Our Must Haves For October

To adults, he is the acerbic and arrogant Ryan Howard from The Office and the brilliant mind behind One More Thing ($15, originally $25). But to children, B.J. Novak may be the next Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein. At least, that's his hope. In his new book, The Book With No Pictures ($11, originally $18), the actor and author tests his writing skills on a much younger crowd. At first glance, parents and children may be hesitant to flip through the pages. After all, there are no pictures. But once you get past the cover, you find a world that is just as imaginative and entertaining as any illustrated story.

Consider this your Elf on the Shelf for Halloween. Switchcrafted ($30) aims to take some of focus of Halloween away from the mountain of candy that kids collect through the night. Switchcrafted: The Story of the Switch Witches of Halloween tells the "true" story of Halloween encouraging kids to give their candy to witches who need it to heat their homes and make their brooms fly. To encourage them, a toy switchwitch (who keeps an eye on the candy pile) and a candy collection bag are included in the set.

Launching today is one of the cutest collection of kids' jewelry that we've seen in a long time. The Faery of Tales collection features fairy-tale-inspired jewelry that comes with a card explaining the meaning behind each piece — things like encouragement and protection.

Aden + Anais's new luxury merino wool muslin collection is the first of its kind. Unbelievably soft and incredibly versatile, the collection includes blankets (kid- and adult-size) ($400) and sleep sacks ($180). And, best of all, the collection is machine washable and dryable! Thanks to a trademarked weave, the products won't shrink! Talk about luxury gift giving!

Parents of kids with food allergies put a lot of trust in their kids when they send them into the world. Allermates aims to make kids more comfortable talking about their allergies with a line of wristbands, EpiPen cases, stickers, and more featuring cute characters. The wristbands ($7 and up) are like kiddie versions of medic-alert bracelets identifying kids' allergies in a friendly way. For kids with multiple allergies, the charm bracelet ($17) has space for six of the most common allergy charms: peanut, nut, dairy, egg, wheat, and asthma.

Moms who love comfy yet stylish clothes know to turn to Vince when they want to find sophisticated styles. Starting this month, they can shop the brand for their kids, too. The Vince Kids collection is designed for tots ages 4 to 14 and includes items like cashmere hoodies, leather pants, and fur vests ranging from $24 to $600 (for a leather jacket). Made in the same factories as the grown-up clothes, the collection can be expected to offer muted tones of gray, black, and tan with a few splashes of color.

Photo courtesy of Vince

October may have kids dreaming about collecting candy on Halloween, but what if kids learned a bit more about the sweets they've gathered? Thames and Kosmos's Candy Chemistry ($37) teaches kids how to make gummy bears, chocolates, and more while teaching them about crystallization, heat, and some basics of chemistry. But don't think it is all learning and no fun — when they're done creating, they can decorate their candies before eating them!

Take a quick peek inside your diaper bag. If it's anything like mine were, it's a disorganized mess. And if I switched bags for the day and tried to grab the necessities out of it, I pretty much always left the most important thing behind. Enter the Life in Play Organizer ($110). Created by two moms who were tired of leaving the essentials behind, Life in Play instantly organizes virtually any bag (its depth can be adjusted) and ensures that you never leave the wipes (or whatever you need) behind. Switching from your diaper bag to your favorite tote? Just grab your organizer out of one, stick it in the other, and you're good to go!

There's nothing really sexy about nursing pads, but they do an important job. While Cake Lingerie hasn't turned them into a boudoir item, they have improved the feel and function of the pads. The new CupCake Nursing Pads are made from organic cotton and are as slim as possible (without sacrificing the amount of liquid they can hold), making them a must have for nursing moms!