Out of the mouths of babes and never forgotten with My Quotable Kid, a parents’ journal.
Feeling decadent at dinnertime? Give your baby a beautiful animal bib from France made from potato starch plastic $22.
And finally, two essential gifts for indie rock parents and kids to enjoy together…
Paste Magazine has published An Indie Rock Alphabet Book: “T – I’d listen all day if I had the choice/to Mr. TOM WAITS and his growly voice.” $12.95.
Nonprofit writing and tutoring center 826LA collected the best songwriting efforts by its young students and had those songs recorded by artists like Fiona Apple, She & Him, and Cold War Kids. The result: Chickens in Love. CD $15/Vinyl $20.
Need a last minute gift for a mother in your life? We’ve put together some holiday suggestions.
Washington artist Nikki McClure uses an x-acto knife to make her beautiful cut paper art. Her designs are featured in several children’s books, but Mom might also like the journal Things to Make and Do for recording precious memories. $16.95.
The Baby Be of Use book series from McSweeneys preps the little one to help Mom out with “banking, car repair, breakfast preparation, drink-mixing, wedding planning, and romantic matchmaking.“ The six-book bundle is on sale now for $25.
Headphonies are adorable speakers, perfect for playing your Rockabye Baby CDs. $34.
Now that winter is here and there’s a chill to those midnight feedings, Mom might appreciate these contrast stitch arm warmers. $18.
A casual study of Bon Jovi lyrics reveals that the boys from Jersey have reveled in the concept of youth since the band’s earliest days when Jon rocked tight white leggings and big Aquanet hair. Many of the band’s biggest hits touch on the idea of being young, having a good time while being young and reminiscing about, uh, when they were young. We’re also huge fans of Jon’s ever-boyish grin. Here are the top five Bon Jovi songs about the trials, tribulations and triumphs of being young, beautiful and wild (in the streets).
Sample Lyric: “Daddy’s girl learned fast / All those things she couldn’t say.”
Oh, youth: This tale of a wayward young beauty became a hit when a yet unsigned Bon Jovi entered the track in a local radio station contest and it won. This win got the band a record deal and set the BJ boys on their way to international superstardom, ensuring that, much like the tragic heroine of “Runaway,” they would work many a night away entertaining the masses.
Sample Lyric: “A member of the boys brigade had a date with the girl next door / It made her daddy crazy, it only made her want him more…She headed out through the bedroom window / What her daddy didn’t know was gonna be alright.”
Oh, youth: ‘Fathers, you can lock up your daughters, but they’re gonna get out if they want to bad enough’ goes the theme of Slippery When Wet’s final track. We wonder if Jon is singing the same tune now that his daughter is of dating age.
Sample Lyric: “It’s my life / It’s now or never / Cause I ain’t gonna live forever / I just wanna live while I’m alive.”
Oh, youth: This monster hit celebrated the idea of living life to the fullest and staying forever young while introducing Bon Jovi to a newer, younger generation of fans. The song was the year’s #3 best selling single internationally. Pretty impressive for a bunch of old guys.
Sample Lyric: “Remember days of skipping school, racing cars and being cool? / With the six pack and a radio / we didn’t need no place to go / Remember at the prom that night, you and me / we had a fight, but the band had played our favorite song / and I held you in my arms so strong.”
Oh, youth: “Never Say Goodbye” touches on that specific brand of nostalgia centered on the care free days of our teenage years, except Jon Bon Jovi’s youth, with all of it’s car racing, school skipping and six pack drinking sounds just slightly cooler than the drama club meetings and midnight curfews we recall from high school.
Sample Lyric: “You were born to be my baby / Baby I was made to be your man / We’ve got something to believe in / Even if we don’t know where we stand.”
Oh, youth: This triumphant Jovi sing-along favorite is all about the power of love and belief, and whether you’re singing it at the top of your lungs in an arena packed with 50,000 fans or whispering it softly to your newborn, the catchy melody packs an emotional wallop.
After almost 30 years together, Bon Jovi’s four members have created one international rock and roll empire and nine beautiful rock and roll children between them. Read on for some fun tidbits about each band member and their respective little rockers.
Jovi Member: Jon Bon Jovi
Little Rockers: Stephanie Rose, Jesse James Louis, Jacob Hurley and Romeo Jon
Born: 1993, 1995, 2002, 2004
Hot Mama: Dorothea Hurley
Family Business: Jon married his high school sweetheart Dorothea at a quickie Vegas ceremony during a break from the 1989 New Jersey tour. Their marriage is one of the most enduring in rock and roll. The couple still lives in Jersey with their four kids, and Jon recently announced that Bon Jovi is going on hiatus after their world tour in support of “The Circle” ends this summer so the band can get some rest spend time with their families.
Jovi Member: Richie Sambora
Little Rocker: Ava Elizabeth Sambora
Born: October 4, 1997
Hot Mama: Actress Heather Locklear
Family Business: Sambora married blonde Dynasty babe Locklear in Paris in 1994. Ava, a miniature version of Heather, was born three years later. Now 13, Ava recently rocked the runway during the Los Angeles fashion week debut of her dad’s clothing line, White Trash Beautiful. Proud mama Heather watched her baby strut down the runway in a miniskirt while receiving mad applause from the audience.
Jovi Member: Tico Torres
Little Rocker: Hector
Born: 2004
Hot Mama: Torres’ third wife Maria Alejandra, whom he married in 2001
Family Business: Torres recently re-released his children’s clothing line, Rockstarbaby, online. He says he couldn’t relate to the pink’s and blues of most children’s clothing, and designed his clothes in chicer blacks and whites. The drummer says he always takes his six year old son’s advice regarding the clothing line.
Jovi Member: David Bryan
Little Rockers: Twins Gabrielle Luna and Colton Moon, and daughter Tyger Lily
Born: 1994, 2000
Hot Mama: Bryan’s former wife and high school sweetheart April McLean. The couple divorced in 2000 after 14 years of marriage.
Family Business: The Bryan brood is all blond, but David is the only family member whose hair does…that.
When you need a reprieve from homespun sock puppet shows, take the kids to a performance they won’t soon forget—and that gets you back home in time for dinner.
PASTA! A Pop Ups Puppet Musical stars veteran kids’ rockers Jacob Stein and Jason Rabinowitz (a.k.a. The Pop Ups) who take viewers on a comical romp through Brooklyn. With the audience’s help, The Pop Ups search for the ingredients to make the best (locally sourced) pasta sauce ever.
Get ready for a high-energy live act involving live-drawing, dance beats, colorful puppets, animals, trains, guitar riffs, mermaids, gardens, instruments, vegetables, sparkles and rocking interactive dance numbers that catapult the audience out of their seats.
This show also features favorite songs from The Pop-Ups 2010 album, Outside Voices. Performances are being held at New York’s Soho Playhouse during the following dates:
Sunday, December 26th
Tuesday, December 28th
Wednesday, December 29th
Thursday, December 30th
Friday, December 31st
Sunday, January 2nd
All shows will take place at 11 a.m.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here. If you want more information about the Pop Ups, visit their website.
If you grew up during the 80s, you may remember movies like The Outsiders and Rumblefish. Maybe you had posters of C. Thomas Howell and Matt Dillon pulled from the pages of Tiger Beat magazine adorning your bedroom walls, too. Well, if you loved these stories, you’re in luck! S.E. Hinton, the author behind these popular stories, is back again with a brand-new tale called “The Puppy Sister,” her first graphic novel for young adults.
Debuting today on Amazon, this story centers around a boy named Nick and his parents who find they’ve taken on more than they’ve bargained for when they adopt a new dog. The puppy, named Aleasha, decides she’ll have more fun with her new family if she is human, too. Told from her perspective, “The Puppy Sister” shares the hilarious antics of a puppy-turned-girl and is peppered with equally humorous illustrations. This novel makes a good choice for kids ages 9-12.
Fans of this title can stay tuned for a second graphic novel due out next spring, which is based on Hinton’s original “Taming of the Star Runner.”
