Thanks so much to everyone who took a moment to weigh in on yesterday’s poll (which will stay open for a week). It was immensely helpful! Several of you expressed interest in gift ideas for kids – especially things you might not find at your local Toys-R-Us.
Everyone, meet Shen the panda. Not just your run-of-the-mill teddy bear, this guy is a brand new mixed breed: part stuffed animal and part dress-up doll. Created by a mom whose kids were becoming frustrated in their attempts to find suitable dress-up clothes for their teddy bears, Shen and his friend Zylie are an award winning duo and MPMK’s newest sponsors.
The nice folks behind The Adventures of Zylie the Bear recently sent Shen for C’s birthday and we got to see first hand why these bears are earning so many accolades. Before we get to what the kids thought, let me give you the bullet points on what I appreciate about this little guy:
- He’s a doll a boy can get behind – Once we added a girl to our family the presence of baby dolls in the house inevitably followed. C has been simultaneously interested and a bit confused by this. I think Shen is just the “boy doll” for him. Which is awesome because playing with dolls comes with all kinds of benefits, including the development of traits like empathy and responsibility, and they’re great for role playing too.
- He’s a man of the world – The first step in raising global citizens is making your kids aware of their world and all the places in it. Along with his stylin’ backpack and drum sticks, Shen comes with his own passport as well as a 55 page book all about his adventure in his homeland of China.
- He encourages reading – That book I mentioned is one in a series that follows Shen’s pal Zylie on her global travels. Although a little old for C, I can really appreciate the thought that went into these books. The one we got has eight chapters, a glossary, some lovely illustrations and even some bonus pages at the end for the kids to write and draw in.
But enough about what I thought, the important thing here is that the kids dug Shen too. He seemed to be equally appealing to both 15 month old S and 3 year old C. When I pictured what the toy makers meant by a stuff animal/dress-up doll, I was thinking of something soft on the outside but stiff and rigid on the inside. I was surprised to find that Shen’s hands, feet, and lower torso were filled with a bean bag material and the rest of him was basically a stuffed animal. This made him very flexible but also soft and cuddly through and through. That, along with his larger size, made him easy for S to manipulate.
C was all about Shen’s cool outfit – complete with cargo pants and leather jacket. (By the way, there are also other ensembles available including pajamas, a martial arts outfit, and a very sleek “rocking in the rain” get up). The clothes are easy to remove due to Velcro openings on the back. I thought having the pants come apart in the back instead of the front might be confusing to C but he didn’t seem to notice. 
I think he was just happy to finally have a doll to play with that didn’t have long eye lashes or a dress.
So now for the fun part – We’re giving away your choice of Shen the Panda or Zylie the Bear (a $49.99 value) to one lucky MPMK reader. To enter, simply leave a comment below ALONG WITH AN EMAIL ADDRESS. For bonus entries, become a fan of The Adventures of Zylie the Bear’s facebook page and/or MPMK’s facebook page and let me know with a comment below. YOU MUST LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH OF THE 3 POSSIBLE ENTRY METHODS. This contest is open to U.S. residents only and will end at midnight EST on Thursday October 27th, 2011. Good luck!
{ 95 comments… read them below or add one }
what a nice, well-dressed panda!
My 2.5 year old son would adore taking care of the panda! He’s so loving!! Thank you, Lisa – LHeuneman at hotmaildotcom
Adorable! My son would love this panda.
Never thought about a stuffed animal with clothes! Love it! (ytsirkdraw (@) yahoo.com)
What a cute idea! We’d love to play with him in our house.
Sarah M
sslamast@gmail.com
very cute!
catquarian@yahoo.com
Love the idea behind these little guys! So cute!
christina.linehan@gmail.com
Great idea! My 2yo boy would love it to death.
reid[dot]allisonl[at]gmail[dot]com
What a great product! Thanks for introducing me to another one. sarjansen [at] gmail
My girls would love to have a panda to take care of.
This is a great idea! My sons would love taking care of him and going on adventures with him! carneycluster@gmail.com
I love that there is a book to go along with the doll. My kids would love to act out some of the scenes.
Thank you!
Raddness@gmail.com
What a great idea! My little boy would love this bear. I love the books that go along with it.
lizzystevens@gmail.com
I would love to get Zylie for my little girl! We’re trying to get rid of the binkie and the plan is to replace it with a stuffed animal of some sort and read her a book that was connected to the animal. This is PERFECT!
prewittknewi@gmail.com
I “Like” MPMK on facebook!
prewittknewit@gmail.com
My daughter is really in to Pandas, she would love this. We are big fans of the Maisy series and Maisy has a panda that she totes around. I have been thinking of getting her a panda of her own, so this would be perfect…….
I am at blueberrychicken at hotmail dot com.
I liked The Adventures of Zylie the Bear of facebook….
I also liked MPMK on facebook. Funny, I thought I was already a facebook fan! Oh well, now I am. Thanks.
love Zylie!
Shannon@heatandeat.net
My three year old would love Shen!
cdmapes at gmail dot com
I liked Zylie’s facebook page!
I liked MPMK’s facebook page!
How adorable! My son would love him!!
Super cute bear! My son is just now starting to become interested in stuffed animals and would love this guy!
Maria (at) mariamakesmuffins (dot) com
I am a fan of MPMK
Maria (at) mariamakesmuffins (dot) com
I liked Zylie bear’s page
Maria (at) mariamakesmuffins (dot) com
Adorable. My son would love this!
My son is a bit older, but I bet he’d get into it too.
So cute! My baby girl will love dressing up a little bear!
very cute. jazzykeller[at]yahoo.com
So cute! My son would love it!
shereencook @ gmail.com
Adorable, my daughter loves the panda
natbelinsky@verizon.net
Thank you
Both of my kids would love this. It is a nice alternative for a boy like you said. Very cool!
jocelynnaquin at yahoo dot com
Adorable! Love the idea of a boy-friendly doll!
belle309kt AT yahoo DOT com
my daughter would love the panda.
bettafly21 at hotmail dot com
i liked zylie’s FB page
bettafly21 at hotmail dot com
i like MPMKs FB page.
bettafly21 at hotmail dot com
He is the cutest little thing that I’ve ever laid eyes on! I love him, and my youngest daughter has an obsession with pandas – I know she’d go head-over-heels for this little panda friend!
CheshIAm@Yahoo.com
I like their facebook page, too!
CheshIAm@Yahoo.com
I like YOUR facebook page, too!
CheshIAm@Yahoo.com
i liked MPMK’s FB page
vjm at prince dot org
i liked Zylie’s FB page…
vjm at prince dot org
my son and daughter will have to fight over the panda.
vjm at prince dot org
Pick us! My daughter would love a new panda friend. xo
So cute! I’m a follower of your blog, my daughter would love a new dress up friend and her birthday is next month!
Robin
maandbabybella@yahoo.com
A must have addition to my panda collection!
skgberry@aol.com
Like them on Facebook too
skgberry@aol.com
and now I like your Facebook page which I did not know about til now
skgberry@aol.com
These bears a so darn cute. Thanks for sharing this opportunity to win one.
Diane Melendez
kui900@msn.com
I have liked the The Adventures of Zylie the Bear’s facebook page. Love the panda by the way.
Diane Melendez
kui900@msn.com
I have also liked the MPMK’s facebook page. Looks like a fun page to follow.
Diane Melendez
kui900@msn.com
Oh my gosh, my Lily would love that! TenleyCherie@gmail.com :]
I liked The Adventures of Zylie the Bear on fbook!
TenleyCherie@gmail.com
I also liked MPMK on Fbook!
Very cute! Rebeccagoldberg@cox.net
My son LOVES stuffed animals! He calls them buddies and he likes to take about 5 every where we go!! Thanks!
louise at da-atis dot com
Would really love this – my boys would go crazy for this! Thanks, Maureen (jnomaxx at hotmail dot com)
I like you on FB. Thanks! Maureen (jnomaxx at hotmail dot com)
My son also has the same problem… lots of dolls with dresses in our house for his younger sister, but nothing great for him. Love this idea. Thanks for showing it to us!
(melanielongworth@hotmail.com)
Love the dress up Panda!! I sooo want a dress up doll for my son without it looking too girly.
mohana dot koteeswaran at gmail dot com
would love to win this for my son!
kcernick at netscape dot net
What adorable little friends!
laprochaine at gmail dot com
I am a fan of The Adventures of Zylie the Bear’s facebook page
laprochaine at gmail dot com
I am a fan of MPMK’s facebook page
laprochaine at gmail dot com
My son Luke would love to bear-friend Zylie the bear! I love learning from you fb page! I hope we win!
Mpolespeckham@comcast.net
This is great!
Meryl (at) developingmelodies (dot) com
I “liked” MPMKs on Facebook!
so cute!
kathryn.vicente@gmail.com
I’m a fan of MPMK on Facebook
Meryl at developingmelodies dot com
I am a big fan of Shen and Zylie and “liked” them on Facebook!
My son would adore this so much fun!!
monilaws@aol.com
I’m your fan on FB
I’m your FAN follower
I love that he has a backpack and a passport along with a sense of adventure that kids can read about and meanwhile learn about our global world! What a great toy!
So fun! Love the passport and drum. My son would love this. Thanks for the chance.
Would love to win the bear! beachbride2003@hotmail.com
Just liked MPMK on FB (so fun!)
beachbride2003@hotmail.com
My boys would love this! So nice to know there are more boy friendly options out there!
cookiedunker@yahoo.com
Liked MPMK on Facebook!
cookiedunker@yahoo.com
Liked The Adventures of Zylie Bear on FB!
cookiedunker@yahoo.com
Looks like a great friend for my kids. Just found your site via pinterest- modern art technique/stamping.
prettyemme at hot mail dot com
This comment has been removed by the author.
This comment has been removed by the author.
I love the idea of these for my litle guy!
Robin mdgates@cox.net
I liked MPMK on Facebook
mdgates@cox.net – Robin
I liked the Adventures with Zylie the Bear on Facebook
mdgates@cox.net – Robin
I liked the Adventures with Zylie the Bear on Facebook.
I think this is a great idea and love the Panda!
My daughter would love the bear!
Jhawks482@gmail.com
I liked zylie’s Facebook page!
Jhawks482@gmail.com
I’m already a fan of mpmk’s Facebook page!
Jhawks482@gmail.com
I love that he has a passport and is a world traveler! My husband and I would love to inspire the love of travel in our son!
freeplaykids1@gmail.com
Would love to win this for my babies!
michellerenee_28@msn.com
Bear! Bear! Bear!
michellerenee_28@msn.com
FB Fan Zylie
Winner winner chicken dinner!
michellerenee_28@msn.com
FB fan of MPMK