The Few, The Proud...The Award-Winning Toys!
Who Made the Cut This Year?
By Alison Marek and Julie L. Jones
Thousands
of products are introduced to the toy industry every year, but only a
limited number are good enough, playable enough and innovative enough
to garner an award.
In addition to issuing
TDmonthly
Awards, TDmonthly
Magazine regularly asks manufacturers
to present their award winners to our readers so that retailers can quickly
identify products with great potential and manufacturers can learn and
be inspired by others' successes. Here are the most recent responses:
Shake Rattle And Drum by WESTCO EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTS
 This handcrafted wood set includes seven pieces: A bucket drum with a natural skin head, a pair of drum sticks, a single jingle stick, a handled castanet and a pair of mini maracas. Fun for the whole family or class! Includes a parent/teacher friendly activity guide for ideas on using the items to encourage child development.
— As of 10/30/2012 this product had 4.6 out of 5 stars from 26 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: The drum makes a nice noise; fun for kids on their own or in groups.
Awards: 2015 TDmonthly Top Toy Award
10/25/2012 (Price: $39.99; Age: 3 and up) ENTER WESTCO EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTS TOYSHOW [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
Word Snag by PRESSMAN TOY CORP.
 Players must turn over a category card then roll the letter dice. Everyone tries to match the letters with something related to the category. If they’re looking for “Vehicles” — take the “T” and yell out “Truck!”, then keep on looking for more. The first player to get 20 points wins. For 2 to 4 players, ages 8 and up. Contents: 7 dice, dice cup, 30 category cards, score pad, rules. Launch date: June 2012.
Awards: 2012 Family Fun Toy of the Year T.O.Y. Award
10/25/2012 (Price: $12.00; Age: 8 and up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
Pirate Adventure Island by PLAYMOBIL INC.
 Avast ye, matey; there's hidden treasure in this Playmobil Pirate Adventure Island. Find the 5 magic coins and use them to unlock a secret cave where the treasure lies hidden. Sound & light effects activate when the cave is opened. But beware of danger. The island also has hidden stairs and falling rocks. Set contains 210 pieces, including 3 figures, exotic creatures, rowboat, working cannon, and many other accessories. There's even a colorful poster for little buccaneers to put on their wall.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval
10/24/2012 (Price: $119.99; Age: 4 to 10) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
A Laurie Berkner Christmas by TWO TOMATOES RECORDS LLC
 The first-ever Christmas album from kids' music superstar Laurie Berkner, featuring classic seasonal and Christmas songs as well as three original tracks. "The CD is set apart from other holiday albums for kids because Laurie Berkner is the biggest name in children's music in the country - dubbed 'The queen of children's music' by People Magazine and 'The undisputed queen of kindie rock'" by USA Today. The reason she is the biggest name in kids' music is her appeal to parents, not just kids," Sarah Geist Rosen from SKG Publicity told TDmonthly. Launch date: October 2012.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval
— As of 12/6/2012 this product had 4.9 out of 5 stars from 23 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Features many Christmas classics; interesting vocal arrangements; enjoyable for kids and adults. Cons: One reviewer wished there were more original songs.
10/19/2012 (Price: $13.98; Age: All Ages) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
The Mystery at Disney World by GALLOPADE INTERNATIONAL
 Four funny friends travel to Disney World for the vacation of a lifetime. They have a lot of fun, until... A pirate kidnaps one. Ghosts grab the second. A mouse house swallows the third one. And the fourth is left to find them all. Solving this magical mystery will take a little good luck and loads of creativity. Launch date: 2003.
Awards: 2004 Learning Magazine Teachers' Choice Award for the Family
10/19/2012 (Price: $7.99; Age: 7 to 14) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
Mimi and Papa's Everyday Amazing Almanac by GALLOPADE INTERNATIONAL
 A modern-day kid-friendly almanac that makes every ordinary day an Amazing Almanac Day. Parents and children will love learning about the educational facts with a traditional trusted companion feel. Launch date: December 2011.
Awards: 2012 Seal of Excellence from Creative Child Magazine
10/19/2012 (Price: $14.99; Age: 7 to 14) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
Space Checkers by WIGGLES 3D
 Space Checkers combines the luck of dice with the strategy of checkers. Players capture opponents' flying saucers by jumping over them. The first race to collect any 10 ships wins the game. Launch date: June 2012.
Awards: 2012 Tillywig Best Family Fun Award
10/17/2012 (Price: $15.99; Age: 6 and up) ENTER WIGGLES 3D TOYSHOW [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
PlushCraft™ Flower Power Pillow by THE ORB FACTORY LIMITED
 Create a funky flower pillow. Use the stylus to punch pretty fabric and make this fun and easy fabric-by-number craft. Create the perfect pillow for travel, décor and sweet dreams. This no mess craft teaches number and pattern recognition and creates a finished product that is sure to brighten up any little girls’ bedroom. Launch date: October 2012.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval
10/17/2012 (Price: $19.99; Age: 5 to 15) ENTER THE ORB FACTORY LIMITED TOYSHOW [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
Photoloco by RSV PRODUCTIONS INC.
 Players slip a photo into the clear Photoholder and draw. Players must get their teammates to guess what they're drawing, right on top of the photo. The photos help give their scribbles context, but it's not as easy as one may think; some things players have got to draw might seem obvious, but only to them. They've got 90 seconds to draw as many items from the list as they can, and then collect a Phototoken for each correct guess by their team. A secret red-reveal panel keeps everybody honest, dry-erase markers allow them to play over and over, and play is fast and hilarious. Launch date: November 2011.
Awards: 2012 Game of the YEAR (Party games category) from Creative Child Magazine
10/16/2012 (Price: $24.95; Age: 8 to 17) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
Pass-Ackwords by R&R GAMES INC.
 A game for 4 players in which players attempt to give their opponent clues from a list of words that all relate to the secret hidden word. First team to guess the hidden word wins the round and first to win three wins the game. The challenge is to make sure players don't give the easiest clues too early or their opponents may steal the word. Launch date: July 2012.
Awards: 2012 Games Magazine TOP 100 - Word game category
10/16/2012 (Price: $19.95; Age: 12 and up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
Following are some of the programs represented in TDmonthly.com's section of award winners: Dr.
Toy, iParenting
Media Awards, TIA
T.O.T.Y., Oppenheim
Toy Portfolio, The
National Parenting Center, and Parents'
Choice Awards.
You may also access TDmonthly's review
section to see which products earned 5 TD stars.
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