November 2009 New Specialty Toys — Infant & Toddler

This fun bag for day trips features padded shoulder straps that adjust to fit, a handle on the top, zipper closure for the main storage area, and a zipped compartment on top that stores a weatherproof hood. It also comes with a detachable safety rein for parental use.

This product is designed so that young toddlers will delight in placing the dowel/balls in the holes, turning the base, and watching the whirling forms turn around. Older toddlers can start to build with the hardwood squares, put “red hats on the red heads," and stack colored shapes into sturdy towers. Preschoolers can build more complex and imaginative structures while exploring how motion changes the appearance and stability of forms. "Torno Torno combines a wood building toy with a wood turn-table base that is activated by the child — no batteries, just the child's gentle push and imagination," Karen Hewitt, president of Learning Materials Workshop, told TDmonthly. This product was named one of Dr. Toy's 10 Best Toys 2009. Launch date: November 2009.

"Young Minds - Numbers and Counting" teaches young children how to count from 1 to 10 by way of visually counting objects on the screen in an interactive manner. he entire production is set to classical music from Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Vivaldi and other classical composers. The objects counted on the screen include animals, machines, fruits, vegetables and scenes from nature. "Our DVD has substantially more educational value than other DVDs marketed to this age segment. In addition to numbers, our DVD also teaches animal sounds, colors, and much more," Jason Gibson, owner of Math Tutor DVD, told TDmonthly. This DVD has received the following awards: Dr. Toy Top 100 Best Products 2009; 2009 Dr. Toy Top 10 Best Audio-Video Products 2009; Parent Tested Parent Approved (PTPA) 2009; iParenting Media 2009; Creative Child Magazine Top Choice Award 2009; Creative Child Magazine Seal of Excellence 2009; and "The Toy Man" Award 2009. Launch date: July 21, 2009.

Little Bites Freezer Trays are designed to make storing and freezing homemade baby and toddler foods safe and easy. Made of durable, BPA-free and phthalate-free silicone, these stackable trays feature four storage cups and a see-through silicone lid. Users seal with a pinch, and then place in the freezer. They are sold in sets of two, and feature 2-oz. servings that can simply be popped out, warmed and served. The toxin-free trays are freezer safe, dishwasher safe and microwave safe. Kinderville offers "uniquely designed products made of resilient silicone. Not too many items in the market place ... are similar to what we are offering," Oliver Albers, president of Luft Industrie LLC dba Kinderville, told TDmonthly. Launch date: December 2009.

The Heaven Sent Girl Collection combines pinks and green with touches of sheer, cloud-like fabrics and soft minky material. The quilt and bumper are appliquéd with spiritual messages celebrating the joy of birth: "Heaven Sent," "A Perfect Gift from God," "The Lord is my Shepherd" and "I am Wonderfully Made" — embroidered on white linen patches accompanied by sweet appliquéd angels, sheep and wrapped gifts. The four sectional bumpers are patch worked front and back. The sheet is 200+ thread count and 100-percent cotton. The crib skirt is a shirred, fully lined, cream and pink floral with 16" drop. Matching accessories include crib blanket, standard ivory lamp base and shade, diaper stacker, hamper, musical mobile, fitted sheet, valance, pillow pack, toy bag, and hand-painted wall art. Launch date: August 2009.

Arctic babies is a pattern inspired by the plight of mothers and their babies to survive in the changing world. The Arctic set is a combination of 100-percent cotton, washable velvet in tundra red, appliqués in black dot, and textured fleece. Whales, penguins and polar bears, mothers and babies interact on the quilt and sectional bumper accented by hand stitching. The comforter measures 45" L x 36" W. The dust ruffle is washable velvet with a black dot trim. Matching accessories include diaper stacker, toy bag, valance, mobile, hamper, pillows, whale lamp and shade, photo frame, and three-piece wall art. Launch date: 2009.

The Heaven Sent Boy Collection combines blue, cream and brown cottons. The quilt and bumper are appliquéd with spiritual messages celebrating the joy of birth: "Heaven Sent," "A Perfect Gift from God," "The Lord is my Shepherd" and "I am Wonderfully Made." The messages are on white linen patches accompanied by appliquéd angels, sheep and wrapped gifts. The four sectional bumpers are patch-worked front and back. The 200-thread-plus count stripe sheet is 100-percent cotton. The crib skirt is a box pleat, 17" drop in blue geometric with banding in brown star. Matching accessories include crib blanket, standard ivory lamp base and shade, diaper stacker, toy bag, hamper, musical mobile, fitted sheet, valance, pillow pack and hand-painted wall art. Launch date: August 2009.

Poppy is an all-cotton set with contemporary poppy appliqué. It features woven cotton houndstooth in black and white, combined in a patchwork of black, white, pink and citrus green. Fun patchwork poppies are appliquéd on a lightweight comforter, with the reverse in big dot pink. It has a four-section patched bumper, big dot pink sheet and tailored black and white stripe crib skirt. Matching accessories include a crib blanket, decorator lamp, diaper stacker, hamper, musical mobile, fitted crib sheet, photo frame, toy bag, valance, pillow pack and wall art. Launch date: 2008.

The Animal Tracks collection features a combination of soft chocolate corduroy on natural seersucker. Bright textured animals fill the train cars traveling around the bumper on brown and white tracks. The four-section bumper has appliquéd fronts with red dot backs. The sheet is 100-percent cotton, 200 thread count sheet, in chocolate skin. The crib skirt is in brown and white train track twill. The comforter presents all the train animals, including the monkey engineer, on soft natural seersucker with chocolate corduroy trim. Matching accessories include a crib blanket, decor orator lamp, diaper stacker, hamper, musical mobile, fitted crib sheet, photo frame, toy bag, valance, pillow pack, and wall art. Launch date: 2009.

The Elephant Brigade collection is a pattern with a brightly colored forest and a family of elephants. Contemporary yet whimsical, the brigade crosses a landscape of greens, neutrals and red. The coverlet is quilted on natural percale with rich warm colors of the mountains and landscape at bottom and top. The green dot sheet is 100-percent India cotton, 300 thread count. The boxed bed skirt is a yarn-dyed cotton incorporating all the colors. The four-section bumper is embroidered with the the trees and elephants, and trimmed in the yarn-dyed stripe with large cord and ties. Matching accessories include crib blanket, decorative lamp and shade, diaper stacker, toy bag, hamper, musical mobile, fitted sheet, valance, pillow pack, and hand-painted wall art. Launch date: August 2009.

The Slow Poke collection contains brightly colored turtles in greens, blues and accents of red, marching along on 100-percent cotton sheeting. The quilt is a combination of all five fabrics with accent cording and red, skin, inserted flange. The bumper is in four separate sections with stripe cord and accent ties on top and bottom. The box pleated crib shirt has a 2" bias trim in canvas stripe. The sheet thread count is 200 in shell swirl. Matching accessories include crib blanket, decorative lamp and shade, diaper stacker, toy bag, hamper, musical mobile, fitted sheet, valance, pillow pack, and hand-painted wall art. Launch date: November 2009.

This four-piece set has lots of color in a bright cotton motif. There are large appliquéd daisies on a patchwork of big dot red, small red dot and a fancy contemporary floral, plus accents in bright turquoise on a four sectioned bumper, patch-worked front and back with large floral appliqué. The sculptured dust ruffle has turquoise trim. There's a soft dot sheet that is 100-percent, 200-thread-count cotton. Matching accessories include a crib blanket, decorator lamp, diaper stacker, hamper, musical mobile, fitted crib sheet, photo frame, toy bag, valance, pillow pack and wall art. Launch date: July 2009.

Suitable for ages 3 months and up, these bright keys with smiling faces feature both flexible and firm plastic and are ideal for grasping, teething and fostering a sense of touch. They are distributed in the United States by Calisson.

This classic cable knit baby blanket in pastel blue by Elegant Baby is an elegant gift for a baby boy. Adorned with a wide ribbed border this incredibly cuddly 100% cotton blanket can serve as a gift by itself, as well as being an ideal accent to the Elegant Baby cable knit jumpsuit or cable knit sweater.  The blanket is sized at 36” x 45”. Also available in chocolate, white and pink.

This redesigned version of Sleep Sheep has brighter hooves to create a warmer effect and to match Cloud B's Sleep Sheep Aroma Pillow. Sleep Sheep is equipped with four soothing sounds to help baby rest: mother's heartbeat, spring showers, ocean surf and whale songs. The 12" Sleep Sheep has a removable sound box and an automatic time-out function that can be set to 23 or 45 minutes. Launch date: November 2009.

This early learning game for children is designed to be both interactive and progressive. Visually colorful, the DVD features three, 20-minute sessions suited to the attention span of young children. It features three puppets: Oüm, the main character, asks children to participate in his friends' lessons with him; Mimi has a talent for music and Coco, for physical activity. Children and animals appear throughout each of the lessons. Both English and French original versions are included.
Awards: 2010 Creative Child Magazine DVD of the Year Award

The U-Play Mat is a U-shaped mat with 15 clear pockets on its surface. The mat is 4 feet wide, and 3 feet deep. The innovative "U" shape allows the child to sit inside the opening of the "U" with full access to the 15 pockets. The child has full visual and tactile access to the whole surface, without having to crawl atop the mat. Child-safe see-through pockets allow fifteen theme-based cards to be secured to the mat surface. This patent pending design allows for the caregiver to sit across and engage the child in a variety of exercises using the adorable theme-based card decks. The pockets are designed to be slightly larger than the cards, allowing for the cards to be placed and removed easily. The Professional Edition is recommended for the two to five year old child at home or for the professional (speech therapist, teacher, etc.) working with children of any age or ability. This includes all of the eight available card decks for a total of 240 cards. Includes U-Play Mat, Tote, U-Animals Card Deck, U-Foods Card Deck, U-Fruits and Vegetables Card Deck, U-Go Card Deck, U-Home Card Deck, U-Dress Card Deck, U-Outside Card Deck, and U-Play Card Deck.

The U-Play Mat is a U-shaped mat with 15 clear pockets on its surface. The mat is 4 feet wide, and 3 feet deep. The innovative "U" shape allows the child to sit inside the opening of the "U" with full access to the 15 pockets. The child has full visual and tactile access to the whole surface, without having to crawl atop the mat. Child-safe see-through pockets allow fifteen theme-based cards to be secured to the mat surface. This patent pending design allows for the caregiver to sit across and engage the child in a variety of exercises using the adorable theme-based card decks. The pockets are designed to be slightly larger than the cards, allowing for the cards to be placed and removed easily. This set is recommended for at-home use, especially with the one to two year old child just starting to use the U-Play Mat. Includes: U-Play Mat, Tote, U-Animals Card Deck, and U-Foods Card Deck.
— "A great language activity that promotes listening, language and social skills.  A superior choice for children who need support in these areas and might have trouble staying focused," Jennifer Shuman, of 1SmartNoodle, told TDmonthly at Toy Fair 2010.

Available in cat, dog, and cow, these colorful pull toys will provide hours of fun for infants and toddlers.

These plush minky sports blankets and organic cotton burp cloths are sports accessories for babies and sports enthusiasts, designed with an irresistable plush touch. The top-selling football blanket comes in three sizes, Pee Wee (small), Junior Varsity (medium) and Varsity (large). There are also basketball, soccer ball and baseball blankets. "It is a wonderful gift for the father-to-be. Not all dads get 'showered' like mothers do. Dads will love to cuddle up with their little one in these plush sports-themed baby blankets," Jennifer Evans, president of TEAMEES, told TDmonthly. Launch date: October 2008.

Pop up play tent can be folded down completely and stored in convenient carrying bag. Made of cotton/polyester, mesh fabric, plastic rods.
— In a May 2012 survey about best selling furniture and play houses, two retailers mentioned HABA as a best selling brand.

25 piece wooden set of animal blocks made in Germany!

To complement Teamees sports blankets, these organic cotton burp cloths have screen-printed designs, such as the basketball court shown. The cloths measure 22" x 11".

The redesigned Twilight Ladybug features a vibrantly colored shell and soft, matching fur on its body.  The constellations are on a 45 minute timer. Each Twilight Turtle and Friends character from the collection projects constellation nightlights that create a magical sleep-time environment. Each “shell” illuminates the night with three soothing color options to help ease fear of the dark. The Twilight Collection includes Twilight Turtle and Twilight Ladybug, each available in three colors and a Twilight Sea Turtle that also has five illuminated windows projecting images of sea life.
―As of 1.06.2011 this product had 4 out of 5 stars from 833 reviews on Amazon.com and was No. 25 on the top 100 bestselling toys and games. Pros: Soft plush; shuts of automatically to reserve battery power. Cons: Light burnt out and was not replaceable.
― In a June 2010 survey, nine of 40 retailers told TDmonthly that Cloud B Twilight critters are top-selling baby toys, with five citing Twilight Ladybug and six citing Twilight Turtle. Twilight Ladybug is the “go-to (product) for infant gifts” at School Crossing Inc. in Williamsburg, Va., according to Owner Sherry Phipps.