Each different-colored letter, available in A through Z, comes on wheels. All letters are crafted from hard maple and have a nontoxic color finish. Magnets allow letters to be strung in a line to form names. $4.90 each. — “Maple Landmark wooden train letters sell very well,” said Gail, manager of the Toy Chest in West Hartford, Conn. — 44 retailers surveyed in September 2010 said Maple Landmark Name Trains are their best-selling personalized item. — In an October 2011 survey, Joe Berardoni, owner of Pun's Toys in Bryn Mawr, Pa., told TDmonthly that "We do not personalize, but we do sell a lot of Maple Landmark’s colored train letters." They are "great as a newborn gift," and Pun's sells dozens each month.
These wee wooden vehicles are the toys that Santa fills his sack with in all those Christmas specials. Simple, sturdy and colorful, these 4” toys are perfect for toddlers. Eighteen different Scoots are available in a variety of designs, including police cars, fire trucks, taxis, trolleys, race cars, cows, ducks, tractors and much more. Vehicles are also available individually for $5.30 each.
Better than generic A-Z alphabet blocks, Maple Landmark’s Chatterblocks have multiples of popular letters. The 16-piece block set is available in an “Antique” style. The “Antique” style blocks are cubes that measure 2¾” and are made from pine. The blocks have a distressed white finish with printed, old-fashioned looking brown lettering. The “Antique” style blocks go perfectly in a country décor as well as any place where there is something to say!
The Made by Me kits come in six different vehicle styles — bug, racer, truck, tractor, train and tugboat. The vehicle bodies are 4” long, crafted from pine and sanded smooth to the touch. Each kit comes with unfinished wheels and axles for assembly, plus the vehicle body. The train engine kit even comes with a smokestack. Easy-to-follow assembly instructions are included under the tag ($1.90). New for summer 2006 were boxed Made by Me kits. Each box set comes with one of each vehicle (four in all) with wheels and axles to match, and a smokestack for the train. An instruction sheet ($7.60) is included. “Made by Me's [kits] are the product of imagination…[and] meet the needs of such a wide range of children and abilities,” Barb Rainville of Maple Landmark told TDmonthly. The product was named one of the 100 Best Children’s Products of 2006 by Dr. Toy.
Best known for the NameTrains and Montgomery Schoolhouse products, Maple Landmark branched out into construction kits for kids. Using “My Little Scoots!”-sized bodies, they’ve created “Made by Me” kits in four different vehicle styles — truck, train, tractor and tugboat. The vehicle bodies are 4” long, crafted from pine, and sanded smooth to the touch. The boxed kit includes the vehicle bodies, plus a smokestack for the train, 16 axles, 16 wheels and instructions. Single kits are also available.
The NameTrain thematic cars include Birthday, American Flag and Sports theme varieties. These cars make the perfect dividers between NameTrain words and are compatible with other wooden track systems. The images are created with a durable digital imaging process that won't rub off. Customizing is available. “These cars extend the NameTrain system to customize even more. NameTrains are not available in any mass retail outlets,” Barbara Rainville, marketing manager for Maple Landmark, told TDmonthly. Launch date: June 2007. $4.90 each.
The soma cube is made from beautiful hard maple and finished with a light coat of polyurethane. This seven-piece puzzle features three-dimensional pieces that, together, measure about 2 ½” cubed. The solution is available on the company’s website. “The soma cube is available in single units, perfect for the small specialty store [that doesn’t have] a lot of room but wants to offer unique games,” Barbara Rainville, marketing manager for Maple Landmark, told TDmonthly. Launch date: March 2007.
The smooth-sanded, hard maple wooden blocks are available in typical shapes, including squares, rectangles, cylinders, arches, triangles and half circles. The base block is 1" x 2" x 4", and all other pieces are designed as multiples of the base so differing elements can be stacked to equal one another. Three sets are available: Junior, Advanced and Master. The set comes in a sturdy box with instructional information on creative and open-ended play. This product is intended for children over the age of 18 months. Launch date: January 1, 1985.
The truck measures approximately 4” in length and is available in 18 different designs. Each scoot is made from pine and sanded smooth before finishing. “All of our finishes are non-toxic,” Maple Landmark Marketing Manager Barbara Rainville told TDmonthly. Launch date: January 1, 1995.
Each 9” truck weighs approximately 3 lbs and is available in two types of finishes: non-toxic paints and inks or beeswax with engraved details and designs. Each truck also features removable pieces, allowing for more expansive play. Five other styles are available in the Classic Trucks line: Tic-Tac Truck, Moving Truck, Log Truck, Fire Truck and Race Team Truck. Launch date: January 1, 2006.
Made of 100-percent maple, products in the Schoolhouse Naturals' line have either no finish or an earth-based finish, such as beeswax or whey. The smooth, wooden Push Pulls come in bunny, bus and elephant varieties and have holes in the front for a string so that a child can still utilize the toy when he or she starts walking.
The Spinnys are three 1” cubes strung on a 5" dowel that is capped with bright blue enders. Kids can expand their imaginations by creating over three dozen, different animal combinations, including a horinocerlion or even a liodogous. The toy, intended for children over the age of 18 months, is made with non-toxic finishes and inks. Spinny Speller and Spinny People versions are also available. “Our Spinnys are compact and durable, [allowing them] to go everywhere the toddler goes. Always creative and interesting,” Maple Landmark Woodcraft Co. Marketing Manager Barbara Rainville told TDmonthly. Launch date: January 1, 2008.
The game comes with 24 wooden tiles, featuring twelve different vehicles. Among the vehicles are a fire truck, tugboat, bulldozer, police car and school bus to name a few. Each vehicle is brightly printed on 2-1/2" square tiles. Each tile is 1/4" thick and is finished with a clear child safe lacquer. The set comes with a cloth bag for storage and instructions on how to play. “The game exercises memory and recognition skills as well as matching,” Maple Landmark Marketing Manager Barbara Rainville told TDmonthly. “Our graphics are simple, appealing and kid-friendly without being ‘cartooney’ or commerical.” Launch date: February 2008.
The 5” x 1-1/2” toy teaches beginning rhyming skills as well as basic rhyming words. Each of the three cubes spins freely on the center rod. The center cube features vowels A, I, O and U, while the outer cubes feature a selection of letters that allow for over three dozen words and word sounds. This item is intended for children over the age of 18 months. “Kids love them because kids love to learn…and show off how smart they are with the words and letters they have learned,” Maple Landmark Marketing Manager Barbara Rainville told TDmonthly. “And no other company makes them as durable and simple as Maple Landmark.” Launch date: January 1, 2007.
This natural wooden bench includes 12 maple blocks in four shapes — circle, square, rectangle, triangle — that fit into the labeled cutouts of the bench, which measures 4" H x 4" W x 6 3/4" L. The bench is made of hard maple and comes unfinished. Launch date: 2008.
This set includes 16 hard maple blocks that measure 1.75" and can collectively be used to spell more than 350 words. Each unfinished block features a letter, and its background has a detailed, laser-designed image of an object that begins with that letter — S for snowflake, for example. Launch date: 2008.
This maple wood toy recycling truck is finish-free and measures about 4" long. It includes the word "recycling" and portrays sorting bins for glass, plastic and paper.
A starter set for our other Montgomery Schoolhouse building blocks, these are excellent quality hard-maple building blocks in all the standard shapes, in proportion to each other. This set has 21 pieces with eight different shapes. The base block is 1" X 2" X 4" Each set comes in a sturdy box for storage. These blocks are unfinished and part of the Schoolhouse Naturals line. The set comes in a white compact box for easy shelf displaying. Launch date: 2009.
Crafted from locally harvested hardwood maple, this set of 16, 1 3/4" blocks can spell more than 250 words, phrases and names. Each letter is engraved using a clean, simple font for ease of reading. The Simple ABC Blocks are sanded smooth to the touch but left unfinished for a truly eco-friendly toy. They are made in Vermont. Launch date: January 25, 2009. Awards: 2009 Creative Child Magazine Toy of the Year Award, Classic Wooden Toys category. — Any kind of stacking alphabet blocks, no matter the maker, do well for James Dello Stritto, manager of Magic Box, Ltd., in New Orleans.
Crafted from sustainably harvested, local hardwood maple, this train includes 6"-long cars, fat wheels and an easy to connect "knuckle hitch." Each car is sanded super smooth to the touch and has engraved detailing. No finishes or chemical coatings are used. As an added bonus, the train comes with a "pull stick" to make the whole train a pull toy. "The train is designed for the 3 years and under. There are very few products on the market that for that age group," Barbara Rainville, marketing manager for Maple Landmark Woodcraft, told TDmonthly. This product received a 2009 Preferred Choice Award, Classic Wooden Toys Category, from Creative Child Magazine. Launch date: January 23, 2009. — Maple Landmark wooden trains are a big hit at Moon Rabbit Toys in Santa Fe, N.M., Owner Shana Hack told TDmonthly in June 2009.
Brought back to celebrate Maple Landmark's 30th anniversary, Danish Solitaire is a mind-challenging math game crafted from locally harvested maple (in Vermont) and finished using a non-toxic clear lacquer. Measuring 5" x 7", Danish Solitaire comes with pegs numbering from one to 10. The object is to follow the lines and make the pegs add up to the same number. Directions are on the back. "The Danish Solitaire is an original, very rarely copied," Barbara Rainville, marketing manager for Maple Landmark Woodcraft, told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 15, 2009.
An addition to the NameTrain Wooden Railway System created by Maple Landmark, the four-car Santa Train Car Set is crafted from locally harvested maple with whimsical images of Santa, Mrs. Claus, reindeer and elves. The finishes and inks are all non-toxic. The car pieces are not sold separately. Launch date: June 15, 2009.
There are four different Teach & Play Tiles set for the beginning learner. Set 1 has shapes and colors, set 2 includes animals and vegetables, set 3 makes story telling fun with buildings and vehicles, and set 4 reinforces counting skills with numbers and fractions. Each set comes with 12 tiles, printed on both sides with non-toxic inks. The tiles measure 2.25" wide, 3.5" tall and a slight 1/8" thick. Sets come with a cloth storage pouch and suggestions for play. Each set can be used for rudimentary learning at first and then grow with the child in expanding activities. The tiles may be used for matching and sorting skills, comparing and contrasting, categorization, story telling and math practice. Launch date: Summer 2010.
