Kid Genius Toys

This store is gone, please mark it CLOSED.

If you want the latest Disney vehicle or video game or doll-​that-​looks-​like-​a-​prostitute, this is not the store for you.
If you want a Webkinz or Ugli doll or jigsaw puzzle or Groovy Girl or insect viewer or any number of cool crafty toys, you’re in the right place, bub.
This is a smart toy store with cool little extras, like Hello Kitty and a veritable plethora of stocking stuffers. I always walk out of there wanting something for my own grownup self (A playset of rare earth magnets? Sign me UP!). Oh, and they gift wrap things there for you while you wait. Awesome!

KID GENIUS STORE LADY (not looking at me, so I hope that she is talking to me, since I’m going to answer): Can I help you?
ME: Do you carry flip books?
KGSL: Do we carry what?
ME: Flip books.
KGSL: I don’t know what those are.
ME: Oh, they’re small business card sized books that you flip with your thumb to show the movement of images… like what you’d see in a nickelodeon back in the day.
KGSL (sighs, cutting me off): Nope, we don’t have those.
By now, all the STEPFORD MOMS are staring at me like I’m some cracked out potential pedophile.
ME: Well, do you know where I could find them?
KGSL: I just SAID I didn’t even know what they are. how would I know where to find them?
Stepford Wives SNEER in agreement.
I smile, and walk out muttering —
ME: IDIOT.
To the GASPS of Bunny, Mitzy and Dixie, taking a break from staring off into Mommy Coma Space.
No genius here!
And the ridiculously-​priced clothes you’ll buy for your little princess will just create problems in the end…
Never thought a toy store could be so depressing.
Learn something new every day!

There is a word I reserve to use only in very special occasions. It is an adjective, and I choose it very sparingly. If I used it too much, it would lose its value. I shudder to think of overusing it because it is such a fantastic word. That word is awesomest. I’ll admit to using awesome a lot. However, if I say awesomest, I mean this is the homemade pumpkin pie with all the cool whip you can eat straight out of the bowl without any calories kind of stuff. Awesomest.
Kid Genius has the AWESOMEST stuffed animals I have ever seen! Picture psychedelic T-​Rexs and Stegosauruses! A giraffe that comes up to your chest! They have literally dozens of very unique stuffed animals. They are the AWESOMEST ever!
It seemed like most toys in Kid Genius were higher quality than what you would find at Kay Bees R Us. Many of them had learning tied in with fun. Something they really didn’t allow when I was a kid.
Go to Kid Genius and check out their AWESOMEST collection of stuffed animals…

Kid Genius is INgenious. This toy store is any kid’s seventh heaven… jam-​packed with toys, games, animals, figurines, musical instruments, books, DVDS, dinosaurs, ballerinas, and creepy crawlers. The colorful, random arrangements burst from the shelves and store clerks often have to fend off tumbling stuffed animal displays. Your eyes rove from floor to ceiling… there is no wasted space here.
My experience here will keep me going back, despite the higher price range. Although you’ll pay more than Target, you’ll also have the opportunity to purchase something that you won’t FIND in Target. For example. I walked in today and said, «Hi. My 11-yr.-old sister wants to be a vet. Is there something you’d recommend?» The clerk thought for a moment and walked me over to a shelf full of learning kits. She picked up one and together we read about the «Cat Science Kit.» Yes, this sounds creepy, but settle down PETA. It was an at-​home kit of feline-​friendly experiments you can do with your pet to better understand the cat mind. Nice.
The store’s focus seems to be on educational toys, evident as you roam the cluttered aisles and see kid-​friendly ATM machines, picture-​dictionaries in multiple languages, pint-​sized musical instruments, and learning kits for future professionals.
Oh, how I wish I was a kid now instead of then.