blurbs, blogs, and (b)reviews:

Dr. Toy Best Green Toy

Dr. Toy Best Green Toy: "...distinguishes your company and its products as a green company dedicated to providing environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional toys as well as educating children, parents and teachers about the environment."  The Dr. Toy seal promotes educationally oriented, developmental and skill building products from the best large and small companies, worldwide.

Cool Mom Picks Ultimate Baby Shower Gift Guide

Each year, the cool moms at Cool Mom Picks search high and low for the best baby shower gift ideas so busy moms and dads don't have to - the coolest gifts for new babies and the parents who love them.  The guide lives here (note an amazing book gift box that rocks midway down on the right...)

The Reading Tub

The Reading Tub: a non-profit blog committed to children's literature and literacy, "...a first-stop for people who want to help kids reach their full potential and become successful readers."  Read this Author Showcase interview with manatee-in-chief Dr. John about blue manatee boxes and his book series Baby Unplugged!

Geek Mom

Geek Mom: Smart. Savvy. Social. "The first thing I noticed is that the selection of books is wonderfully curated...And it helps that Blue Manatee makes the gift-giving process so simple. Time to get that library started!"  Read the rest here!

SIMPLE

SIMPLE: real moms {reviewing} fabulous products.  "We sure did have a good time with this review...If you have kids, it’s a great rainy day/snowed in day activity.  It would make a really fun birthday gift to send to a special someone that lives far away.  It would cheer up a sick little one too."  Read the rest (including great photos and a cool video) here!

Momformation blog

Momformation blog: A cool, informative, well-penned blog. "...Think of it as the coolest book of the month club for kids. Yes, it’s really that simple. Age appropriate books for kids under three that come in a reusable box that kids can play with and draw on." Read the rest here! 

The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Cincinnati Enquirer, Healthy Living: "Unplug the Kids." A 2011 article by blue manatee boxes founder and pediatrician Dr. John S. Hutton discussing the "landscape of childhood" with regards to e-media use and the marketing of electronics and other screen-based products to young children, related health consequences, and the developmental (and fun) benefits of shared reading and hands-on, "old-school," creative play. Read it (pdf)!  Part 1.  Part 2.

The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Cincinnati Enquirer, Business Section: "A love of books and kids - and science - drives John Hutton to always find new ways to sell at Blue Manatee Children's Bookstore....Blue Manatee Boxes combines his expertise as a pediatrician with a sound business model to supplement in-store sales...."   Read the whole article!

Fox19 Morning News

blue manatee's Dr. John Hutton and Kelli Gleiner do a Spring blue manatee boxes show-and-tell with anchor Sheila Gray on the Fox19 Morning News! 

Cool Mom Picks

Cool Mom Picks:  "We joke a lot about how our kids sometimes would rather play with the box a present comes in than the actual present. The thing is... it's not always a joke. And one company has taken that idea on, big time.  blue manatee boxes are amazing to their book-filled cores..."  The whole, cool review lives here.

Natural Parents Network

Natural Parents Network: A fantastic website and blog devoted to natural parenting.  From a kindly review of blue manatee's Baby Unplugged series and the Unplugged Box: "...I highly recommend these books for babies and toddlers. Yes, they are sweet, joyful, and catchy, but more importantly they support a mindset that seems to be all too rare these days – one that appreciates simple joys, the beauty of childhood, and the wonders of our natural world..."

Being MVP

Being MVP: "As you all probably know I love educational toys and books for Kenzie. Blue Manatee Boxes combines these two concepts in their fantastic box which can be customized by you or you can select an already themed box...The unique part is that the entire box is filled with materials to encourage your child's imagination."  The full, wonderful review, and much more, lives here!

Crawfish Tales

Crawfish Tales:  "So I admit that it is sometimes really hard to find gifts for kids, even with aisles and aisles of toys. You never know what they like or what size they are. Plus at birthdays and holidays they receive oodles of gifts that yours is just another one in the stack. I came across this idea which I LOVE! It is a really cool idea for a gift that keeps on giving combined with the most perfect gift for a child, books."

A-List Mom

A-List Mom: "Besides a book, what's the best toy to give a kid? A box full of books! blue manatee boxes are the ideal eco-friendly gift for the holidays. Stuffed with great books handpicked by experts, the boxes can be chosen by theme and include custom artwork to spark the imagination. And kids are encouraged to reuse the packaging with cool illustrations—so not even the packaging goes to waste!"

Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly: "At Blue Manatee Children’s Bookstore & Decafé in Cincinnati, owner John Hutton self-published a trio of board books on some things in childhood that matter most—Pet, Yard, and Blanket—as part of his Baby Unplugged series. He’s also selling the books as part of a gift set for babies, Blue Manatee Boxes, which are packaged with materials that encourage young children to play."  Read more!

the Well read Rabbit

the Well read Rabbit: The wonderful blog for Australian author-illustrator Katherine Battersby.  "...what’s unique about this initiative is that kids are encouraged to reuse the packaging the books are sent in. Suggestions are provided for creative ways to reuse the box in play and even the cushioning isn’t wasted. Many children’s illustrators have joined in on the fun...and as both Squish and I are long time lovers of boxes and silliness, I couldn’t say no…"

I Thought I Knew Mama

I Thought I Knew Mama: a heartfelt blog focused on the wonders of mindful, green, stay-at-home motherhood.  From their kindly review of the Unplugged Box: "...One thing that I absolutely adored about this package of books was the enclosed sheet labeled, “Attention, Grownup!” This sheet shares the mission of Blue Manatee boxes, which is to revive the notion of a simple box – in this case the packaging that the books arrived in – as an extension of its user..."

WCPO Good Morning Tri-State

blue manatee boxes dives into summer fun (what's more fun than books and boxes?) on WCPO Good Morning Tri-State, 6/6/11.  

Dr. John Hutton and Kelli Gleiner do laid-back show-and tell with host Adam Marshall.

Family Friendly Cincinnati

Family Friendly Cincinnati: "...What’s the best gift for a baby or young child?  My answer: A simple one they can share and explore – like a box.  An Xbox?  No – a cardboard box.  Better yet – a cardboard box full of books..."  

CelebrityBabyClothes.com

CelebrityBabyClothes.com: "...What a smart idea, combining well known and true classic books with eco-friendly packaging that also helps your wee one learn, develop and have fun. Like we said…wish we’d thought of it first."  Read the full review here!

Slow Family Living

Slow Family Living: "If you know of some household that could use a little creative inspiration, not to mention some really beautiful books which can be purchased by such themes as art, eco, baby, birthday or love, The Blue Manatee Boxes are pretty sweet..."  Here's the review link: What's Old is New Again.

Productive Parenting

ProductiveParenting.com: "Here is a creative way to shop and receive an extra bonus gift- A blue manatee box- in the process!  Along with the books you order, you get a box filled with packing noodles of various shapes to create vehicles, robots, airplanes, or most anything your child creates!  The unique gift promotes shared reading in addition to creative play for healthy development."

Eco Child's Play

Eco Child’s Play: "...blue manatee boxes combines children’s inspiration from a simple cardboard box with themed literacy.  We have all experienced the creativity of children as the box a gift has come in becomes more exciting and longer sustaining of play than the actual toy it contained.  Blue Manatee makes the box and its packaging an essential part of the experience..." Read more at the link here!

Mom Inc. Daily

Mom Inc. Daily:"Party in a Box." Cat Seto and her community of “Designing Moms” share daily posts about their love for motherhood, design and the intricacies of running a creative business. Balancing both worlds is their M-O! (ours is B-O-O-K-S and B-O-X!)

Cincinnati.com

Cincinnati.com's community Share page: "blue manatee bookstore launches bluemanateeboxes.com."   A cute picture of Loren Long's cardboard Otis, too.  

Get on the Box Bus (with a book)!  
Share feedback or group/writerly info at contact[at]bluemanateeboxes.com