August 2011 New Specialty Toys — All

This set allows guests to create their own pirate toys and also serves as decoration- and,  each kid gets to take his or her toy home. The sets come with 4 kits including 4 play mats, 4 pirate ships, 8 pirate dolls 1 treasure chest, and enough markers for 4 children to decorate. Additional sets of one kit are also available (no additional markers included). Made from recycled cardboard. Launch date: September 2011.

This new party set provides everything one would need for a cool princess or knight's party. This set includes 4 castles, 4 princess dolls, 4 knight dolls and 4 unicorns plus enough markers for 4 children to decorate. Made from recycled cardboard. "It's a creative activity for the party and it provides a toy for the little guests to take home," Martina McConnon, owner of Creative Toyshop, told TDmonthly. Launch date: September 2011.

Cozy Cushions are three products in one: an adorable plush animal, a soft luxurious cushion, and a warm fuzzy friend. Just remove the 'hidden' herbal heat pack and warm for a minute, and the plush becomes a warm soothing buddy, who smells wonderful. Cozy Cushions can be taken anywhere and everywhere, and are excellent for long car journeys, nap time at day care, or and overnight stay at Grandma's. Launch date: August 2011.

This pirate ship sails over the Seven Seas and the pirates are always looking for loot to fill their treasure chest. This amazing cardboard pirate ship is easy to build and so much fun to decorate. A project for all little pirates 3+. Sturdy construction and fun details like canon holes and a treasure chest. Made from recycled cardboard!  Item no.: D 2513X Assembled size: 18" x 8" x 18." "It's a craft activity AND a toy! This Pirate Ship provides hours and hours of fun - building, decorating and playing," Martina McConnon, owner of Creative Toyshop, told TDmonthly. Launch date: September 2011.

A classic tale revisited to amaze, captivate and amuse. All 3 heroes can be found in just 1 creation. In a flash, Little Red Riding Hood transforms into Granny or the Big Bad Wolf. The path through the woods taken by our adventurous heroine is shown on her dress. Launch date: June 2011.
Awards: 2011 Seal of Excellence Award Creative Child Magazine; Tillywig Toy award - Best family fun 2011.

These modeling dough based language kits do such a great job of teaching literacy skills that they "make the pencil jealous."  Kit includes red, yellow and blue dough, 32 Write and Wipe cards, a black erasable marker, a black erasable crayon and instructions for step by step activities. Launch date: November 2010.

This CD features 19 songs varying in style from jazz, barbershop quartet, acoustic guitar, and more. A concept album for kids, Colonel Purple Turtle follows the band's previous, NAPPA Award-winning album, Pink!. Launch date: September 13, 2011.

These blocks can be stacked to over four feet tall—a foot taller than most stacking blocks. Kids can also arrange the blocks into cityscapes filled with skyscrapers, houses, vehicles, trees, and traffic signs, and then use the blocks as a play space for action figures, dolls, or toy cars. Includes 10 stacking blocks. Launch date: August 2011.

Renowned Cthulhu Mythos aficionado Kenneth Hite retells H P Lovecraft's classic "The Dunwich Horror" in this story of childhood terror, with adorable* illustrations by Andy Hopp. Cliffourd the Big Red God features 32 pages of full-color illustration, and is sure to be a hit with the newest generation of Lovecraft fans and their parents. The third in the Mini Mythos series (after Where the Deep Ones Are and The Antarctic Express). * May not be adorable to all earthly species. Launch date: July 2011.

In Cthulhu Gloom, you control a group of Lovecraftian protagonists and guide them down a path of horror and madness to an untimely death, while keeping your opponents happy, healthy, and annoyingly alive. While your characters Gibber With Ghouls and Learn Loathsome Lore to earn negative points, you'll encourage your opponents to be Analyzed by Alienists and to Just Forget About the Fungus to pile on positive points. When one group finally falls prey to the interdimensional doom that awaits us all, the player whose characters have suffered the most wins. Cthulhu Gloom is printed on transparent plastic cards. Cthulhu Gloom is a stand-alone card game that's also fully compatible with Gloom and its expansions. It introduces Story cards and Transformation cards. Includes two decks of 55 transparent cards, and a rules sheet in a tuckbox. Launch date: August 2011.

This whimsically illustrated version of "A Child’s Garden of Verses" by Robert Louis Stevenson is illustrated by Fern Bisel Peat. The collection first appeared in 1885 and has proven popular with children and their parents over the past 100 + years. We were drawn to reprint this version especially, for the appeal and high quality of the illustrations and how well they fit with the poems chosen. The charming art is from the 1930’s. This version is designed specifically with the very young reader in mind, hence the bold and colorful artwork and selective offering of poems. It includes: The Lamplighter, The Land of Counterpane, Bed in Summer, My Shadow, The Swing and more. 16 pages.

The French excel in the arts of daily living. There the coffee cups balance perfectly in one's hand, the loaves of bread jut fetchingly out of stylish grocery bags, and even the trashcans have a certain je ne sais quoi. In Paris one can find an infinitude of delightful stationery products. These are our version of French cahiers. Each notebook's cover is graced with full color vintage art with a French connection. 20 Blank Pages.

Combining a vintage aesthetic with modern party needs, parents can throw a fun, different children's party with the help of this title. The occasions included are New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and, of course, Birthdays. The book features ideas for invitations, decorations for both the rooms and tables, menus and games to play. And though the material that inspired and illustrates Children's Party Book is from the past, the ideas are fresh and stylish and sure to appeal to today's party givers. 32 pages.

Our most popular author, Welleran Poltarnees, is the father of 7 children and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren and considers himself an expert on the subject of babies. Hooray for Babies consists of many small sections, each dedicated to one of the many admirable infant qualities, including smiles, playfulness, curiosity, love of simple things and more. Poltarnees, our master of finding the right image for every thought, has reached in many directions for the illustrations, including children’s books, classic painting, and vintage calendars and advertisements. The result is adorable, but not cloying, and would make an ideal shower or new baby gift. 68 pages.

Package Contents: One (1) 3’x5’ Poster, Four (4) removable adhesive squares. Stick over a window and illuminate by turning on the lights in the room. Legal: A Christmas Story: TM & © Turner Entertainment Co. WB Shield: TM & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s11)

Package Contents: Two (2) 3’x5’ Posters, Eight (8) removable adhesive squares. Stick over a window and illuminate by turning on the lights in the room.

The SqwishLand Soft `n Squishy Bracelet is a fun new way to bring a child's SqwishLand collection on-the-go. Kids customize the bracelet with their favorite SqwishLanders, and can swap out different animals depending on their mood or outfit. The bracelets are also soft `n Squishy™ and come in four cool colors. Comes with one SqwishLander on the bracelet, as well as a Crazy Rare SqwishLander in a capsule. Launch date: Summer 2011.
Awards: 2011 Fall Seal of Approval from the National Parenting Center

Kids choose the DIY SqwishLand Parrot or Frog and paint their very own rare SqwishLander. Each box set includes a 5” unpainted Sqwishland character, six acrylic paints and one brush. Kids then use the included code to unlock the online gallery at www.SqwishLand.com/diy to register and post their one-of-a-kind soft ‘n squishy design for all to see. The online community at SqwishLand.com will vote on a favorite DIY design each month. Winning designs could become the next Rare Sqwishlander in the game and on store shelves. An Artist’s Guide and detailed instructions are included. Launch date: Summer 2011.
Awards: 2011 Fall Seal of Approval from the National Parenting Center

As we approach the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, the amazing story of Philippe Petit’s daring feat walking a tightrope between the world’s tallest buildings is the title tale on a new Scholastic Storybook Treasures release: The Man Who Walked Between the Towers... and More Inspiring Tales . Narrated by Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal, this is an animated adaptation of the lyrical Caldecott Award-winning book by Mordecai Gerstein. Directed and animated by Michael Sporn, with music by Michael Bacon (of the Bacon Brothers). Other stories on this DVD include Miss Rumphius (narrated by Claire Danes); Crow Boy, a small boy who is different from the others and who gains acceptance when he imitates the voices of crows in the school talent show; and The Dinosaurs of Warehouse Hawkins, written by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Brian Selznick and narrated by Jonathan Pryce, the tale of how Warehouse Hawkins built the first life-sized dinosaur model that stunned the world. Launch date: August 30, 2011.

All the fun of the grill with no fire hazard. Kids can become a barbeque expert just like their parents, no matter how cold it is outside. Meats even come with realistic grill marks. Dinner options are a juicy steak, crunchy chicken drumstick, sizzling sausages, fresh fish, and shish kebob. Set comes with grill tongs, slices of tomato garnish, “fire” insert, stand-up grill with grates and 5 charcoal briquettes. Launch date: September 2011.

Baby’s new best friend! The Monsieur and Madame wooden clutching toys have charming faces and colorful moving parts to keep baby interested. Made in Germany using beech wood from sustainably managed forests. Approx. 4 ½” Launch date: September 2011.
— Kai Rady, owner of Shenanigans Inc in Charlottesville, Va., told TDmonthly in a 2012 survey about infant and toddler products that wooden rattles from HABA were one of her best sellers.

Soft and snuggly organic cotton clutching toys will be a hit with mom and baby. Choose from an adorable blue Bob Burrow (bird), green Freddie Frog, or Lisa Long Ears. Each clutching toy is filled with Oeko-Tex Standard 100 polyester filling, which means they’re machine washable and hygienic. (Natural fillings don’t dry as well and are more prone to mold.) Approx. 5 ½” Launch date: 2011.

In FURT, players race to be first into the fiery mouth of the FURT volcano with each roll of the color-coded die. Along the way, they might find themselves speaking like a robot, impersonating a stamp collector, doing fork acupuncture on their neighbor, or acting like a sugar donut, just to name a few. Players win by being the first to make it to the mouth of the FURT volcano and withstanding the ultimate Straight-Faced Challenge, in which other players take turns saying funny words to try to make them laugh. Launch date: August 2011.

Hippies and surfers both have similar lifestyles in behavior and philosophies.  Their simple, peace, love and green way of life was represented in every aspect of their existence, including the automobile that they choose to drive. The Volkswagen had the reputation in the counter-culture as "people’s cars", they were designed to be mechanically simple and reliable so that anyone with a basic set of tools could learn to be his own Volkswagen mechanic. This 1:18 die-cast replica features detailed engine, opening doors, real rubber tires, metal body and plastic chassis, detailed graphics, custom license plate and is officially licensed. 2,500 pieces of each color will be produced. Launch date: August 2011.