March 2010 New Specialty Toys — Videos & DVDs

Cartoon DVD vignettes on behavioral issues along with a coloring and puzzle book. This set mainly focuses in on valuable lessons for young children such as lending a helping hand, the importance of paying attention, sharing with friends, and being polite.

One of the most beloved family tales of all time comes to life in an enchanting combination of live-action drama and animated adventure. It's the story of a young boy named Toby who is sent by his busy father to spend the holiday season in the home of his stern grandmother. Toby's world instantly changes when he discovers the house's 'magic attic' where three forgotten toys, including a special stuffed rabbit, unlock a world of imagination that will change all their lives forever. The film is directed by Michael Landon, Jr., features the voices of Jane Seymour, Tom Skerritt and Ellen Burstyn, and was produced based on the best-selling book by Margery Williams. Awards: 2009 Dove Family-Approved Seal. "Total sell-through for Christmas 2009 was over 64 percent!" Jennifer Barger, Assistant Brand Manager, Anchor Bay Entertainment, told TDmonthly in spring 2010.

Lewis Cardinal’s First Winter/El primer invierno de Luis, el cardinal, is the first of its kind interactive bilingual (English/Spanish) vdoBug compatible DVD from Raven Tree Press’s interactive bilingual (English/Spanish) children’s book of the same name. With the vdoBug children can read along with the book or simply watch the DVD as the pages come to life in either English or Spanish, watch videos of the animals in the book in their natural habitat, listen to music, print out pictures and color along as well as working crossword puzzles with the English to Spanish vocabulary words in the book. This first of its kind DVD and the vdoBug make it fun and so easy for children to move at their own pace while learning to read in their own as well as a second language.

Mazerella Brother’s Digging for Dinosaurs is a Parents Choice Approved DVD that allows children to pick up a shovel with Professor Fossilworth and search for clues from millions of years ago that will teach them about the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. This DVD is formatted into 10 chapters and includes a cutout with a picture from each chapter which fits under the vdoBug buttons so children can easily move between chapters or skip to their favorite.

Baby Prodigy, Dookie and Dotties Baby Pre-school is a DVD from the award winning Baby Prodigy series and is an entertaining educational adventure for pre-school age children formatted into 10 chapters to work with the vdoBug. A cutout with a picture from each chapter which fits under the vdoBug buttons is included so children can easily move between chapters or skip to their favorite.

VdoBug is a DVD remote for children which easily programs to the adult DVD player allowing children to move between interactive pages or chapters of our compatible DVDs. Each compatible DVD comes with a picture cutout with a scene from each chapter which fits under the 10 large buttons so children can easily recognize their favorite chapter.

The DVD contains five-minute shorts starring a lovable, animated panda named Little Pim who, along with live-action kids, teaches very young kids themed vocabulary in a foreign language. Little Pim the Panda is now joined by Lola the Elephant and Bob the Bobcat in Disc 6: I Can Count! The DVD is specially designed for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, and is available in Spanish, French and Mandarin Chinese. Launch date: early 2010

The DVD contains five-minute shorts starring a lovable, animated panda named Little Pim who, along with live-action kids, teaches very young kids themed vocabulary in a foreign language. Little Pim the Panda is now joined by Lola the Elephant and Bob the Bobcat in Disc 4: In My Home. The DVD is specially designed for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, and is available in Spanish, French and Mandarin Chinese. Launch date: early 2010

The Little Pim: Fun with Language series has added another 3-pak of DVDs to its line. Little Pim the Panda is now joined by Lola the Elephant and Bob the Bobcat in Disc 4: In My Home; Disc 5: Happy, Sad and Silly; and Disc 6: I Can Count! The Little Pim series uses a combination of live-action segments showing real children eating, playing and engaging in everyday activities, as well as animated segments of Little Pim and friends, to create an engaging and fun-to-watch language learning experience. Available in Spanish, French and Mandarin Chinese. Launch date: early 2010

Quiet Time Tales is created to offer wholesome, educational children’s programming. Each of the 12 DVDs in the collection contains five complete stories read aloud by the gentle character of Grandpa Read. "Most of the shows on Nickelodeon are full of frenetic animation, frenzied dialogue, frantic sound effects, and don’t encourage a sense of calm in children. From the tone of Grandpa’s voice to the static illustrations and the mellow songs, Quiet Time Tales are soothing and relax children," Brad Juhasz, Vice President, Marketing, Quiet Time Productions, LLC, told TDmonthly. Grandpa Read's Quiet Time Tales received a Kids First! endorsement from the Coalition for Quality Children's Media. Launch date: August 2009.

By combining high quality animation, rich narration, sound effects and music, Moving Picture Books provide a fun and educational digital reading experience for children ages 0-7. There are 38 titles — both classic stories and new favorites — each available in English, Spanish and English Read-Along-Text versions. Our books can be purchased as digital downloads, or DVDs.

In Robby The Blue Koala Rides The Discovery Express, Giftofhappiness Media Productions uses fun antics and colorful animation to make learning opportunities out of entertainment. "Parents and teachers see Robby as educational programming disguised as entertainment. Kindergarten fundamentals have never been so easily accessible. But shhh! Let the kids enjoy and keep the secret between us," Giftofhappiness Owner and Founder John Lawrence told TDmonthly.

In this athletic-themed collection, Wubbzy and his Friends learn all about teamwork, fair play and good sportsmanship.  What happens when Wubbzy joins a hoopty-hoops team? Why is Wubbzy so upset about being small? How do Wubbzy’s friends prove that cheating at games is wrong? Michelle Kwan as Michelle Kwanzleberry and Tiki Barber as Touchdown Tiki star in this collection that takes the Gold!

This video and music kit is designed to educate children about safety and well-being issues in a fun way. Award winning early childhood safety educational music video and 3 music CD's. "Our programs have actually saved many children as young as age 2 from abduction, child predators and serious accidental injuires," Jim Tomaszewski, Executive Director of LICSF, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2010.
Awards: 2010 Kids First Award

Disc 1 provides fun baby activities on a yoga ball to enhance motor development for 0- to 6-month-olds. Disc 2 provides 19 core exercises for new moms using a yoga ball. In some of the mommy exercises, the baby is also working on tummy time and trunk stability, balance and sitting. "Moms can exercise and engage their new babies all at the same time. They can workout without ignoring their babies or leaving them at home while mom is at the gym. Both discs benefit baby development and bonding to moms," Judy Kang, president of spotlightbaby, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2010. Watch DVD Preview

Conceived by child literacy expert Dr. Brij Kothari, BookBox Series stories are designed for child entertainment while simultaneously improving reading skills. Using scientifically tested same language subtitling (SLS), children are assisted in the improvement of listening comprehension and reading and foreign language skills — while watching fascinating “Stories from Around the World” that bring cultural and educational values to children. The "Animal Stories" DVD features three stories: Based on an ancient Indian fable, "Four Friends" is about animal friends that work together to outwit a hunter and protect each other. "The Turtle’s Flute" is about a turtle that is a gifted flutist. When the turtle played her flute, everyone danced. One day, she is trapped by a greedy man. How will she escape? "Zippy the Zebra" is about a zebra that is bugged by a hide full of fleas. No amount of tail swishing or tree trunk scratching would give him any relief. Finally a pair of birds help him out by making a meal of his unwelcome guests. "This DVD helps children to read in English, Spanish, Chinese, French, German or Italian. With three ways to use the program - Read to me, Let me read and Let me listen plus you can print the PDF of the book from a computer," Selina Yoon, President, Master Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: October 6, 2009. Awards: Kids First, Dr. Toy's 100 Best Products, Dr. Toy's 10 Best Audio/Video.

This colorful DVD featuring real-life nature scenes explains about summer solstice, pollination and various insects, summer safety and seasonal foods. Bonus features include sign language, a game, a quiz, a slideshow of images, and a Spanish vocabulary slideshow. A corresponding Activity Book is also available.

The Bannister family’s new addition, Zeus (voiced by Mario Lopez)  a former K-9 police hero, appears to be less than the dependable guard dog the family needs.  However, when two burglars (led by Dean Cain) set out to break into the Bannister’s home while they’re away for Christmas, Zeus seizes the chance to be a hero, proving every dog – even this one – has his day.