Happy Father's Day!

Gentle reminder that we'll be closed today and are cutting back to summer hours this week. Henceforth we'll be open on Fridays and Saturdays 10-6. On other days, call, email, or text in advance and you can shop or sell as you see fit so long as someone is here.

Pictured: Yogi leads his ducklings, Biggie and Pac (Frances Marsh / Discovery News)

US Secret Service Hoodie, size 7-8ish

This is larger than our target size range but I'll confess a certain weakness for novelties. This looks like the real deal; maybe it was printed up for the Secret Service family picnic? $8

JJ Cole Bundle Me - Toddler Stroller Bunting, Khaki

Someone was in the store the other day asking me to hold the next one of these that came in but they forgot to leave their number. Whoops! It's $21 and up for grabs...

More Christmas action

    

Gap red velvet dress, 24 months, $10 (looks like it was never worn); Gap denim dress, 18 months, $8 paired with a Gap red turtleneck, 24 months, $3.

 

Children's Place gray wool jumper, $6 paired with a Miniwear turtleneck, $3.

Wooden Toys in the house

Here's what we've got in the used wood department: Melissa & Doug latches board, $7 (teach your kid how to escape from every conceivable space in the apartment!); Wonderworld Waggy Garden Sorter, $8 ($23 on Amazon); box of 4 Jewish holiday-themed wooden peg puzzles, $7 (new in package); Manhattan Toy "swich", $6, a bunch of Melissa & Doug puzzles, and more items I'm too lazy to type.

 

New! Baby Leg Warmers

Just got in a bunch of wholesale baby/toddler leg warmers, which are great for layering; unlike leggings, you don't need to remove them for diaper changes. They're 100% cotton and fit kids from 0 to 2 or 3 years. Funny thing is, I ordered these because they were cute, like a knockoff version of BabyLegs. Little did I know that they are literally BabyLegs knockoffs: the BabyLegs logo is included as part of the design. (Sorry, BabyLegs execs: we're not trying to fool anyone!)

These are new in package, and will set you back $4.

Favorite Baby-Toddler Books, Volume II

Next up, Monkey Portraits, is, I think, nearly impossible for a young toddler to not love. I have not shown this book to toddlers other than my own but it's a simple matter of science: studies show that kids love monkeys and apes. (For more on this, see my Adult Education lecture Why You Want A Monkey.)

There are not a lot of words in this book; what you get, rather, are simply uncanny, arresting images of nonhuman primates.The book presents as a work of photographs (Greenberg is a photographer) but the images have been digitally altered; eyes have been replaced and faces changed... so the portraits are photo illustrations rather than photographs. The book would arguably have been more interesting if the photos weren't so dramatically edited, were more "real," and the packaging of the series strikes me as a bit dishonest. But, hey, when it comes to primate pics, I'll take what I can get -- and there's simply no other book that bridges the gaps among all of us animals in such an engaging fashion.

Favorite Baby-Toddler Books, Volume I

What is the Monk's Trunk difference? Bad business sense! Yes, there is no rational reason for me to seek out used books I like in order to sell them for the same price in my store but, hey, it's fun. Which brings me to two books that have been my toddler's favorites since he was a year old.

First, ABC3D, a genius pop-up designed by Marion Bataille. To appreciate it, you need to see a video of it in action. My son learned his ABC's from this book but got them wrong and eventually forgot them entirely when we misplaced our copy.... which was fine with me. Babies don't need to read!

Caveats: Keeping it away from baby's hands isn't easy. I don't let my guy touch it, regardless of how much he begs. And my friend's daughter, who's the same age as my son, has never shown any interest. Different strokes...

Boon Stuffed Animal Jail

Straight from the future, it's the Boon Stuffed Animal Bag. Perfect for gathering up all of your kids' plushies and dropping them from a 10-story window, fashionably. Like new condition. $15 (retails for $60)

Monk's Trunk Gift Cards

Looking for an environmentally friendly gift?  How about oak leaves? Or street rubble?

We don't sell anything 100% environmentally pure here but we do the best we can, and, with that in mind, our new Monk's Trunk gift cards aren't all that evil. Sure, they're plastic, but just a tiny bit of it, and it's hard to get more environmentally friendly than second-hand local goods. No shipping or trucking costs required, and your money stays in Brooklyn.