It's a Soft World After All

While I'm tossing out the occasional post on my favorite homeschooling resources, let's put in a word for the Hugg a Planet pillow globe. Despite an awful name, a disconcertingly amateurish website, and a product photo that looks like the west coast is giving birth, this is a great globe. Not a novelty toy, the borders are accurate, the labels are abundant, the colors and markings are clear and bright: this is a real, working globe. But it's a real pillow, too: the cloth is tough and well-sewn, and the stuffing is soft and resilient. It's a cushion that's been built for abuse by energetic children.

Like all homeschoolers, a good globe was one of our first investments. But when you're cuddled up for reading time, and the book mentions Greenland or Fiji, the last thing anyone wants to do is hop down, fetch the globe, and hunt for the place. But the Hugg a Planet, I promise you, will already be in someone's lap (though sometimes we have to shove the cat off of it), making the location of foreign lands quick and fun.

For an extra ten bucks, the Hugg a Planet will include (literally; it's tucked inside a velcroed pocket just west of California) a Hugg a Moon, with seas and mountains labeled, as well as the locations and dates of American and Russian landings.

And then it won't be long before you're contemplating your genuine, if previously unrecognized, need for a Hugg a Mars.

UPDATE: Insanely, Amazon is asking $48 for the basic, no moon included, Hugg a Planet. Go straight to their website instead, or here for a $3 discount.