Ideopolis' Alphabotz line decks out robots to give colorful character to phonetics, and stainless steel becomes more present in the juvenile products market through a line of baby bottles from Pura Stainless. See what else caught the eye of TDmonthly Magazine staff in the past month:
This eco-friendly, design-driven burp cloth is biodegradeable, compostable, disposable, hygienic, sanitary and organic. It is made of organically grown bagasse, the fibrous residue left over after the sugar can has been crushed and the sugar extracted. Simply modern in design, symmetrical in shape, and contoured to be "saddled" on either shoulder, drool has a tab that allows the cloth to remain in place without the use of adhesives or straps. Embossed with the words "drool" and a design that resembles tiny bubbles, it will be offered for sale in its natural state — a slight off-white color called bare — or with simple printed designs to complement an adult wardrobe. Launch date: September 13, 2009. 10/5/2009 (Price: $5.00; Age: All Ages) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
This whimsical giraffe has a poseable neck for playtime fun. It is made from naturally sustainable rubberwood and organic cotton fabric. "Our toys educate children, encourage them to use their imaginations, and provide knowledge to help make eco-conscious decisions," Michael Daner, president of I Love My Planet Toys, told TDmonthly. Launch date: October 7, 2009. 10/5/2009 (Price: $25; Age: All Ages) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
BuckleyTurtle has four buckles and a more complex configuration than other BuckleyBoos. He has a fully removable shell with a secret pocket in back to hide special treasures. "BuckleyBoos are a totally unique and fun way for toddlers to master essential developmental tasks," Emily Ross, CEO of BuckleyBoo LLC, told TDmonthly. Launch date: September 2009. 10/5/2009 (Price: $34.99; Age: 2 to 4) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
This clinically tested and 98-percent accurate product is created to listen to the cry of a baby and tell the caregiver what baby is communicating — specifically, when baby is annoyed, hungry, bored, stressed or sleepy. The WhyCry Mini is designed to stimulate baby’s development, improve parental bonding, and create healthy emotional response patterns. "There is no other product like this available in the world. The WhyCry Mini listens to the five instinctive cries all babies use to communicate hunger, stress, boredom, sleepiness and annoyance," James Valle, CEO of Serene Baby Products, Inc., told TDmonthly. "The debut of this product coincides with an ever-increasing body of neuro-biological research that affirms the importance of correctly diagnosing infants’ needs to foster healthy development in the first months of life." Launch date: September 9, 2009. 10/5/2009 (Price: $49.00; Age: 0 to 1) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Laser Pegs are a construction set in which each piece feeds the next piece low-voltage current. Users can build or create anything they want with the Laser Pegs and use them lit up or turned off. All parts of the Laser Pegs are ASTM tested and federally approved. Once one Laser Peg is connected to the power source, it then illuminates any other peg it is connected with. "The Laser Pegs are the world's only illuminated construction set that allows kids or adults to piece together light one peg at a time," Jon Capriola, CEO of Capriola Corporation, told TDmonthly. This product was named one of Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products 2009. Launch date: June 9, 2009. 10/5/2009 (Price: $37.95; Age: 7 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
The Pura Kiki line is a modern and eco-friendly stainless steel infant and toddler bottle line. Kiki is 100-percent BPA-free and 100-percent toxin free. The bottles are crafted from food-service stainless steel and also feature stainless lids/collars in addition to wide-neck food-service-grade cross-cut silicone nipples. Kiki is also compatible with sip spouts and wide-mouth silicone nipples from virtually all leading manufacturers. The Kiki line is backed by a lifetime warranty. "All bottles in the Kiki line work seamlessly with Pura nipples and spouts as well as those from most leading vendors," Jenifer Moore, vice president of Pura Stainless, told TDmonthly. Launch date: September 13, 2009. (photo does not represent Starter Set) 10/5/2009 (Price: $34.99; Age: 0 to 1) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
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. This product received a 2009 Creative Child Magazine Preferred Choice Award in the Educational Products Category, an iParenting award, and was named one of Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products 2009. Launch date: July 2009. 10/2/2009 (Price: $19.95; Age: 3 to 7) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Betsy & Boo Kangaroo are covered in butterfly, bird, rose and horseshoe tattoos. "Our product is unique because each animal is made from an extremely soft, cozy fabric in an exclusive, trendy print. They are super squishy and cuddly due to the tiny beads inside. This combination creates a visual and tactile delight which has a lasting appeal," Laurie Dexter Greenblatt, owner and VP of sales for beeposh, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2009. 10/5/2009 (Price: $41.00; Age: 2 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
This soft 15" plush is cream, taupe and chocolate-brown with black accents. Patches comes with a sweet smile, adoring eyes, and a comfy place to sleep, and holds a plush, white, bone-shaped rattle for baby. The trim and inner lining is chocolate-brown satin, and a plush tail is attached to the Lovie's lower back. The border design includes embroidered paw prints and a small taupe appliqué with paw prints and a pink bone. Patches comes in a dog house with a red roof, puppy paw prints all around, his tail poking out the back, a sign on the front that says, “Patches” Plush Puppy Lovie, a bone-shaped handle on the roof, and a poem around the base that reads ,“This puppy needs a loving home, A place to play and call his own, With a child to hold him close and tight, One to comfort throughout the night! The dog house gift box measures 8” H x 4 ½“ W x 9 ½” D (including Patches’ face and front paws peeking from the dog house). 10/1/2009 (Price: $10.00) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
The Vermont Teddy Bear Company's Take Along Teddies feature a fun, flat design that makes them perfect for bedtime, travel or taking along on trips. These flat bears are handmade in Vermont and are unconditionally guaranteed for life. Injured flat bears can be sent to the Bear Hospital and the company will repair or replace them for free. Take Along Teddy is available in Cow Print, Espresso, Snow, Maple, Blue and Pink fur. Launch date: November 2, 2009 10/5/2009 (Price: $19.95; Age: All Ages) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
This patent-pending kit of nearly 1,000 beads features various colors that each represent a letter, number and space, so that kids can create bracelets and other accessories with their own secret messages to be decoded. The kit also includes 15 yards of elastic plus 20 decoder cards with instructions. About 15 customized Bead the Message beads are provided to represent the beginning of a message project. 10/30/2009 (Price: $19.99; Age: 4 to 14) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
For crawlers to toddlers, these stylish baby kneepads — made from cotton with silicone pad protection — are designed to keep little ones' knees feeling and looking good. Designed for comfort and ease, they slide right over baby’s knees to protect and keep them scrape-free from hard and irritable surfaces as they crawl and explore their surroundings. The machine-washable pads are one size fits most and come in blue, green, orange and red. 10/12/2009 (Price: $14.95; Age: 0 to 2) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
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 footabll is required. 10/20/2009 (Price: $19.99; Age: 8 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
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. 10/20/2009 (Price: $19.95; Age: All Ages) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
This set of 6 printed file folders features an artful design of an owl over a color stripe background on the folder cover. Set includes folders with 3 tab locations and includes 12 Adhesive Tab Labels. 10/16/2009 (Price: $6.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Rootensils come in an assortment of colors including red, purple, blue, and pink. Comes in a set of two (one spoon and one fork), these simple utensils are great for small hands. Rootensils are dishwasher safe, microwaveable, made of plant-based material, non-toxic, compostable, biodegradable, and are BPA free, Pthalate free, and PVC free. 10/19/2009 (Price: $7.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
This set includes a Firefighter T-shirt with toy flashlight. Available in three sizes: small (3-4 yrs), medium (4-5 yrs), and large (5-6 yrs). 10/16/2009 (Price: $15.95; Age: 3 to 6) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
The design of double-layered tracks allows the ball to move forward and go in one hole and out from the other continuously through the user's left-right movement. This innovation increases the play value and promotes the player's movement, balance and coordination. Putt Putt Balance Board is an evolution of Rocking Seesaw & Maze Balance Board. The user can watch the progress of the ball while standing on the base. The anti-slip design on the bottom of the board is provided to ensure the safety of the user. The playing method can vary from simple to complex; it can be adjusted based on the child's ability: the ball can circulate between the upper and lower layers. Dimensions are 20" x 16" x 2" and maximum loading is 176 lbs. Launch date: October 2, 2009.
The Ducky Blankie is part of a collection of five eco-friendly stuffed animals produced in a certified organic plush toy factory in China and made with organic cotton, natural silk, sustainably grown corn. Ducky comes as a 9" plush toy or as this chewable, suckable cuddly blankie. He has knots for gumming, adorable webbed feet and cute peek-a-boo packaging. He measures 14.75 x 12 x 3.75 inches. Launch date: September 2009. 10/19/2009 () [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
These little paper dolls are based on the Granza Adoptable Kinders rag dolls. The dolls come on performated cards for easy punching out. A variety of clothing is available separately. Kids can develop their fine-motor skills by cutting out the little outfits. 10/20/2009 (Age: 4 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Baby Banana Brush® is made of 100% flexible silicone making it safer than standard hard plastic toothbrushes. Its flexible banana shape will decrease the risk of mouth injury if the baby falls while brushing.The Baby Banana Brush® gives a baby comforting relief during painful teething, is easy to grasp, and has fun, "a-peel-ing" banana colors and designs that will get babies excited about brushing. This dishwasher-safe, latex-free, dishwasher safe toothbrush was developed by a dental hygienist and mother. Infant oral care guidelines are enclosed in packaging. It measures approximately 5" length by ¾" width. Patent pending. 10/19/2009 (Price: $8.49; Age: 1 to 2) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
These 2" rubber animals have hard plastic eyes that pop out when the character's head is squeezed. The eyes then go back to their normal position. This series includes Holly the Hippo, Mickey the Monkey, Bobby the Bear and Parker the Penguin. Launch date: 2009. 10/23/2009 (Price: $4.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
DESIGNSTUDIOPRO is the car design modeling kit created and developed by professional clay modelers and designers working in the automotive design industry. DESIGNSTUDIOPRO will teach you the basics of automotive design sculpture using the same techniques that car design studios all around the world use. Develop modeling skills you cannot get from plastic or wood modeling kits. Design your own 1/10 scale RC car body or personal show car. This product requires adult supervision for children 12 and under. MSRP is $369 with inclusion of clay oven components. Watch video 10/23/2009 (Price: $349.00; Age: 13 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Scented pens available in Gingerbread or Candy Cane flavors. — Assorted Snifty pens have been best sellers at The Parent-Teacher Store & Toys Too in Louisville, Ky., for about four months, Owner Kimberly Kopatz told TDmonthly in November 2009. 10/22/2009 (Price: $2.49) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
The Circle Out! game is a game of abstraction and visual memory. Twelve to 16 cards are laid out and players race to find the most circles of the largest size. The “circle” aspect of the game is all abstract. Each card has two features — a top and bottom triangle of different colors. Circles are formed by connecting cards of the same color together: red to red, blue to blue, etc., until the same color connects the chain of cards together at both ends. Bottom Triangles only link to Top Triangles and vice versa. A circle of three linking cards are worth one point, four linked cards are worth two points, and five linked cards are worth three points. 10/22/2009 (Price: $9.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
The Mega Metal Dirtbag® is a one of a kind footbag. Not only does this one have miniature steel ball bearings for a filler but each panel of the Mega Metal has a metal stud affixed to it. Talk about Heavy Metal. 10/27/2009 (Price: $12.00; Age: 8 and Up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
The soft-edged triangular shape and jumbo size of these colored pencils naturally place little hands and fingers into the appropriate coloring position. As an added functional bonus, the triangular shape prevents these pencils from constantly rolling off the table onto the floor. Each packaged set has 12 colored pencils. 9/24/2009 (Price: $9.85) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Writer's Bio: Julie L. Jones has written articles for both newspapers and magazines. Before joining the staff of TDmonthly Magazine, she worked as a communications writer and provided editorial support for a market research company. Read more articles by this author
by Davd Crorey on November 5, 2009
Has anyone even looked at My Friendship Bracelet Maker?
Writer's Bio: Julie L. Jones has written articles for both newspapers and magazines. Before joining the staff of TDmonthly Magazine, she worked as a communications writer and provided editorial support for a market research company. Read more articles by this author
