What the heck is a Penbo the Penguin, you might be asking. Well, I was asking myself the same darn question which is why I looked it up!
Being a former assistant toy buyer and also being the mother of a 5 year old I figured, Penbo should be old hat. But, near as I can figure, either finally figuring out what I was going to purchase for my daughter (let alone afford) may have well fried my gelatinous grey matter to the point where Penbo being one of the hottest toys of the season escaped my notice.....that is until another parent mentioned it on Facebook (ah yes, FACEBOOK! The beginnings of many a search).
SO, needless to say THIS is Penbo the Penguin produced by Bossa Nova :
Kinda cute, right? Being as my 5 year old adores penguins and this little thing comes in a multitude of colors, including purple, I thought, "Hey...can't be all bad." Then I read what it does. Basically, it's a little robot penguin that coos, blinks its eyes, flaps its wings and then POOPS out an egg. Ok, it doesn't really poop. Its egg pops out of its belly hatch....and then the egg hatches and the chick inside interacts with the mommy Penbo...apparently there are games you can play with it and it is described as cuddly though I can't imagine how cuddly hard plastic could be, regardless if it is covered in fuzz.
Now the first thing that pops into my head is, "Is this really necessary in life?" Probably not and I don't see the educational value in it, except for the nurturing factor but hey....all play does not have to be designed to educate. Sometimes you leave it up to imagination, curiosity or relaxation....at least that's what I tell myself when I am watching programs like American Pickers and Pawn Stars on the History Channel ;) But, like all thirty-something children, I love toys and I can see how my little girl might find this cute though it has a bit of a sad, apathetic look in its eyes and I have random imaginings of pint size robot penguin armies attempting to take over the metro area, with their wide eyed vacant (albeit cute) looking "Bebes" (Good gracious how I hate the slang term "bebe"....I can hear it repeating in my head...grrrrrrrr) at their sides.
I inevitably see this ending up on my daughter's birthday list (her 6th birthday is roughly 2 months after Christmas), though at a $60 price tag it's a bit steep for my budget and I would demand to see it in action if it even was an option. However I did find different animal versions to pique my interest...namely a dragon (drat! They found my weakness!)....Skylee!
But holy smokes! THAT "bebe" looks like it's gonna eat my soul!!!!! O_O
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