Need Help with Pokemon Birthday Gift Idea
I've been invited to a birthday party tomorrow for a friend and his grandson. (The friend is the easy part: a gift certificate to Lowe's or Home Depot will do it.)

However his grandson is five going on six, and a very big fan of Pokemon (of which I know nothing). I thought of getting him a teakwood box to safely hold his Pokemon cards, but that's like give a kid socks: yeah, it's useful, but you still would have preferred getting Legos.

I was thinking of perhaps getting him the manga (if there is one), but he's slightly developmentally disabled, and I don't want him to feel frustrated if the text might be above of his reading level. Pokemon-related toys would be fine, but they shouldn't have small pieces and must be big brother-/little sister-proof.

The town I'm in has one comic book shop and a very small Walden's book store (plus the inevitable Wal-Mart). Binghamton is about an hour away, and Albany and Syracuse are about two hours away, but I'd happily drive to them for a Toys 'R' Us, Barnes & Nobels or Borders.

Any suggestions for something Pokemon-related would be gratefully appreciated. (The family doesn't have a DVD or video player, either. So, that excludes those as gifts, too.)

Thanks,

Pepper

ETA: I'd like to thank everyone for their suggestions. I may not be able to respond personally to each of you, as we've got thunderstorms rolling into the area. But thanks again for all your help.

Update: We wound up getting him several groups of cards from the platinum series, as well as a a simple carry case (dark blue denim with string attached) to allow him to keep all his cards in one place. And he was overjoyed!

Thank you all for taking the time to reply and to offer suggestions.

(Post a new comment)

iamnotyourmuse
2010-07-13 02:53 pm UTC (link)

There's most likely something Pokemon-related at the bookstore. We've got about five or six different Pokemon book series at work (they keep discontinuing them and starting new ones, or so it seems). I've seen some big comic book sized ones too, in addition to the smaller manga format, and believe me when I say that every single Pokemon book we own where I work gets picked up and checked out faster than we can put them back, regardless of the reader's age. They want pictures of Pokemon and if there's a story they can understand, great. If not, they make up their own to the pictures. There are some simple Pokemon drawing books you could look for too. Those get as much circulation where I work as the comics/manga/chapter books.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	pfeffermuse 2010-07-13 05:40 pm UTC (link)
	Thank you for idea of a drawing/colouring book; it might just be the thing to keep him interested. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	iamnotyourmuse 2010-07-13 08:19 pm UTC (link)
	If you find a bunch of cheap things, like coloring books, stickers, small toys, you could make an activity pack. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	the__ivorytower 2010-07-13 03:08 pm UTC (link)
	There should be Pokemon plush toys, I swear my siblings have them. Stickers could work too, I know they have some of those, and as iamnotyourmuse suggests, coloring books might also be good. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	iamnotyourmuse 2010-07-13 03:23 pm UTC (link)
	Oh yes, stickers! I swear, stickers are one of the best things in the entire world. You'd think something so simple would be passe for kids now, but no. Kids love stickers. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	pfeffermuse 2010-07-13 05:42 pm UTC (link)
	I never thought of stickers, but that might work too. Thanks for the suggestion. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	melisus 2010-07-13 03:28 pm UTC (link)
	Where I live, Wal-mart is actually one the best places to find Pokemon merchandise. Like someone else above me mentioned, there are Pokemon plush toys that come in various sizes which might be a good idea for a gift. Otherwise there are smaller toys - some that talk - and they're usually quite free of small pieces. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	pfeffermuse 2010-07-13 05:48 pm UTC (link)
	While I know they carry the DVDS, I never think of them as carrying toys. As I have to go into town tomorrow, I'll check it out. Thanks, Pepper (Reply to this)(Parent)

	dark_puck 2010-07-13 04:50 pm UTC (link)
	There's two different manga series. You do not want to get the Pokemon Special manga for a child that young, I don't think -- the manga is a hell of a lot darker than the TV show, with several murder attempts against the main cast. (I'm looking at you, Lt. Surge and Team Aqua.) Unfortunately, I know very little about the other one. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	pfeffermuse 2010-07-13 05:50 pm UTC (link)
	Thanks for that warning about the two different mangas. I was afraid of that, and some geeky fanboy in a comic store referring me to an age-inappropriate one. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dark_puck 2010-07-13 05:52 pm UTC (link)
	Not a problem. It'd be better for maybe a ten or twelve-year-old, but definitely not for someone who's just turning six. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	sepiamagpie 2010-07-14 12:02 pm UTC (link)
	He might like the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team. A little kid gets turned into a pokemon and ends up in a pokemon-only world. Then he saves it. It's just one volume too! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	sepiamagpie 2010-07-14 04:40 am UTC (link)
	and oh god, the zombie fight with the rotting pokecorpses. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dark_puck 2010-07-14 04:42 am UTC (link)
	FFFFFFFFFFF did you have to remind me of that D: (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sepiamagpie 2010-07-14 04:44 am UTC (link)
	"Psyduck! Noooo!" (Reply to this)(Parent)

	dracobolt 2010-07-13 06:32 pm UTC (link)
	If the kid collects Pokemon cards, why not get him some of those? Can't ever have too many. It's been a while since I've bought cards, but I believe they sell booster packs with, like, ten cards apiece for a couple bucks, and each of those should have a random rare card, which is the best way to get rares that don't appear in pre-built decks. (Reply to this)

	phosfate 2010-07-13 06:54 pm UTC (link)
	If you have enough pre-birthday time, eBay has Pokestuff going back to the very beginning, from all over the world, at all price ranges: Jammies, tees, plushies, paper goods, bags, a bazillion fast food prizes, etc. If you sew, there are also patterns (out of print, but readily available on the secondary market) for plushies and backpacks. (Reply to this)