Many parents have noticed that when you hand a baby a soft blanket or stuffed toy, the baby is often more fascinated with the satin tag than with the object itself. Babies suck on tags, chew on them, clasp them and use them to drag the toy around. Taggies are soft blankets, pillows, activity quilts, toys and clothes covered with many satin tags. The best-known product is a security blanket called Little Taggies, a 12- by 12-inch soft square with 20 different tags of various colors and textures sewn to the outside of the blanket ($25; pictured is the Confetti Little Taggie from the Colours Collection). It’s a great “transitional object” for infants or toddlers; it helps them transition from being awake to being asleep and is comforting when baby is faced with a potentially unsettling situation, like a new babysitter. Taggies Big Soft Blocks are exactly what they sound like – large soft cloth blocks with tags, fuzzy animal designs and lots of different textures for baby to examine ($30 for a four-block set). The Taggies Activity Quilt has a ladybug-shaped mirror, a squeaky pig and a crinkly cow, as well as the trademark tags ($50). Another site featuring high-quality infant and toddler toys is Genius Babies, a name clearly aimed at the proud mother and father. Genius Babies’ award-winning offerings include the Nooboo Pound-a-Sound ($25). Your baby can take the soft hammer and hit the toy; with every hit baby will hear a sound or see a pop-up surprise. A completely irresistible item is the jumbo Baby Face Photo Quilt, printed with photographs of babies’ faces ($30). Since infants love staring at pictures of other babies, this is a can’t-miss gift.

New DVD releases of Lady and the Tramp, The Bee Movie and Alvin and the Chipmunks make April a movie month for preschoolers and young elementary students. If any of these is a particular favorite of your child, there are many tie-in toys and products available too. In honor of  the film’s 50th anniversary, Disney released a digitally restored version of Lady and the Tramp. The voices of Peggy Lee and Barbara Luddy enhance the story of Lady, a cocker spaniel in a wealthy household, and her romance with Tramp, a witty stray dog. Amazon sells the DVD for $14. This film is most famous for its spaghetti-eating scene, where the two dogs share a winsome plate of pasta with Bella Notte playing in the background. Disneyshopping.com has many products related to this film, including the Lady and the Tramp snowglobe, $60, and the movie album, $7, which includes three songs from the film. The Lenox china figurine of Lady and the Tramp is $95. The Bee Movie, starring the voices of Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger and Chris Rock, tells the story of a bee named Barry B. Benson. In the movie, Barry sues humans for taking bees’ honey for centuries, and eventually learns the value of the bee work ethic. The DVD is $15 from Amazon. ToysRUs.com sells various Bee Movie toys, including Cuddly Buzzin’ Barry, $10. This stuffed version makes buzzing noises when you squeeze him. Talk Walk and Flutterin’ Barry, $20, moves his wings and talks. The Barry B. Benson radio-controlled flying bee, $50, can zip around the room. The new Alvin and The Chipmunks DVD is $30 and stars Jason Lee as Dave, the songwriter who adopts the chipmunks, and Justin Long as the voice of Alvin. The computer-animated chipmunks interact with live-action humans in this movie, singing and dancing about the holidays as they learn the value of family. You can buy a Chipmunk Hula Hoop Singing Doll from Toywuala.com for $12.89.

We know your house is only so big, your patience so long, your eardrums only deep enough for so much cotton. Oh, but imagine your heart’s joy as you listen to your children learning and making music in the next room. The chance to express themselves creatively and physically, to work on their coordination and develop a sense of rhythm is a gift you can give them at a young age by bringing musical toys and instruments into the home as early as possible. For preschool musical toys, Discount School Supply has page upon page of rhythm instruments such as a Guiro tone block ($5), a Chilean rainstick ($17), beginner bongo drums ($5.49), and 15-piece rhythm set ($50) that includes jingle clogs, cluster bell, tone block, triangles, cymbals, shakers and a tom-tom. As their brains and bodies develop, consider a toy baby grand piano ($70), available in black, white, or pink for ages three and up. Or perhaps a miniature tartan cover chalice bagpipe ($142) for the same age group? Sitar anyone? A mini is $50, half size $194, three-quarter size with case $254, and all ship free from Musical Instruments for Children, where you can also find drum sets, accordions, and more. You say your four-year-old wants to be a rock star? Get him/her a half-size Les Paul-style electric guitar outfit ($140), although for acoustic guitars THE female guitar company claims to be Luna Aurora. Check out the mini Aurora ($120), the body of which is a blank slate your kid can draw on with damp erase markers. Another instrument for future pop stars is the Casio portable keyboard (pictured; on sale for $70) from Music for Little People. They’ve got a whole page of instruments on sale. Think of it this way: The kids won’t be staring into a computer screen.

Tradition has it that gnomes bring good luck to gardens. The gnomes as we know them today were first produced in Germany in the mid-1800s, so where better to start than Zwergli, which specializes in German gnomes? Brush up on your gnome history and how a gnome is born (hint: it’s all the tip of the hat). Then visit Gnome Outlet – who knew gnomes had so many careers and tasks? Some are guides, others are workerbees, still more have everyday lives. Witness Arnold and Sarah getting married (pictured) or, more alarmingly, Bradley in the Tub ($21 each). Leaf through the classic source of gnome lore, Wil Huygen and Rien Poortvliet’s Gnomes ($17), allegedly dictated by David the Gnome, who inspired the animated series of the same name. Poortvliet gnomes can be found at Clean Air Gardening, or you can adopt a homeless gnome from Garden Gnomes Need Homes. For an original design, sculptor Candice Kimmel bills herself at the “last surviving gnome maker.” Make your gnome feel at home with this quaint cottage ($69) or a gnome door ($39) – who can tell what lurks on the other side? Gnome Town USA is the destination for collectors and chronicler of gnome sightings. OK, that’s enough of the traditional tales. Show your true colors with an NCAA gnome ($21), although this KU alum wants to know why she can’t seem to unearth a National Champ Jayhawk gnome. Travelocity’s Roaming Gnome stars in the Gnome Away from Home kit, complete with a figurine, passport and travel tips ($7). PrankPlace.com yuks it up with all sorts of gnome-sense, like the Answer Me Gnome ($20). Lest you think the little fellas are all airy and light, Garden Gnome from HELL spills the dirt on their dark side, including the useful tidbit that cumquats are the only defense in the never-ending struggle against gnomes. Check out the “Cumquats Save Lives” or “As Seen in Hell” T-shirts ($16 and $21). But the gigantic gnome groan of the day goes to this clever shirt line: “Sweet Gnome Alabama.”

Consider the toy box: that indispensable item in every child’s room, a parent’s attempt to keep that vast arsenal of toys in place. Even small children can learn to lift the lid and put their things into the box. (You can teach them the Barney Clean Up song while you’re at it, which helps toddlers learn to clean.) Online, there is a treasure trove of toy boxes. At iToyBoxes.com, the best-seller is the KidKraft Inc limited edition toy chest, on sale for $149.98. It’s a classic toy chest made of wood, with a seatback that can be used as a bench. For boys who like pirates, iToyBoxes has a charming Guidecraft pirate toy box, $134.99. It’s black and gold, with depictions of a treasure map, skull and crossbones and a pirate ship painted on the side. For girls, iToyBoxes has a Guidecraft princess carriage toy box for $94.99 (pictured). It looks like a pink and purple carriage drawn by a wooden horse. On top of the pink carriage is a purple cushion, which serves as a chair for your princess. Another princess-themed toy box is the Disney princess toy box, $39.24 from Walmart.com. They also have the Disney Pixar Cars toy box, featuring the characters from the animated movie, for $39.24. At Woodtoybox.com, you can choose from a selection of wooden toy boxes, any of which can be personalized. Their attractive dark cherry toy box is $169; the letters of the child’s name can be in gold, blue or red. The toy box has three compartments and a seating area.

Unless you live in a city that has a Kidrobot store, you may not be familiar with the wonderfully weird world of Kidrobot, created by Paul Budnitz. Kidrobot combines the talents of fine artists, fashion designers, graffiti artists and illustrators to produce a line of limited-edition toys and apparel. Kidrobot launched in 2002 with the Munny and Dunny toys, which officially became collectible art after the Museum of Modern Art acquired 13 of them for their permanent collection in 2007. Today kids of all ages with as little as $7 can amass a collection of pop art toys interpreted and signed by well-known and emerging artists from all over the world. Collecting Kidrobot toys can become addictive. Besides the accessible price point, the “blind assortment” packaging concept adds to the fun since you don’t know what you’re getting until you open the box. Outside the package is a list of possible figures and the odds of getting them. Open the box and find a figure not pictured, and you’ve scored a rare “chase” figure, which serious Kidrobot addicts are willing to pay hundreds of dollars for. Starting to get the picture? If you’re ready to bag your first Dunny, the new Dunny French Series ($7, pictured) looks tres adorable. Your artistic friends will probably love personalizing the Mini Munny ($10) — also available in pink or white — with this set of Munny Markers ($5) or Munny Crayons ($5). We loved the Chumps Mini Series ($8) by poster artist Frank Kozik with their streetwise Top Cat vibe, but you might prefer Kozik’s surly and silly Mongers Breakfast 5-Pack ($16). The Zoomies Mini Series ($8) and the Kiiro Mini Series ($8) are equally darling, but you may be moved by the retro feel of these Peecol figures ($10) by the German pixel-art group EbOY. Choose between WGirl, Mr. Q or NYOff, or several more in this line of interchangeable figures. Be sure to check out the Kidrobot Community and Event pages, where you can download free stuff, chat and stay abreast of Kidrobot events like trading parties. Whether you go ga-ga over Brobee ($25) or nutty over Muno ($25), a virtual stroll through Kidrobot is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.