Kids

Little feet love Cienta

Little feet love Cienta
God I love me some Zappos. While I was on there, trying to figure out how not to blow our entire monthly budget on new shoes for my fast-growing kids, I came across a brand called Cienta that was new to me.

The nearly 20-year old, eco-conscious Spanish children's shoe label makes one of my favorite styles of shoes for girls -- a summery slip-on canvas sneaker with a mary-jane style strap and a thick, flexible sole. It's a style that does double duty as a sturdy playground shoe and a casual girls' dress shoe that looks adorable with skirts and flowy dresses.

My near three year-old has been wearing her Ciento sneakers the entire week and hasn't once complained or tried to rip them off halfway through the day. Plus, she likes to put them on herself. Mostly backwards.

You can bet I'm about to order a second pair for my older daughter, although knowing her she won't go for the classic navy when there's pink to be had.-Liz

Find children's shoes from Cienta in toddler and youth sizes online at Zappos.

More in KidsView all picks →

shannon hale princess in black book and author

Q&A with children’s book author Shannon Hale

Shannon Hale is the bestselling author behind The Princess in Black series. It's a favorite early chapter book series for kids ages 5–8 and boys love it as much as girls do. Her newest book, Princess in Black and the Trick or Treating Trouble, comes out just in time for Halloween. We talked with her about it as part of our Q&A author series and asked about a few of her favorite things too.

Explore Build-a-Bear

Some Not-So-Spooky Fun this Halloween

How can Build-A-Bear be used for Halloween costumes? Let kids create a spooky Build-A-Bear sidekick to incorporate into their costume, which can help the costume be enjoyed beyond Halloween.

Q&A with children's author Sophie Blackall

Q&A with children's author Sophie Blackall

Cool Mom Picks readers, we are so excited to launch a new series for you. We are obsessed book lovers over here at the CMP headquarters, and we have a particular soft spot for children's books (even though we're moving our kids into coll…