I need to replace my middle child's beloved army-type bag this year because he decided to make it a temporary home for rather large field mouse he caught (don't ask!). This is the same backpack that attracted a steady stream of ants into the mud room with its food crumbs a few months ago, so I'm not too sad to see it go. The challenge is finding a cool looking bag that won't be too heavy for my son.

My daughter uses a handy wheeled backpack to keep it from weighing her down, but my older son likes to carry everything with him so our challenge with him is to lighten his load.