What is a BILIBO?

The best answer to that question I believe was written in a newspaper article that featured the Bilibo

" The Bilibo -- They don't know what it is, but they know they like it!"

The first time I saw the Bilibo was in a bazaar. I saw this shell-shaped-bright- colored- "I don't know what" but I was very intrigued with the design. So I talked to the stall owner and she told me that the Bilibo was an awarded toy in both the US and Europe. Leaving the stall I still didn't have any idea what it was!

So when I got home, I researched the net, I love google!, and found so many interesting facts about the Bilibo!

First of all it had already received several awards such as:

* Toy of the Year - UK Good Toy Awards 2006
* Good Toy, Good Toy Committee, Japan 2005
* Deutscher Lernspielpreis, Auswahlliste 2003
* Dr. Toy 10 Best Active Products 2002
* spiel gut, Arbeitsausschuss Kinderspiel 2002
* Design Distinction, I.D. Review 2002
* Swiss Product Design Award 2002
* Design Preis Schweiz, Distinction 2001
* Swiss Federal Award for Design 2001

and then i read hundreds of reviews from parents saying how much they loved the Bilibo! So the next day, I went out to purchase my kids one which was a huge mistake because I realized after an hour that I should have gotten two!

I have two kids and within an hour they were fighting over whose turn it was! I was amazed how my kids were able to use their imagination and play with a toy that they were not used to playing with.

Let's face it, a lot of the toys that we buy for our kids are usually played with a specific play pattern but the Bilibo made them think! And not only did it make them think but they had tons of fun doing it!

My daughter immediately turned it over and she pretended it was a mountain which she climb and jumped off several times! and then my son had his turn and turned the Bilibo over and immediately climbed in and asked me to spin him around-- I did spin him around until my back started complaining :).

Nowadays, I still get surprised that the Bilibo keeps popping up everywhere and anywhere! One day i found it near the bathroom sink and found out that may daughter used it as her step stool! And another day i found the cars of my son neatly parked underneath the bilibo! :)

I guess somewhere along the way we have forgotten that nothing is more important than imagination to help with the development of a child's thought processes and creativity. By encouraging a child to imagine, they start being creative and thinking "out of the box" and with the bilibo they have fun doing it.