When I was dreaming up my son’s nursery, I found it hard to create a space that balanced the whimsical and practical while still keeping the fun (no plastic!) design aesthetic that I prefer. One thing I knew for sure: there would be a lot of books!
In my search for the perfect bookends, I found some beautiful, sculptural Zuny Classic Series bookend animals at my local Chapters store. These funky Zuny bookends are also available at other online retailers listed on the company’s website. These bookends are heirloom quality, very special toys – the packaging folds out to become a small play space and also include a cute “owner’s manual”.
I ended up selecting the dark brown bear and light yellow giraffe for my son. Zuny bookends are handmade out of leather and are really solidly constructed. The only caveat is that they should be kept out of the hands of little babies because they are fairly heavy and would hurt if they were pulled off of a shelf and bonked a baby on the head. A bonus of the leather covering is that these bookends wipe clean easily – I’m sure older toddlers would enjoy toting the animals around so this is important. While Zuny’s bookends were actually quite a bit out of my usual price range (starting at $28 CAD each depending on the animal), the beauty, quality, and functionality make them worth it! I know one day they will grace the nurseries of my great grandchildren, because beautiful gender-neutral animals never go out of style.
