   
Let us know your favorites, and you could win two boxes of the holiday greeting cards of your choice!

Browse by category, like Contemporary (including new Andy Warhol designs), Vintage Photography, Angels and Traditional, Nature and Botanical, or you can view all cards at once on three web pages.

Or you could browse by card size, or even snowy landscape scenes vs. no-snow for our friends in the south.

The winner will choose ANY two boxes of cards from our Holiday Time collection.
 
      
   
 

To enter:    

1.  Make a comment on THIS post telling us your favorite holiday cards. 
2.  Post your comment by 11:59pm, November 13. Please enter only once (Sorry, US  shipping only)
3.  We will choose 3 winners at random and will be announcing the winners on November 14th. 
4.  If you wish to be contacted by e-mail if you win, please include your e-mail address in your  comment  

Share holiday greetings with your friends--on us!  Enter today! And tell your friends, too.

Brenda Bell
Publicity Director
Galison/Mudpuppy Press
28 W. 44th Street
New York, NY 10036
212-354-8840  ext. 200

Chrysanthemum Time at Galison

It seems like only yesterday that we were celebrating the Cherry Blossom festivals, and now it's time for Japanese chrysanthemums--at this rate it will be Christmas tomorrow!

Saturday seemed like a good day for an excursion to the Bronx to the New York Botanical Garden for the opening day of the Kiku: The Art of the Japanese Chrysanthemum show, which will run through November 16, 2008. The exhibit explains and displays the extremely cultivated displays of chrysanthemums, for example, this display, which is the result of training one single chrysanthemum:        

In addition to chrysanthemums, there is a display of bonsai and other Japanese plants in the Enid Haupt Conservatory. In one courtyard, there is an imposing sculpture made of bamboo by the artist Tetsunori Kawana--with the help of volunteers! It is meant to evoke clouds over the bamboo, and here's a photo I took with the real clouds above! 

But chrysanthemums aren't only in the Bronx: here are some at the promenade (leading to where the Christmas tree will be) at Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan:  

 

Here at Galison, we have lots of Chinese and Japanese flower images applied to note cards, journals, and more. Have a look at our  Asian Art Collection to see images like this "Chinese Butterflies" box of cards:   

Mudpuppy's Brown Bear Sees Platinum

I've always liked Eric Carle's collage style of illustration--his books were a big part of my son's early years--and I'm always happy when Mudpuppy uses Eric Carle illustrations on puzzles and games. So it's especially great to announce that one of our Mudpuppy puzzles, the Brown Bear Floor Puzzle, has just been awarded the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award! 

This 24 jumbo-piece floor puzzle explores the many colored birds and animals the Brown Bear sees--you remember--"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?"

Learn more about Eric Carle and his work at his website--and if you're in the neighborhood of Amherst, Massachusetts, stop by to visit the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.

Have a look at the Stephanie Oppenheim's blog, Thoughts on Toys from the Founder of the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio for more about toys from an expert!

Be sure to visit Mudpuppy to see the whole Eric Carle Collection!

--Susan

P.S. Our favorite Eric Carle book is "Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me"