From a football game in a deck of cards to a pool table that welcomes sharks, these surprising games and toys encourage family fun. Watch November’s videos now:
Popsi is a loveable, huggable plush doll that stands 11” tall and is made from recycled plastic bottles spun into fiber stuffing and an eco-chic hot pink outfit. Her body fabric is composed of certified organic cotton. The long soft flowing hair is made from certified organic wool. Popsi comes to life in her own storybook titled "Popsi, The Daughter of Mother Nature." Popsi empowers children to take her lessons into their homes, school and communities resulting in a better world for everyone. Popsi is non-toxic doll that saves energy, reduces landfill waste, lowers greenhouse gas emissions and is proudly made in the U.S.A. and won the Dr. Toy Best Green Product of 2009. Please note: Popsi's Tote Bag is designed with a special front pocket just for her! She can be carried in the front, while the main interior is ideal for toting the book. This is not shown in the attached video, but you can see an example here.
The Purpllinker from Parchmint, Inc. is designed to duplicate the play value of an old-fashioned carpenter’s ruler. The Purpllinker builds on the ruler’s concept making it smaller, stronger, safer, more flexible and adds yet another unique dimension. Seven arms become adjustable when linked together, so the Purpllinker holds its shape to form letters, numbers, and objects. A series of holes on the five inside arms guide the child in learning and playing games. The Purpllinker helps with reading and math readiness for all youngsters, especially those who learn best through hands-on activities.
The Cherry Blossom Bird is one of the Webkinz pets that come with codes on their tags that unlock an online playworld. This little bird loves to eat Cherry Blossom Cheesecake. Launch date: 2009.
This little goat is baaaahd to the bone. He features a secret code that allows kids access to an online world filled with educational games and fun. Launch date: 2009.
— Lisa Bingham, owner of Firefly Toy Shop in Milford, Pa., named Webkinz as one of her top-three best sellers in November 2009.
Thoughts and Feelings - Sentence Completion Card Game by BRIGHT SPOTS GAMES
This cheerfully illustrated therapeutic tool for parents, teachers, and mental health professionals is designed to engage children of all ages.The deck contains 35 cards especially effective in helping children identify, process and work through a variety of issues, including changes within the family, trauma, grief, anger, depression, anxiety and fears. It's also available in Spanish. This product was named one of Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products 2009.
Thoughts and Feelings 2 - Sentence Completion Card Game by BRIGHT SPOTS GAMES
This all-new sentence completion game is the vibrant sequel to the original Thoughts and Feelings, new sentence stems, new illustrations, and new ways to engage children of all ages. This deck compliments and adds to Thoughts and Feelings 1, and is a great way to build a set of therapeutic tools. Thirty five cards are included.
Piggy Paint's Girls Rule! pack contains two polishes (Forever Fancy and Girls Rule!), as well as a bottle of Piggy Paint Remover in a reusable purple organza bag. It is the company's No. 1 seller, as of July 2009. "Piggy Paint is a non-toxic, eco-friendly fingernail polish that dries to hard, durable finish and can be easily removed with Piggy Paint's low odor, hypoallergenic remover," Melanie Hurley, CEO of Piggy Paint, told TDmonthly. Launch date: August 2008.
Comet® The Fast Path To Learning - Bible Edition by ACTIVE MINDS INC
Comet® Bible Edition offers an exciting and fun way to learn spelling and amazing facts about characters, angels, events and scripture. This particular version features questions and multiple choice answers such as "Who announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds?" and "The spirit of God is described as descending like this." DOVE sparrow eagle raven. Multiple choice answers and an element of risk ensure everyone has a chance to win. Comet® has received awards from The Toy Man Online and Creative Child Magazine. "Spelling is very important, and far too few games offer this concept. Critical skill development is crucial, important and necessary to develop good educational performance," Creator Sandy Evans of Active Minds Inc. told TDmonthly. Launch date: Fall 2008. Awards: A TDmonthly Classics Award for being an all-time favorite toy.
The Baby Banz sunglasses & sun hat set includes a pool-ready PVC bag to store it in for the child on the go. The lenses are made of durable polycarbonate and offer 100 percent UVA/ UVB protection. The lenses are also of ophthalmic quality and are capable of being replaced with prescription lenses. The neoprene elastic band matches the chosen color of the sunglasses. The side-adjustable Velcro® allows for years of wear as the child grows. — As of 05/12/2011 this product had 4.2 out of 5 stars from 49 customer reviews on Amazon.com. Cons: Velcro seal irritated some children's ears.
Fashionably fit in designer fabrics treated with quilt stitching, this little 5" horse makes a colorful playmate or nice room decoration. It has beans in its body and legs, allowing it to easily stand up. The product is machine washable.
This colorful apron has pockets in front for keeping supplies and is large enough to keep outfits clean. Velcro straps make it easy to put on and take off! Fits most children ages 3 to 6. Hand wash and line dry.
Jukem is a fast game that can be played in 20 minutes or less. The game lasts two times through the deck. No prior knowledge of football is required. Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010
Begin Smart - Animal Faces by STERLING PUBLISHING CO.
The big animal faces in this soft, cloth book will catch baby’s eye immediately. A sewn-in rattle adds to the fun—shake it to capture, keep, and build baby’s attention span.
The Green Science - Soda Can Robug is an imaginative way for children to explore mechanics and electricity. The kit includes a plastic mechanic body, wire wings, wire legs, motor with wires, screws and detailed instructions. — In a Fall 2013 survey, Gary Green, owner of Toy Box of Asheville Inc in Asheville, N.C., told TDmonthly that the Soda Can Robug from Toysmith was one of their best-selling science toys.
This pure 1950s Revival Tinplate Toy comes in an illustrated box with 3 wind-up cars. The cars race around the oval track, going form pitstop to pitstop, seeming to change colors as each emerges from the garage. The track is 10" wide. Two wind-up keys are included. This collector's item cannot be sold as a child's toy.
Suitable for children ages 1 1/2 to 5 years, this colorful, friction-powered harvester has a rotating thresher and an automatic baler that drops bales (three included in set) as the vehicle moves. It also features a swivel grain arm and comes with a farmer figurine. — “Wow Toys have been the favorite,” Bill Rayment, owner of Toy Crossing in Harbor Beach, Mich., told TDmonthly about infant and toddler toys in March 2009. — Three of 64 retailers named Wow Toys as a top-selling infant and toddler line in spring 2009.
This rattle is designed to catch the eye of even the youngest babies with high-contrast black and white geometric patterns and bold orange and red accents. Like a mini barbell, the rattle has a thin handle with a ball on either end. One side features a black ball with white polka-dots. The other is a clear ball with a rotating disk showing three eye-catching images. These bold visuals encourage baby to track the rattle as eye muscles develop. Three thin rings in tones from yellow to red rattle around the handle. Baby is encouraged to finger these rings and to touch and mouth the raised bumps on the handle to cultivate tactile sensitivity. The toy "provides auditory, visual and tactile stimulation," Peggy Barrett, PR consultant for Barrett Marketing Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2009.
This smiling bug is designed to encourage development of communication with textural variety for mouthing. When refrigerated, the squishy, ridged, water-filled upper wings provide cool comfort for teething babies. The bottom wings are bumpy and chewy for added teething enjoyment. Other teethable textures include a smooth, shiny face and body; a round, white handle with raised black stripes; and a thin, chewy antennae. Beginning at birth, a high-contrast, smiling, symmetrical face is designed to engage and calms baby. Slightly different shades of blue on the wings encourage eye sight development at 6 months and up. "The toy's many textures encourage development of communication through mouthing of the toy," Peggy Barrett, PR consultant at Barrett Marketing Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2009.
Four spinning pieces with a variety of bright colors, textures and shapes draw baby’s eyes, ears and mouth to play with the Illumination Station. Like Sassy’s classic Fascination Station and Fishy Fascination Station, this toy can be mounted to a high chair tray or other flat surface with its sturdy suction-cup base. The moon ball glows from within when baby spins or shakes the Illumination Station.
Bathing baby is easier with the Soft-Touch Rinse Cup. Just fill with warm water and pour gently over the baby's head to rinse off shampoo. The cup is soft and flexible to prevent bumps and bruises.
Players race to the photo finish in this dice game that plays out in a flash. They quickly roll their dice to match the characters on the photo booth cards. When a player matches a pair, he or she must shout "Cheese!" and collect the card. Once a player has won all the cards, he or she is picture perfect. "Say Cheese is a fast-paced, unique game that combines dice and cards to create a fun and playful enviornment," Michael Masseur, account executive at Aigner/Prensky Marketing, told TDmonthly. Launch date: March 2009.
Primo the Monkey was happily asleep until his friends swung by for a surprise pajama party. Help Primo chase away the primate pranksters by flipping and swapping cards in numerical order. Watch out for elephants and giraffes who want to crash in on the fun. And if you're lucky, draw a wild monkey card to clear out the room in one clean sweep. The first player to stop the monkey mayhem and get Primo back to bed wins. Game includes 55 cards and instructions. Launch date: March 2009.
It's a rolling polar bear jam. Roll the colored dice to collect high-scoring polar bears from the rink. Roll doubles to trip up opponents or "Free Skate" to take your pick of the pack. But press your luck too far and you may wind up flat on your face. The player with the most points skates away with the victory. Launch date: March 2009.
Pool Sharks is an inventive twist on one of the greatest games of skill ever created. The scaled down size combined with the unique shark shooter mechanisms will challenge and delight pool lovers of all skill levels. As they play, kids will learn some elementary physics (action-reaction) as well as hone hand-eye coordination. The game comes with a pool table, six fix pockets, two shark cuesticks, triangle rack and 11 mini pool balls. Launch date: 2009.
This 16-piece 3D puzzle comes with a travel tin for easy porting. Kids can remove all the magnetic pieces from the cover and then try to reassemble the entire puzzle from scratch. Or, they can keep out a single piece and place the other pieces on the board in any order, then slide them to and fro to solve the puzzle that way. Everyting fits inside the tin when they're ready to go. Other designs are available.
The Amazing Alphabotz™ Superphonic Decoder Cards by IDEOPOLIS LLC
The Alphabotz Superphonic Decoder Cards jumpstart beginning reading skills by building lasting associations between sounds and the letters that represent them. The cards include a variety of games and activities that are designed to promote vital early literacy skills such as phonemic awareness and are geared toward children of various skill levels, making this product both an educational tool and a toy. "The ALPHABOTZ personify sounds in the English language. They help children visualize and build lasting associations between sounds and the letters that represent them. The letter/letter team on a character's chest and the icon on its head serve as constant visual reinforcements for the sound that is represented by that character," Nicole Sigsby, principal of Ideopolis LLC, told TDmonthly. Awards: 2009 Creative Child Magazine Preferred Choice Award in the Educational Products Category; iParenting Media; Mom's Choice; Tillywig Brain Child; and Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products 2009; 2009 Family Choice Award; 2010 The Toy Man Seal of Approval, Award of Excellence and Editors Choice Award. Launch date: July 2009. — "Just when you thought it was not possible, here is another fresh approach to letter recognition. Developed by an educator, Alphabots are for children at all developmental levels. Use the 46 robot character cards in one of 12 fun letter and sound games to improve phonemic awareness. I love Alphabotz!" Jennifer Shuman, of 1SmartNoodle, told TDmonthly at Toy Fair 2010.
Secrets of Dracula's Castle by BARRON'S EDUCATIONAL SERIES
Barron’s This new activity kit for boys and girls by Sue Unstead holds the ingredients for an imaginary journey to the mysterious land of Transylvania and the spooky castle that is home to Count Dracula. Enclosed with an assortment of creepy vampire accessories is a 32-page illustrated book that retells Dracula’s classic story and presents a game in which the players must figure out how to escape from Dracula’s castle. The box also contains a collection of items to enhance the scary surroundings, including vampire-style fanged teeth, Dracula’s cape, black rubber bat, washable white face paint, imitation blood capsules, and a cardboard model of Dracula’s castle to assemble. Kids can let their imaginations run wild as they dress up for Halloween or dramatize Dracula’s delightfully chilling story at any time of the year. The kit measures 7.5" x 9.5" x 2.25".
Writer's Bio: ALISON MAREK is an award-winning writer, director and cartoonist whose work has been published by Fairchild Publications and DC Comics (Piranha Press), broadcast on Showtime and other cable networks, and viewed worldwide in film festivals. See her short films and print work on www.alisonmarek.com. Watch her nefarious villains in the web series www.MuggsMovers.com. Get inspired by her cartoons "Daily ARFFirmations to Unleash Your Inner Fido" at www.ARFFirmations.com. Phew! And then ... Read more articles by this author
Writer's Bio: ALISON MAREK is an award-winning writer, director and cartoonist whose work has been published by Fairchild Publications and DC Comics (Piranha Press), broadcast on Showtime and other cable networks, and viewed worldwide in film festivals. See her short films and print work on www.alisonmarek.com. Watch her nefarious villains in the web series www.MuggsMovers.com. Get inspired by her cartoons "Daily ARFFirmations to Unleash Your Inner Fido" at www.ARFFirmations.com. Phew! And then ... Read more articles by this author
