Wooden Toys Catch Fire

Children use their play kitchen to mimic what they see taking place daily. Our kitchen is created from the warmth and durability of solid cherry. All the knobs turn flawlessly and smoothly without the use of any metal hardware. The metal sink bowl can be removed for easy cleaning and a sliding cutting board pulls out allowing access for more children.

Pint-size people just love to interact and witness their effect on an object. Little hands can send this car zooming. Created from maple or cherry, the 4” x 2.5” Toddler Zoom has simple birch wheels and a solid body. A non-toxic finish protects and brings out the beauty of the grain. Packed 5 to a case, wholesale.

Adapted from Lucy Cousins' popular book and television series “Maisy and Friends,” these licensed products bring Maisy to life. The 8" x 10" puzzles are created with .25" birch plywood with non-toxic inks and finishes.  “This license has not been executed in this fashion before. All products are available at a reasonable price with no minimum purchase requirement,” Barbara Rainville of Maple Landmark told TDmonthly. Launch date: September 7, 2007.

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 Holztiger company of Germany has been known for years for its wonderful wooden figures, and now they are introducing a line of beautiful large wooden vehicles that are carefully crafted of maple or beech hardwood, using no metal parts. Customers can choose between several nontoxic, water-based colors. The vehicles can be steered and have removable all-terrain tires. These vehicles are very durable and will have a long play life. They are available for $50 and up.

Year-round fun on the farm, plus holiday magic! The new wooden stable from HOLZTIGER can be enjoyed for everyday imaginative play as a working farmhouse with animals and stable. At Christmas time, convert it to a nativity scene by exchanging the provided Star of Bethlehem for the chimney piece. The 25x14x18 stable is very easy to put together with no nails or dowels. When not in use, it can be stored flat. - Aire Norell

Con-Way Transportation Semi Tractor Trailer: Just introduced this fall, Whittle Toy’s Con-Way Transportation trailer with sleeper cab. This “Big Rig” replica weighs over ¾ of a pound and is nearly a foot long. It’s solid hardwood construction promises years of “Puttin the hammer down” fun. (Price: $24.99)

The Little Engine That Could™ Set: It’s the train that’s kept rolling since 1930. The train that made the phrase “I Think I Can, I Think I Can,” is a permanent part of our American lexicon and continues to teach us the power of positive thinking. This set consists of five cars: The Little Blue Engine, Yellow Gondola, Red Toy Car, White Milk Car, and Red Caboose.

Automoblox MINIs are a reinvention of the classic wooden toy car — a fusion of heirloom craftsmanship and ultra-modern styling, transformed into a mix-and-match design system that allows kids to create their own distinctive car styles. ”We’ve combined old-school durability, ultra-modern style and an innovative play pattern to create a new generation of classic car toys. The Automoblox MINI line makes it fun for kids to explore their own unique design instincts by combining warm wooden blocks, colorful rubber tires and bright translucent plastics to create super-cool car styles,” PR Manager Tina Noelle Mezzina of Automoblox told TDmonthly. A three-pack plus accessories are also available (MSRP: $24.99). Launch date: August 2007.

Inspired by the compact cars popular in Europe and Japan, the A9 is certainly big on style for its small frame. Featuring small three-spoke wheels, low-profile tires, and a generous roofline with plenty of headroom, it is sure to get great mileage from this little gem.
— “We have some Automoblox. It's a fairly new line and we're doing great with them. I've reordered three times this month,” said Melinda Pontanares, manager of Apple Box Toys in San Diego, Calif., reporting sales of about 150 per month during a July 2009 survey of best-selling collectibles.

Little ones can pound to their heart’s delight, and measure and tighten things, too!  The 39-piece set includes a vice, wrench, ruler, hammer, screwdriver and plenty of screws and wood pieces to practice building skills.  Handy slots hold the tools and wood so the work surface remains ready for the next building project. 

The possibilities are endless with the new Quadrilla Twist and Rail Set. Pictured is just one of the models that can be built with some or all of the 147 curved, straight and funnel pieces. The set includes 50 marbles. "Quadrilla is really an exceptional design. It offers endless possibilities for a child to design his own structure. The use of wood and bright water-based stains also enhance the play experience," said Maggie Qiu, general manager of HaPe International
— "HaPe Quadrilla is a marble raceway we set up as a demo and it became an instant seller," explained Bob Breneman, co-owner of G. Willikers Toy Shop in Portsmouth, N.H.
— “The Quadrilla marble run sells really well,” said Linda Hays, owner of Hopscotch Inc. in McMinnville, Ore., in spring 2007. “People buy about a dozen a month.”
— If you think $120 is too steep a price for your specialty store, you’ve underestimated the mesmerizing power of marbles cascading down a wooden track. Even after other 4th Q sellers have slowed down, Quadrilla keeps on rolling, earning it a TDmonthly Top Seller 2007 award.

Where to Buy: Rocking Horse Toy Store; Really Great Toys

This Baby Clacker is fashioned from a piece of cherry wood harvested locally from sustainable timber. It is lovingly crafted in the shop on Mossy Creek and makes a gentle rattle when shaken. It has a safe mineral oil finish and is smooth to the touch.

Starting with a single block of wood, this rattle is lovingly fashioned in the shop on Mossy Creek. Baby can enjoy it now, and it can be a treasured keepsake in the years to come. The rattle can be personalized with baby's name and birth date for an additional fee of $6.

This square wooden box holds planks in six distinctive Kapla colors, with 40 planks of each color.

In the process of rebuilding a castle in France, Tom van der Bruggen discovered a single, iconic building block shape that can be used to create a surprisingly wide range of structures. The blocks are based on the elementary progression of odd numbers: one, three and five. Kapla blocks help develop eye-hand coordination, a sense of balance, concentration and creative spirit. The 20 red and 20 orange planks are made from Marine Pine in France and are accompanied by an illustrated book that shows sample constructions. THIS PRODUCT IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

Terrace Doll House is a large-scale wooden dollhouse with a huge terrace and roof. Children can create their own designs as the walls, windows and door can easily be put into any space in the house. They can live out their imagination, role-play or become young, creative interior designers.

The Chalet Dollhouse With Furniture offers kids the full package in dollhouse play. It comes in two units that can be manipulated to form numerous dollhouse layouts. It also comes with furniture, so that nothing's missing when dolls come to visit. The Chalet Dollhouse includes three stories, slanting chalet roof and creative stairs, as well as an innovative floor plan. It is 32" x 24" x 14", is made from recycled rubber wood, is coated with a non-toxic finish, and all colors are made from vegetable dye.
— When asked about best-selling play houses and furniture, Teri Soelter, owner of Teri's Toybox in Edmonds, Wash., said "Plan Toys. People will buy the furniture by itself and the dollhouses later."
— Four of 62 retailers TDmonthly spoke with in spring 2007 said Plan Toys makes some of the most popular furniture and play houses in their stores. They sell about three Plan Toys dollhouses per month. Seven percent of 56 retailers surveyed in January 2009 said doll houses and accessories are among their top sellers.
— “These products are so beautiful,” Teneen Dobbs, owner of Kits & Kaboodle in Carmel, Ind. told TDmonthly. “They display well. People just love wooden items.”

This hand-carved linden-wood puzzle depicts Noah's Ark upon the water, complete with 6 cute animals, Noah steering the ship, and even a little fish swimming in the waves — in 3D! Dolfi 3D puzzles are fun to look at and fun to put together, with multiple shapes and contours that take puzzle-making to a whole new level. No two pieces are the same, and every piece is uniquely dimensioned to display angles and facets of the full creation. 20 pieces total.

Hand-carved in Ortesei, Italy from all-natural linden wood, Dolfi 3D puzzles come in a designer gift box and include a certificate of authenticity. Natural texture variations in the wood may occur and are not considered flaws.

The On the Building Site line includes a crane, conveyor belt, container truck, excavator, wheel loader, dumper trailer and dumper truck. The vehicles range in size between 13” and 38”.

The wooden track set from Germany includes four marbles and one bell disc. Easy to assemble and dissemble, the portable track can be easily stored and transported. It can even be mounted on the wall. When assembled, the track measures over 21” x 27” in size.

The battery operated wooden cash register is fully functional, allowing little vendors to play “grocery store” more realistically. During play, children will enhance their basic math skills. The calculator measures 7-3/10” x 7-3/10” x 4” and comes with a built-in paper receipt roll.

The wooden pull-along Dachshund features a flexible body, allowing all wheels to stay on the ground, even on an uneven surface. The pull toy measures 13-4/5” x 7-1/5” x 4”.