The Few, The Proud…The Award-Winning Toys

Who Made the Cut This Year?

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:

Cars by BAUFIX

Kids can build various models of wooden cars and vehicles using this kit. Included are wooden tools, such as wrenches and screwdrivers, to aid in the assembly. Also included are rubber tires. Baufix is distributec by Carrera of America in the U.S. 8/6/2009 [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Smooshies™ Plush Toys by CREATIVITY INC.

Designed to encourage open-ended, creative play, colorful Smooshies plush feature mix-and-match parts — arms, legs, facial features, horns and more — that can be connected using the product's hook-n-loop tabs. Smooshies have received the following awards: 2009 Top Toy of the Year Award from Creative Child Magazine and 2009 Dr. Toy Best Vacation Children's Products Award. 8/5/2009 (Age: 3 and up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Cookie Decorating Kit by PRESS DOUGH

This all-in-one, cookie cutout solution is designed as a family or party activity. Each kit comes with icing, four colors of stackable sprinkles, cookie sucker sticks and bags, disposable aprons, six icing spreaders and a bakery box. "It is 'disposable' in nature to provide busy moms the opportunity ... without the mess or time spent using the traditional, from 'scratch' methods," Pam Walsh, proprietor of Press Dough, told TDmonthly. This product received a 2008 Preferred Choice Award from Creative Child Magazine. 7/30/2009 (Price: $29.99; Age: 2 and up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Cheekeyes by STUDIO SPOON B.V.

Cheekeyes are a series of wooden play sets with distinctive pink cheeks and dreamy eyes. These toys are handmade from eco-friendly rubberwood and are partially painted. There are more than seven playsets: Arctic, Africa, Dino, Forest, Farm, Rainforest and Sea. The average size of an animals is between 6 and 14 cm wide and 8 and 12 cm high. "Brought to you from The Netherlands (Europe) by STUDIO SPOON ... there are no bells or whistles, no batteries or flashing lights. All you need is just a little imagination and magic begins to happen. The Cheekeyes will definitely spark your kid's imagination and will encourage open-ended, educational play," Rogier van Zijp, designer for STUDIO SPOON B.V., told TDmonthly. Cheekeyes received a 2009 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award. Launch date: 2009. 7/24/2009 (Price: $29.99; Age: 3 to 6) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Money Savvy Pig Piggy Bank by MONEY SAVVY GENERATION

The Money Savvy Pig® is a four-chambered bank designed to help kids and their parents or grandparents begin a conversation about money. It is designed to help teach basic money skills by introducing four choices: SAVE, SPEND, DONATE and INVEST. "Its unique four-chambered design allows children to deposit their money through four separate slots on the top of the bank — one slot for each money choice — and empty each money chamber individually through the feet on the bank," Melinda Voelcker, director of operations and marketing for Money Savvy Generation, told TDmonthly. It is available in six colors and has received the following awards: 2002 Parents' Choice Gold Award; 2008 National Parenting Publications Gold Award; 2008 Preferred Choice Creative Toy Award; and 2008 National Parenting Center Seal of Approval. Launch date: 2002. 7/23/2009 (Price: $16.99; Age: 4 to 11) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

MOOV Starter Kit by BINKLEY & HURST, LP

MOOV is a full-size construction toy designed so that children can construct MOOV by themselves without the use of any tools or help from their parents. The wooden parts, rings, shafts and frames are multifunctional. The spare parts in the wood are specially designed so it's easy to remove the rings from the shafts. MOOV has received the following awards: Toy of the Year, 2008, The Netherlands; Honorable mention, Reddot Design Award, 2008 (International Design Award); Toy of the Year, 2008, Germany; and Right Start Award, Toy Awards, 2008, United Kingdom. Launch date: June 2009. 7/17/2009 (Price: $199; Age: 5 to 12) ENTER BINKLEY & HURST, LP TOYSHOW [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Squeez-Ease by SPOTLIGHTBABY

The innovative design and palm cushion of the Squeez-Ease prevents scratching the face and promotes sensory development in newborns. The design of the Squeez-Ease allows fingers to be free for exploration and sucking, allows for tactile development of the fingers, decreases sudden jerking of the hands and calms baby, and improves awareness of hands when cushion is squeezed. Made of an ultra soft blend of bamboo and organic cotton. This product received a 2009 Top Choice Award from Creative Child Magazine.
Past Videos: Product demonstration 7/14/2009 (Price: $13.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Santa's Happy Christmas Scribble Book by SCRIBBLE MATS

Kids can join Santa on his Christmas journey in this Scribble Book that comes with 10 color-on, wipe-off board book pages and six crayons. The pages can be colored again and again, and the product may be used at meal time, home, school and restaurants, and for travel and kids on the go. "Our special surface wipes clean with a dry cloth, so children can color over and over," Andi Thea, COTS of Scribble-Mats!, told TDmonthly. It received a 2009 Dr. Toy Best Vacation Children's Products Award. Launch date: 2006. 7/7/2009 (Price: $6.00; Age: 3 to 8) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Crazy Bugs by SOUND ADVICE INC.

Bugs and worms are not just fascinating; they also pollinate the rain forest, flowers, and crops, and decompose waste to clean the earth. A cross between “Crazy Eights” and “Trivial Pursuit,” Crazy Bugs is a card game for children that teaches how bugs and worms may appear creepy but bring goodness to the earth. "Crazy Bugs is the only ecology awareness game that teaches children how bugs positively effect a healthy environment," Mindy Myers, CEO of Sound Advice, told TDmonthly. It received a 2009 Creative Child Magazine Game of the Year Award. Launch date: May 2009. 7/7/2009 (Price: $14.95; Age: 8 and up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Wonderworld Rainbow Sound Blocks by SMART GEAR LLC

Babies can learn sorting, matching and association skills. Looking through the blocks, children will see the world in different colors. The Wonderworld Rainbow Sound Blocks are comprised of wood and transparent multi-colored plastic, and filled with rattling beads that produce different tones when shaken. "Wonderworld, as a strong advocate of protecting the environment, insists on using only rubber-wood that is of replenishable source[s]... Wonderworld strictly uses only non-toxic color and laquer constituent for all our products," Jason Cohen, president of Smart Gear, told TDmonthly. This product received a National Parenting Publications Award. Launch date: September 2007. 7/7/2009 (Price: $34.99; Age: 2 and up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

To view more products and learn more about each award, please click on the following links: TDmonthly Awards, Dr. Toy, iParenting Media Awards, TIA T.O.T.Y., ASTRA, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, The National Parenting Center, Family Review Center, Parents' Choice Awards, Canadian Toy Testing Council, Mr. Dad, The Toy Man Product Guide, Teachers' Choice Awards, NAPPA, Toy Wishes Ultimate Toy Awards and MAJOR FUN. You can also access TDmonthly's review sections to see which products earned 5 TD stars.

And to learn more about how award winners are chosen, read What Makes an Award-Winning Toy.

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