What's been inspiring us this week? Bright colors, cheeky public art and why-didn't-we-think-of-that genius ideas. More specifically:
A teeny, tiny Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Confetti that grows into wildflowers.
The happiest windows there ever were by Tyra von Zweigbergk.
Tove Jansson's delightful Moomintroll illustrations.
Proof that a few hundred Lego bricks can fix anything.
And there's more where that came from. Follow Wee Society on Pinterest and enter for a chance to win a set of Wee You-Things blocks.
In celebration of the launch of our new Wee You-Things app, we're giving away a set of You-Things blocks to one lucky winner. It might be you. Like us on Facebook, and pin for a chance to win.
We're always coming across wonderful creative ideas that we want to share. Here are a few pins that inspired us this week:
1. A great quote from Mr. Rogers on talking to kids about tragedy.
2. Getting creative (and crafty) with cardboard tubes.
3. This awesome LEGO ad from 1981.
4. Rapport! A beautiful book by Lotta Kuhlhorn.
5. Shopping bags that prove you only need a little imagination to have lots of fun.
Follow Wee Society on Pinterest and pin along with us.
This week's What Wee Read features hidden surprises, lovely design and lots of "little" treats. Enjoy.
Little Owl Lost by Chris Haughton
When a little owl falls from his nest and gets lost, his eager (but not so bright) squirrel friend tries to help him find his mama. Our boys love playing along. "No, that's NOT the mommy!" Haughton is one of our all-time favorite illustrators, and this engaging, adorable book is one of his best. And it has a great surprise ending.
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It's a big day here at Wee Society. Today we released Wee You-Things, our newest iOS interactive book app designed to encourage kids (ages 3-7) to understand and value differences.
In it, a quirky crew of characters celebrates "you-things" – those little and big things that, together, make you special and like no one else in the world. Ruth has a purple tooth. Little Dot gets scared a lot. Brad has two dads. Ling pretends that she's a king. After meeting 22 new friends, kids are asked, "What's your you-thing?" and get to become part of the story.
"No other app takes on this importand topic in such a fun way," says Carolina Nugent, Education Director, KinderTown, which helps parents find quality educational apps for kids. "It opens up so many possibilities for conversations between kids and adults. And by calling them 'you-things,' Wee Society has created a new vocabulary for talking about differences."
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We're pretty excited that the Wee Alphas App was selected as a Webby Awards Official Honoree for Best Visual Design.
The Webby Awards is the leading international competition honoring excellence on the web. With 11,000 entries recieved from all 50 US states and over 60 countries, the Official Honoree distinction is awarded to only the top 10% of all work entered. Winners are chosen by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences.
Thank you, Academy! And congrats to our design partner, Office.
Download the app in the App Store.
There's been a crush of online excitement for Wee You-Things Blocks. Check out what a few of our favorite blogs had to say.
"If there was an award for cutest kids building blocks, Wee Society would take it home! The Wee You-Things Blocks are a thing of beauty...Yay for well designed, and well crafted kids' toys." -Swiss Miss
"We love how Wee Society combines bright colors, artisanal craftsmanship, and a sense of humor to create the funkiest blocks around." -Inhabitots
"A beautiful block set to spark imagination." -Lofty Littles
We're feeling the love. Get your very own set here and build something awesome.
Thinking about What Wee Read was so much fun last week that we wanted to share a few more wonderful books that our kids never seem to get tired of—and maybe more importantly, we never get tired of reading to them.
Press Here by Herve Tullet
In this clever take on interactivity, kids are instructed to press the dots, shake the pages and tilt the book to make stuff happen throughout. No digital tricks here—it's all done on a flat printed page, with a little imagination. (Our kids were admittedly a bit confused when pressing didn't work like an iPad.) Old school, we like it.
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