Especially for Kids

The city puts on a fabulous array of special events for children at Harbourfront. In February, there's ALOUD: A Celebration for Young Readers. Come April, Spring Fever welcomes the season with egg decorating, puppet shows, and more; on Saturday mornings in April, the 5-to-12 set enjoys cushion concerts. For information, call tel. 416/973-4000 or visit www.harbourfrontcentre.com.

For more than 30 years, the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People, 165 Front St. E. at Sherbourne Street (tel. 416/862-2222 for box office, or 416/363-5131 for administration), has been entertaining youngsters. Its season runs from August to May.

The eleventh annual Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children screens more than 100 entries from 29 countries in April 2009. Like the Toronto International Film Festival in September, the screenings take place around the city. Call tel. 416/968-FILM for details, or visit http://sprockets.ca.

Help! We've Got Kids is an all-in-one print and online directory for attractions, events, shops, and services appropriate for kids under 13 in the greater Toronto area. It doesn't provide a lot of detail about most of the entries, but the listings make a great starting point. Visit www.helpwevegotkids.com.

The best venues (at least from a kid's point of view) are these:

• African Lion Safari: Jungle cats. Ring-tailed lemurs. Baby elephants. What kid could ask for anything more?
• Harbourfront: Kaleidoscope is an ongoing program of creative crafts, active games, and special events on weekends and holidays. There are also a pond, winter ice skating, and a crafts studio.
• Ontario Place: The Children's Village, water slides, huge Cinesphere, futuristic pod, and other entertainment are the big hits at this recreational and cultural park. In the Children's Village, kids under 13 can scramble over rope bridges, bounce on an enormous trampoline, or drench one another in the water-play section.
• Ontario Science Centre: Kids race to be the first at this paradise of hands-on games, experiments, and push-button demonstrations -- 800 of them.
• Paramount Canada's Wonderland: The kids can't wait to get on the theme park's roller coasters and daredevil rides. And don't forget to budget for video games.
• Toronto Zoo: One of the best in the world, modeled after San Diego's -- the animals in this 284-hectare (701-acre) park really do live in a natural environment.

For more specialized interests:

• Allan Gardens Children's Conservatory: For hands-on learning experiences about plants and ecology.
• Black Creek Pioneer Village: For craft and other demonstrations.
• Casa Loma: The stables, secret passageway, and fantasy rooms capture children's imaginations.
• CN Tower: Especially the simulator games and the glass floor.
• Fort York: For its reenactments of battle drills, musket and cannon firing, and musical marches with fife and drum.
• High Park: Wide-open spaces, plus the chance to hang out with llamas.
• Hockey Hall of Fame: Who wouldn't want the chance to tend goal against Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky (with a sponge puck), and to practice with the fun and challenging video pucks?
• Royal Ontario Museum: The top hits are the Ancient Egypt Gallery, the Hands-On Biodiversity Gallery, and the Maiasaur Project.
• Toronto Islands-Centreville: Riding a ferry to this turn-of-the-20th-century amusement park is part of the fun.

A Storybook Sanctuary -- The Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books is a treasure trove for bibliophiles of all ages. Located at the Lillian H. Smith Branch of the Toronto Public Library (239 College St.; tel. 416/393-7753), the collection includes a 14th-century manuscript of Aesop's fables, Victorian and Edwardian adventure and fantasy tales, 16th-century schoolbooks, storybooks once owned by British royalty, an array of "penny dreadfuls" (cheap thrillers from the days when a paperback book cost a penny), and Florence Nightingale's childhood library. Special exhibits at the Osborne often feature whimsical subjects. You can visit the library weekdays between 10am and 6pm or Saturdays from 9am to 5pm.