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Exhibit 99

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

In re:	Natural Wonders, Inc., a Delaware Corporation	Case No.	00-46943	Final Monthly Operating Report
	World of Science, Inc, A New York Corporation			Approved Reorganization Plan
	Debtors and Debtors-in-Possession (Substantively Consolidated)	CHAPTER 11 MONTHLY OPERATING REPORT (GENERAL BUSINESS CASE)		Became Effective July 31, 2001

SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL STATUS

Month Ended		Jul-01		4 w/e 7/31/01		PETITION DATE:		12/17/00

1.	Debtor in possession (or trustee) hereby submits this Monthly Operating Report on the Accrual Basis of accounting (or if checked here the Office of the U.S. Trustee or the Court has approved the Cash Basis of Accounting for the Debtor). Dollars reported in $1,000
2.	Asset and Liability Structure	End of Current Month			End of Prior Month			As of Petition Filing
	a. Current Assets	$	18,085		$	23,167

	b. Total Assets	$	18,294		$	23,374		$	88,603

	c. Current Liabilities	$	416		$	481

	d. Total Liabilities	$	40,213		$	45,412		$	78,067

3.	Statement of Cash Receipts & Disbursements for Month	Current Month			Prior Month			Cumulative (Case to Date)
	a. Total Receipts	$	874		$	4,103		$	114,672

	b. Total Disbursements	$	5,917		$	3,608		$	97,804

	c. Excess (Deficiency) of Receipts Over Disbursements (a - b)	$	(5,043	)	$	495		$	16,868

	d. Cash Balance Beginning of Month	$	22,311		$	21,816		$	400

	e. Cash Balance End of Month (c + d) (before in transit)	$	17,268		$	22,311		$	17,268

		Current Month			Prior Month			Cumulative (Case to Date)
4.	Profit/(Loss) from the Statement of Operations	$	119		$	(747	)	$	(57,134	)

5.	Account Receivables (Pre and Post Petition)	$	1,749		$	1,749

6.	Post-Petition Liabilities	$	416		$	481

7.	Past Due Post-Petition Account Payables (over 30 days)	$	0		$	0

At the end of this reporting month:					Yes			No
8.	Have any payments been made on pre-petition debt, other than payments in the normal course to secured creditors or lessors? (if yes, attach listing including date of payment, amount of payment and name of payee)					Yes

9.	Have any payments been made to professionals? (if yes, attach listing including date of payment, amount of payment and name of payee)					Yes

10.	If the answer is yes to 8 or 9, were all such payments approved by the court?					Yes

11.	Have any payments been made to officers, insiders, shareholders, relatives? (if yes, attach listing including date of payment, amount and reason for payment, and name of payee)					Yes

12.	Is the estate insured for replacement cost of assets and for general liability?					Yes

13.	Are a plan and disclosure statement on file?					Yes

14.	Was there any post-petition borrowing during this reporting period?								No

15.	Check if paid: Post-petition taxes X; U.S. Trustee Quarterly Fees X; Check if filing is current for: Post-petition tax reporting and tax returns: X. (Attach explanation, if post-petition taxes or U.S. Trustee Quarterly Fees are not paid current or if post-petition tax reporting and tax return filings are not current.)

I declare under penalty of perjury I have reviewed the above summary and attached financial statements, and after making reasonable inquiry believe these documents are correct.

Date:

8/24/2001 0:00

/s/ Peter Hanelt

Responsible Individual
Peter Hanelt

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
(General Business Case)

For the Period July 1 to July 31, 2001

Current Month
Current Month											Period 12/18/00 to 7/31/01 Cumulative (Case to Date)			Next Month Forecast
Actual			Forecast			Variance					Period 12/18/00 to 7/31/01 Cumulative (Case to Date)			Next Month Forecast
										Revenues:
$	0					$	0		1	Gross Sales	$	102,818

$	0					$	0		2	less: Sales Returns & Allowances	$	8,813

$	0		$	1,500		$	(1,500	)	3	Net Sales	$	94,005		$	0

$	0		$	0		$	0		4	less: Cost of Goods Sold (Schedule "B")	$	58,413		$	0

$	0		$	1,500		$	(1,500	)	5	Gross Profit	$	35,592		$	0

			$	0		$	0		6	Interest

			$	0		$	0		7	Other Income:

			$	0		$	0		8

			$	0		$	0		9

$	0		$	1,500		$	(1,500	)	10	Total Revenues	$	35,592		$	0

										Expenses:
$	0		$	0		$	0		11	Compensation to Owner(s)/Officer(s)	$	584		$	0

$	4		$	0		$	(4	)	12	Salaries	$	14,197		$	0

			$	0		$	0		13	Commissions	$	0

			$	0		$	0		14	Contract Labor	$	0

										Rent/Lease:
			$	0		$	0		15	Personal Property	$	0

$	14		$	25		$	11		16	Real Property	$	14,076		$	0

$	110		$	0		$	(110	)	17	Insurance	$	479		$	0

			$	0		$	0		18	Management Fees	$	0

$	0		$	0		$	0		19	Depreciation	$	2,939		$	0


										Taxes:
$	0		$	0		$	0		20	Employer Payroll Taxes	$	1,531		$	0

$	20		$	0		$	(20	)	21	Real Property Taxes	$	235		$	0

			$	0		$	0		22	Other Taxes	$	0

$	0		$	50		$	50		23	Other Selling	$	4,370		$	0

$	36		$	50		$	14		24	Other Administrative	$	3,383		$	0

$	0		$	0		$	0		25	Interest	$	1,533		$	0

$	0		$	0		$	0		26	Other Expenses:	$	15

$	0		$	0		$	0		27	Unicap Inventory Adjustment	$	3,232		$	0

			$	0		$	0		28		$	0

			$	0		$	0		29		$	0

			$	0		$	0		30		$	0

			$	0		$	0		31		$	0

			$	0		$	0		32		$	0

			$	0		$	0		33		$	0

			$	0		$	0		34		$	0

$	184		$	125		$	(59	)	35	Total Expenses	$	46,574		$	0

$	(184	)	$	1,375		$	(1,559	)	36	Subtotal	$	(10,982	)	$	0

										Reorganization Items:
$	(612	)	$	(500	)	$	112		37	Professional Fees	$	(4,783	)	$	0

			$	0		$	0		38	Provisions for Rejected Executory Contracts	$	0

			$	0		$	0		39	Interest Earned on Accumulated Cash from	$	0

			$	0						Resulting Chp 11 Case	$	0

$	874		$	0		$	874		40	Gain or (Loss) from Sale of Equipment	$	(21,583	)	$	0

$	10		$	0		$	(10	)	41	U.S. Trustee Quarterly Fees	$	(8	)	$	0

			$	0		$	0		42		$	0

$	272		$	(500	)	$	772		43	Total Reorganization Items	$	(26,374	)	$	0

$	88		$	875		$	(787	)	44	Net Profit (Loss) Before Federal & State Taxes	$	(37,356	)	$	0

$	(31	)	$	0		$	31		45	Federal & State Income Taxes	$	19,778		$	0

$	119		$	875		$	(756	)	46	Net Profit (Loss)	$	(57,134	)	$	0

Attach an Explanation of Variance to Statement of Operations (For variances greater than +/- 10% only):

BALANCE SHEET
(General Business Case)
4 Week Period Ended 07/31/01

			From Schedules	Market Value
Assets
	Current Assets
1		Cash and cash equivalents—unrestricted		$	13,792

2		Cash and cash equivalents—restricted		$	1,497

3		Accounts receivable (net)	A	$	1,749

4		Inventory	B	$	0

5		Prepaid expenses		$	1,016

6		Professional retainers		$	31

7		Other:

8

9		Total Current Assets		$	18,085

	Property and Equipment (Market Value)
10		Real property	C	$	0

11		Machinery and equipment	D	$	0

12		Furniture and fixtures	D	$	0

13		Office equipment	D	$	0

14		Leasehold improvements	D	$	0

15		Vehicles	D	$	0

16		Other:	D

17			D

18			D

19			D

20			D

21		Total Property and Equipment		$	0

	Other Assets
22		Loans to shareholders

23		Loans to affiliates

24				$	0

25		Security Deposits		$	209

26		Misc		$	0

27

28		Total Other Assets		$	209

29		Total Assets		$	18,294

NOTE:

Indicate the method used to estimate the market value of assets (e.g., appraisals; familiarity with comparable market prices, etc.) and the date the value was determined.

Liabilities and Equity
(General Business Case)

	Liabilities From Schedules
		Post-Petition
			Current Liabilities
30				Salaries and wages		$	0

31				Payroll taxes		$	0

32				Real and personal property taxes

33				Income taxes

34				Sales taxes		$	0

35				Notes payable (short term)

36				Accounts payable (trade)	A	$	387

37				Real property lease arrearage		$	0

38				Personal property lease arrearage

39				Accrued professional fees

40				Current portion of long-term post-petition debt (due within 12 months)

41				Other:		$	0

42				Gift Certificates and Customer Credits		$	29

43				Interest and Loan Fees		$	0

44				Total Current Liabilities		$	416

45				Long-Term Post-Petition Debt, Net of Current Portion

46				Total Post-Petition Liabilities		$	416

		Pre-Petition Liabilities (allowed amount)
47				Secured claims	F	$	0

48				Priority unsecured claims	F	$	1,212

49				General unsecured claims — nonaffiliates	F	$	38,585

				General unsecured claims		$	0

50				Total Pre-Petition Liabilities		$	39,797

51				Total Liabilities		$	40,213

	Equity (Deficit)
52				Retained Earnings/(Deficit) at time of filing		$	1,485

53				Capital Stock		$	1

54				Additional paid-in capital		$	33,729

55				Cumulative profit/(loss) since filing of case		$	(57,134	)

56				Post-petition contributions/(distributions) or (draws)

57

58				Market value adjustment

59				Total Equity (Deficit)		$	(21,919	)

60				Total Liabilities and Equity (Deficit)		$	18,294

SCHEDULES TO THE BALANCE SHEET
(General Business Case)

Schedule A
Accounts Receivable and (Net) Payable

Receivables and Payables Agings	Accounts Receivable [Pre and Post Petition]		Accounts Payable [Post Petition]		Past Due Post Petition Debt
0-30 Days	$	1,749	$	387

31-60 Days

61-90 Days					$	0

91+ Days	$	0

Total accounts receivable/payable	$	1,749	$	387

Allowance for doubtful accounts

Accounts receivable (net)	$	1,749

Schedule B
Inventory/Cost of Goods Sold

Types and Amount of Inventory(ies)				Cost of Goods Sold
		Inventory(ies) Balance at End of Month
				Inventory Beginning of Month	$	0

				Add—
Retail/Restaurants—				Net purchase	$	0

	Product for resale	$	0	Direct labor

				Manufacturing overhead

Distribution—				Freight in	$	0

	Products for resale			Other:

				in transit	$	0


Manufacturer—
	Raw Materials

	Work-in-progress			Less—

	Finished goods			Inventory End of Month	$	0

				Shrinkage and markdown reserve change	$	0

Other—Explain				Change in Unicap	$	0


				Cost of Goods Sold	$	0

TOTAL		$	0

Method of Inventory Control		Inventory Valuation Methods
Do you have a functioning perpetual inventory system?		Indicate by a checkmark method of inventory used.
Yes X No
How often do you take a complete physical inventory?		Valuation methods—
		FIFO cost

Weekly		LIFO cost

Monthly		Lower of cost or market	X

Quarterly		Retail method

Semi-annually	X	Other

Annually		Explain

Date of last physical inventory was 8/6/2000 Full - 2/19/01 25 stores test
Date of next physical inventory is none scheduled

Schedule C
Real Property

		Cost		Market Value
Description
	The Debtor had approximately 150 Store leases that had no Book Value but had some Fair Market Value. Some of these leases were sold in May, resulting in a net fair market value price of approximately $1.5M The leases not sold were rejected.

Total		$	0	$	0

Schedule D
Other Depreciable Assets

		Cost		Market Value
Description
Machinery & Equipment -

	Total	$	0	$	0

Furniture & Fixtures -
	Store and Office Fixtures and Furniture	$	0
	— All net values of these Store assets were written off to a -0- balance reflecting the status of the Going out of Business sale and the termination of the leases

	Total	$	0	$	0

Office Equipment -
	Store and Office Equipment	$	0
	— All net values of these assets were written off since most have been sold or will be sold in June

	Total	$	0	$	0

Leasehold Improvements -
	Store and Office Improvements	$	0
	— All net values of these Store assets were written off to a -0- balance reflecting the status of the Going out of Business sale and the termination of the leases

	Total	$	0	$	0

Vehicles -



	Total	$	0	$	0

Schedule E
Aging of Post-Petition Taxes
(As of End of the Current Reporting Period)

		0-30 Days		31-60 Days		61-90 Days		91+ Days		Total
Taxes Payable
Federal
	Income Tax Withholding	$	0							$	0
	FICA—Employee	$	0							$	0
	FICA—Employer	$	0							$	0
	Unemployment (FUTA)	$	0							$	0
	Income									$	0
	Other (Attach List)									$	0
Total Federal Taxes		$	0	$	0	$	0	$	0	$	0
State and Local
	Income Tax Withholding	$	0							$	0
	Unemployment (UT)	$	0							$	0
	Disability Insurance (DI)									$	0
	Empl. Training Tax (ETT)									$	0
	Sales	$	0							$	0
	Excise									$	0
	Real property									$	0
	Personal property									$	0
	Income									$	0
	Other (Attach List)									$	0
Total State & Local Taxes		$	0	$	0	$	0	$	0	$	0

Total Taxes		$	0	$	0	$	0	$	0	$	0

Schedule F
Pre-Petition Liabilities

List Total Claims For Each Classification—	Claimed Amount
Secured claims (a)	$	0	Paid down to -0- by Court order
Priority claims other than taxes	$	493
Priority tax claims	$	721
General unsecured claims	$	38,585

(a): List total amount of claims even it under secured.
(b): Estimated amount of claim to be allowed after compromise or litigation. As an example, you are a defendant in a lawsuit alleging damage of $10,000,000 and a proof of claim is filed in that amount. You believe that you can settle the case for a claim of $3,000,000. For Schedule F reporting purposes you should list $10,000,000 as the Claimed Amount and $3,000,000 as the Allowed Amount.

Schedule G
Rental Income Information
Not applicable to General Business Cases

Schedule H
Recapitulation of Funds Held at End of Month

	Account 1
Bank
Account Type
Account No.
Account Purpose
Balance, End of Month

Total Funds on Hand for all Accounts	$	0

Attach copies of the month end bank statement(s), reconciliation(s), and the check register(s) to the Monthly Operating Report.

**: The Debtor has over 200 Bank Accounts due to its multi state retail locations. The Bank Statements and reconciliations are available at the Corporate offices for review. This complex cash management system was approved for continued use by Court order.

STATEMENT OF CASH RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS
Increase/(Decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents
For the 4 Weeks Ended 07/31/01

					Period 12/18/00 to 7/31/01
		Actual Current Period			Cumulative (Case to Date)
	Cash Receipts
1	Rent/Leases Collected				$	0
2	Cash Received from Sales	$	874		$	111,492
3	Interest Received				$	0
4	Borrowings				$	0
5	Funds from Shareholders, Partners, or Other Insiders				$	0
6	Capital Contributions				$	0
7	Sales taxes	$	0		$	3,180
8					$	0
9					$	0
10					$	0
11					$	0

12	Total Cash Receipts	$	874		$	114,672

	Cash Disbursements
13	Payments for Inventory	$	0		$	2,826
14	Selling	$	0		$	3,501
15	Administrative	$	165		$	2,652
16	Capital Expenditures				$	0
17	Principal Payments on Debt				$	0
18	Interest Paid				$	0
	Rent/Lease:				$	0
19	Personal Property	$	14		$	13,242
20	Real Property	$	0		$	0
	Amount Paid to Owner(s)/Officer(s)				$	0
21	Salaries				$	0
22	Draws				$	0
23	Commissions/Royalties				$	0
24	Expense Reimbursements				$	0
25	Other				$	0
26	Salaries/Commissions (less employee withholding)	$	4		$	16,369
27	Management Fees				$	0
	Taxes:				$	0
28	Employee Withholding	$	0		$	3,116
29	Employer Payroll Taxes	$	0		$	1,290
30	Real Property Taxes				$	0
31	Other Taxes—sales taxes	$	0		$	5,499
32	Other Cash Outflows:				$	0
33	Effective Date Payment of Prepetition Items as per Plan	$	5,132		$	5,132
34	Professional retainers and Professionals Reserve	$	602		$	5,175
35	Interest	$	0		$	2,333
36	Bank Principal per court order	$	0		$	36,490
37	Other corrections	$	0		$	179
38	Total Cash Disbursements:	$	5,917		$	97,804

39	Net Increase (Decrease) in Cash	$	(5,043	)	$	16,868

40	Cash Balance, Beginning of Period	$	22,311		$	400

41	Cash Balance, End of Period (per cash flow reports to Bank and Committee)	$	17,268		$	17,268

	Cash in Operating Accounts	$	17,268
	Cash in Transit from Credit Card Companies or Depository Banks	$	(1,979	)

	Cash Balance, End of Period per General Ledger	$	15,289

Natural Wonders, Inc.
World of Science, Inc.
Case # 00-46943
(cases substantively consolidated)
Attachment to Monthly Operating Report
Payments of Pre-petition Debts

Question # 8—Summary Sheet

The Debtor, in accordance with Court orders of December 18th, 2000 and amended Orders of February 5th, 2001, has paid certain specific pre-petition debts, as follows:

Pre-petition Wages, Salaries, and related Compensation Employee Sick pay, Vacation pay, Holiday pay not to exceed $2,175,000, plus checks previously issued and not honored (approximately $300,000).

Pre-petition Vacation pay accrued and unpaid, not to exceed $600,000.

Pre-petition Employee Expense Reimbursements, not to exceed $200,000.

Pre-petition Temporary Employment Agencies, not to exceed $365,000.

Pre-petition Employee Benefit Program amounts, not to exceed $300,000.

Pre-petition Employee garnishments, taxes, alimonies etc, as required by law.

In the period December 18th, 2000 to July 31st, 2001 the Debtor paid amounts in the above categories in amounts that did not exceed the limits. Records of these Disbursements are maintained in the Debtor's Corporate Office.

At the Effective Date of the Approved Plan of Reorganization, July 31, 2001, the Estate paid out the following Effective Date Payments:

Allowed Reclamation Claims		1,676,240
Allowed Convenience Class		72,717
Allowed Priority Taxes		3,381,551

Question # 9—Summary Sheet

The Debtor, in accordance with Court orders, has paid certain Professionals, as follows:

(includes release of Retainers held)

	Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton	Deloitte & Touche	Murphy Sheneman Julian & Rogers	Neilson & Elggren	Great American	DJM Asset Mgmt	Hilco Lenders Fees
	Debtors Counsel	Debtors Accountant	Committee Counsel	Committee Accountant	GOB Consultant	Real Estate Professionals	Lenders Professionals	Total
Paid various July	134025	149939	25845	2,275	0	165922	0	478006

Total	134025	149939	25845	2,275	0	165922	0	478006

Question # 11—Summary Sheet

The Debtor has made payments to its Officers and Directors in accordance with the above Pre-Petition information as it related to wages, salaries, benefits and employee expense reimbursement. None of these payments were outside of the conditions of the above mentioned orders.

QuickLinks

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS (General Business Case)
BALANCE SHEET (General Business Case) 4 Week Period Ended 07/31/01
Liabilities and Equity (General Business Case)
SCHEDULES TO THE BALANCE SHEET (General Business Case)
Schedule C Real Property
Schedule D Other Depreciable Assets
Schedule E Aging of Post-Petition Taxes (As of End of the Current Reporting Period)
Schedule F Pre-Petition Liabilities
Schedule G Rental Income Information Not applicable to General Business Cases
Schedule H Recapitulation of Funds Held at End of Month
STATEMENT OF CASH RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS Increase/(Decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents For the 4 Weeks Ended 07/31/01

NATURAL WONDERS INC 8-K