July 2009 New Specialty Toys — Plush

This line of plush tote characters is accompanied by storybooks. Launch date: February 2009.

The Swing Pony is designed to make skills training more fun. Launch date: 2009.

Each Vermont Teddy Bear is handmade in Vermont and comes with a lifetime guarantee. The company's core product is a jointed, 15" teddy bear available with dozens of outfits. Vermont Teddy Bear can personalize product and is also introducing a second major line of floppy, 15" plush bears that are made for hugging. MSRP ranges from $39.95 to $49.95. Launch date: 2009.

Floppy Bunny Rabbit is a 17" bundle of soft, cream-colored fabric. It's "innovative and works well as a puppet but looks like plush," Elaine Kollias, marketing director for Folkmanis, told TDmonthly. Launch date: January 2, 2009.

Designed to teach children about the names of food and dining utensils, these plush toys have a suction cap on the back and can be hung from smooth surfaces. Kids can choose which food they want to eat the next day, and place it on a window before they go to sleep. The colorful pieces may also serve as decoration in a baby's room. Size is 4" x 3". Launch date: 2009.

Designed to teach children about the names of animals, nature and wild living things, these plush toys have a suction cap on the back and can be hung from smooth surfaces. The animal figures might be used to tell stories or teach kids about the food chain. Size is 4" x 3". Babies can pick up, drop and bite these toys easily. Launch date: 2009.

Designed to teach children about numbers, mathematics and calculation, these plush toys have a suction cap on the back and may be hung from any smooth surface, including windows. There are 13 pieces in this series, including – 0-9, +, -, and =. Launch date: 2009.

This product is designed to teach children the English alphabet, spelling and pronunciation. It has a suction cap on the back and can hang from any smooth surface. The colorful product has a small size of 4" x 3". Launch date: 2009.

Folkmanis’ whimsical Frog in Spaceship puppet is designed to be easy to operate. Kids can simply insert their fingers like putting on a glove and wiggle them to make the frog steer his spaceship and flop his legs. Frog flies a one-of-a-kind spaceship created from soft, shiny silver fabric. Launch date: January 2, 2009.

The magician wearing this well-traveled top hat has a few tricks up his sleeve. When one pokes a hand up through the velvet hat, out pops a fluffy white bunny waving his paws and twitching his nose (with movement from the magician, of course). It "actually works well as a puppet but looks like a stuffed animal," Elaine Kollias, marketing director for Folkmanis, told TDmonthly. This product received Dr. Toy and Parents' Choice awards in 1999. Launch date: January 2, 1999.

Fiesta is all fun and games with its new Peek-A-Boo Plush, a plush toy and soft pillow in one. When one unzips the pillow, the animal peeks out. When turned inside out, the pillow becomes a stuffed animal. Each animal is about 18” tall. The pillow 14” by 11”. There are 12 animal styles in all. Launch date: 2009.

Billions of people a year catch the cold. Now you can get one too. Kids of all ages and degrees of health can learn about the Common Cold with this cuddly 5" to 7" companion (about a million times the actual size of the virus). Also available are three tiny Common Colds in a Petri dish for 12.95 and a Giant Common Cold (15" to 20") will be available starting April 10, 2009. Launch date: 2006.

This soft, plush puppy features an earthy color palette, is made with organic cotton, and has pure silk ribbons. Launch date: 2009.

Children and tweens will appreciate the soft and cuddly tails and fun, bright colors of the Fluffy Tails line (animals are 9" in size and the fluffy tail stretches even longer!).  The animals include Purrrfect (pink, cat), Fluffee (white, cat), Fancee (violet, fox), Prancee (turquoise, horse) and Merri (mint/lime, monkey). Launch date: 2009.

Quentin is part of line of colorful and quirky eco-friendly plush designed to encourage children toward environmentally friendly initiatives. The Eco Snoopers characters each have their own stories. Launch date: April 22, 2009.

This bright, cuddly butterfly measures 3" x 5".