We’ve found some great toys and books to help your family have fun all summer long.

Blow it!

Visit Gasworks Park Kite Shop just east of Fremont and owner Kathy Goodwind will custom fit your child with the right kite for his or her age and ability. For kids younger than the age of 5, she recommends the Premier mini sled kite ($5); for elementary-age kids, Goodwind likes Delta kites from Premier ($15 to $25). For tweens ready to venture into stunt kites, she recommends Spider by Flying Wings Kites ($35) and Prism Designs’ Jazz or Nexus models ($45 to $65).

Bubble wands are the best summer boredom buster for toddlers! Bothell-based Majic Bubble Wand sells giant bubble wands in a set with a pan. Toddlers will play with these outside for hours ($20; www.bubblewand.com or 206-339-6337).

Get moving

Coop Sport First Goal soccer set ($21) and Coop Sport Street Hockey Sticks are portable and easy to set up ($17; Teri’s Toybox).

The single-sized trampoline from Galt can be played on indoors or out ($130; Clover).

Fling fair-trade crocheted flying disks from PhD are safe for either indoor or outdoor play and easier to throw than plastic disks ($13; Clover).

Ride-on inflatable Rody horses by Gymnic are colorful riding toys that help tots learn balance and coordination. You can make them grow bigger as your child grows just by blowing in more air ($50; Clover).

Budding scientists

Avoid “I’m bored” time with mad science. Geyser Tubes produce a 25-foot-tall geyser using diet soda and Mentos candy ($5; Teaching Toys and Books).

D & L Stomp Rocket Ultra soars as high as 200 feet ($15.50; Teri’s Toybox).

Indoors or outdoors, PlasmaCars harness upper body strength to move and teach kids concepts such as gravity, centrifugal force and inertia ($70; Teaching Toys and Books, Teri’s Toybox and Clover Toys).

Meteor Rocket from Scientific Explorer is a rocket made from a recycled soda bottle, powered by baking soda and vinegar, and can be “reloaded” ($20; Clover Toys).

Gimme shelter

Teepees for Kids have been sold at the Pike Place Market since 1985. These easy-to-store, colorful cloth teepees make the perfect play structure ($45; at the Market or order at www.galaxymall.com/shops/tps4kids/ or 206-325-7630).

Haba’s Lilystone play tent stands 5 feet tall and has a fold-down window ledge on one side, perfect for puppet shows, as a pretend drive-through window or even as a lemonade stand. The durable nylon fabric and metal frame make it a great outdoor play space ($160; Teaching Toys and Books).

A free indoor play structure! Visit your local furniture or appliance store and ask if you can have one of the big cardboard boxes they are about to recycle. This summer, your kids can transform it into a space station, train or playhouse. For creative inspiration, read Big Dog and Little Dog Visit the Moon by Selina Young to your kids (in which two dogs decide to cheer up the lonely moon by flying there in a homemade rocket!).

Travel toys

For those long hours of summer vacation travel in cars and planes, there are great boredom busters for kids ages 3 and older available at Teaching Toys and Books, including Wikki Stix, which are non-messy wax sticks that can be used over and over again to create two- or three-dimensional art ($4); finger puppets by Folkmanis ($5 and up) and lacing cards by Lauri ($10). Zoobie Pets look like stuffed animals, but when you undo the Velcro you have a pillow and a large, soft blanket ($30; Teaching Toys and Books).

Travel journals for kids from Chronicle Books come with lined paper for writing, blank paper for maps and drawings, ideas to help kids get going and pockets for collecting souvenirs ($19.95; Clover).

Drawing books by Ed Emberley include instructions for thumbprint-sized cartoon characters, monsters, buildings, cars and wacky animals ($11; Clover).

Kathleen F. Miller is a Sammamish-based freelance writer and mother of two. Her son and daughter look forward this summer to transforming the giant cardboard box in their garage into a space station or pet palace.

Our toy gurus

Clover Toys: 5335 Ballard Ave. N.W., Seattle 206-782-0715

Gasworks Park Kite Shop: 3420 Stone Way N., Seattle 206-633-4780

Mockingbird Books: 7220 Woodlawn Ave. N.E., Seattle 206-518-5886

Teaching Toys and Books: 2624 N. Proctor St., Tacoma 253-759-9853

Teri’s Toybox 420 Main St., Edmonds 425-774-3190