See below for a sampling of new products from companies who will be attending this year's ASTRA Marketplace & Academy in Anaheim, Calif. These innovative products put a new twist on old favorites.
Coquette Redhead is a lovable doll with long, rooted hair that can be brushed and styled. She comes dressed in a fashionable purple jacket, plaid shirt, and matching pants, with coordinating sneakers. Her face has a realistic, delicate sprinkling of freckles. Launch date: April 2011.
Build your own customized checker set. These “I Built It!” checkers let you choose any of your favorite pictures and add them right into every game piece, making for a personalized game. Each game comes with 12 red and 12 black checker pieces made of durable yet lightweight plastic. These jumbo sized checker pieces are each 2 3/4 inches around, so there is plenty of room for pictures. Also included in each game are a picture sizing stencil, an instruction and idea sheet, and a 24 inch square red and black game board, This oversized game board folds down to fit in a 12 by 12 inch box.
SCRUBLE Cube is a fusion of the classic Rubik's Cube and SCRABBLE games. To play, you twist and turn the sides of the cube or rotate the individual squares to spell words. Earn extra points for spelling a word across multiple surfaces using bonus squares and building new words off ones that have already been created. SCRUBLE Cube can promote the development and exercise of key brain functions- logical deduction, analytical processing and word development skills. 1-4 players.
Glitter Rainbow Wings by CREATIVE EDUCATION OF CANADA
These glitter wings come in an organza bag with maribou trim. Six layered pieces feature a three color base and two colors of glitter. — In a Winter 2012 survey Melissa Pennille, co-owner of Teaching Toys & Books in Tacoma, Wash., told TDmonthly that butterfly wings were one of their bestselling items this Halloween season.
Celebrating it's 25th "Jubilee" year in 2011, Cuboro is a wooden block marble maze system from Switzerland. The Jubilee set, only available in 2011, features 25 blocks, including 4 completely new blocks. Precisely crafted from ecologically harvested European beechwood, the variety of Cuboro blocks allow for seemingly infinite marble run creations. Cuboro stimulates creativity and spatial sense. What sets this item apart is "The infinite creativity possible within a system where every element is a cube of the same size," Ken Kahn, owner of Oh! Toys, told TDmonthly.
Each kit includes: a plush puppet body, felt to cut-out body parts, non-toxic glue, fabric puppet parts, instructions, animal facts, and puppet show ideas. The package converts to a puppet stage and the inside of the packaging is a ready-to-color stage scene, so there is no packaging waste. Children can “Simply Cut, Glue, Color, Play,” says Elaine Kollias, marketing director at Folkmanis. Consumer will need to provide their own scissors and crayons. The Kits come in three varieties: Bunny, Cat and Frog.
Includes Harmonica, Mini Chimalong, JingleBand, Kid's Accordion, Ukulele, and Mini Tambourine. "The pieces are for children, but are created with a professional musician mentality," Garry Kvistad, CEO of Woodstock Chimes, said in a press release. Launch date: February 2011.
Tegu's patent-pending blocks cleverly incorporate magnets inside sustainably harvested wood, offering gravity-defying blocks that show no visible point of connectivity and enable multi-dimensional building experiences. Available in the following honduran hardwood finishes: natural, mahogany, tints and jungle. "We utilize eco-friendly hardwoods, making them both durable and friendly to the forest," a rep for Tegu Inc told TDmonthly. Awards: 2010 Parent’s Choice Award, 2010 Dr. Toy Best Green Toys and Children’s Products, 2010 Oppenheim Gold — David Stelzer, owner of Shananigans in Baltimore, Md., told TDmonthly in a March 2015 survey that Tegu blocks were one of his store's best-selling eco-friendly toys.
The Wall Coaster is NOT an ordinary marble run. Kids can just stick it to the wall and let their imaginations soar. The Wall Coaster uses the basic laws of physics and gravity to enable hours of fun and imaginative play. Plus, it is super easy to use. What makes the Wall Coaster different? The Wall Coaster can be applied to almost any vertical or horizontal surface. The new add on parts allow the user to build all kinds of crazy contraptions. — Dean Smith, owner of JaZams in Princeton, N.J. told TDmonthly in late Spring 2011 that he sells between eight and 10 Wall Coasters each month. — Want this? As of 05/10/2011, this product was available for purchase at JaZams
Writer's Bio: Justina Huddleston graduated Magna Cum Laude from Emerson College with a BA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing in 2009. After graduating she was the on-site director of the Boston Children's Museum gift store for a year, selling educational, developmental, and creative activity toys that tied in with the museum's exhibits. Justina also interned at children's book publisher Candlewick Press before moving from Boston to Los Angeles, where she is now Editorial Director of TDmonthly Magazine. Read more articles by this author
Writer's Bio: Justina Huddleston graduated Magna Cum Laude from Emerson College with a BA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing in 2009. After graduating she was the on-site director of the Boston Children's Museum gift store for a year, selling educational, developmental, and creative activity toys that tied in with the museum's exhibits. Justina also interned at children's book publisher Candlewick Press before moving from Boston to Los Angeles, where she is now Editorial Director of TDmonthly Magazine. Read more articles by this author
