April 2011 Notable Toys — All

This colorful line of giftwrap from Disegno is made of eco-friendly Kraftpaper (sustainable PEFC/FSC cultivation) and is CO2 neutral. The creative design features children playing, a castle, a volcano, princesses and knights, and more. This design is available as counter-roll wrapping paper, paper shopping bags, gift bags,  and gift certificates. Once a child opens their gift, the wrap can be used as a border in their room, hung as a poster, or laminated onto cardboard and cut into puzzle pieces.

In its licensing deal with Wolverine World Wide, Inc., the company behind Hush Puppies and other innovative footwear, apparel and accessory brands, Aurora will launch and distribute worldwide the Hush Puppies plush animal line. featuring a small (5"), medium (10") and large (18") Hush Puppies basset hound. There are also portable 3.5” 'clip-ons'  for those who want to take their Hush Puppies pup on the go.

Making up Aurora's first series of exclusive soft figurines based on the Luche Libre phenomenon are the "top" six contenders wrestling to become champion. Kids will be entertained and inspired by the comic book "hangtag" attached to each plush toy. Each character is eight inches. Aurora expects to release "Series 2" featuring even more Luche Libre characters later in the year.

Aurora's 14 all-new 12.5-inch sassy Mood Monkeys allow tweens and teens to express who they really are. The 14 styles include Book Worm, Catty, Soo Silly, Bad Hair Day, Chatterbox, Boy Crazy, Sweet Tooth, Ray of Sunshine, Oops Clumsy, I Love Shopping, Giggly, Sleepyhead, Party Girl and Spa Girl.

From flower girl to firefighter, Aurora has released nine new "dress up" outfits that fit all of Aurora's five inch YooHoo & Friends. Each dress up set comes in clear packaging that includes two accessories. Retailers can combine the dress up packaging (fits slatwalls) with existing YooHoo & Friends displays. The "Blast to the Past" set includes three YooHoo & Friends "hippies.” Available separately are the "Go Green" set with two flower girls and a princess butterfly; and a third set that includes doctor, firefighter and police officer. Each 5-inch YooHoo & Friends animal (w/ sound) is available separately for $6.
— "They are all over the board, but I've sold about 100 of the various things," Barbara Fineblum, Owner of Barston's Child's Play in Baltimore, Md., said about YooHoos to TDmonthly when surveyed in late Spring 2011.

2011 marks the 30th Anniversary for plush toy and gift manufacturer Aurora World Inc. To celebrate, Aurora is offering a limited edition 30th Anniversary Bear plush toy. Limited the 1,200 pieces, the bear is made of Moda Acrylic plush. “30th Anniversary” is embroidered on its right paw pad. Mr. H.Y. Noh's (Aurora's Founder) signature and number (i.e.: 1/ 1200) is embroidered on the left foot.

Mary Meyer adds new ring rattles and WubbaNub™ pacifiers to its popular Sweet Chocolate Collection in 2011. The baby pink and baby blue plush animals are designed with delicious chocolate accents. The 5inch Sweet Chocolate Puppy Ring Rattles are available in pink and chocolate and blue and chocolate colors. A Giraffe version is also availabe.

This 7" Ella Bella Bank has a firm plastic bank inside and is covered with fuzzy pink plush.  Embroidered features are baby safe.

This 10-inch pull-down toy is designed for car seats and strollers. Pull the sturdy feet down and a baby can watch Ella Bella wiggle and jiggle as her feet go back up. 

This sweet, 5-inch rattle features Ella Bella's signature modern patterns and pink plush.

Modern floral patterns, a soft color pallet, and fuzzy pink are the hallmarks of Ella Bella. Ell Bella, an adorable elephant, is the star of this new baby boutique collection especially designed for baby girls. The collection, designed by Mary Meyer toy designers in Townshend, Vermont, includes seven nursery items designed to decorate a nursery with a soft, nurturing color pallet. The 8-inch Ella Bella Wind-Up Musical plush toy plays “Brahams' Lullaby.”

Story Speller is a beginning storytelling game that everyone can play. Fill a storyboard with the favorite story element cards, choose a hero or heroine, and learn to tell and spell storybook tales. The story element card categories include: Friends and Foes, Locations, Treasures, Objects and Obstacles, Vehicles, and Actions. Will an asteroid hit Earth causing tarantulas to run wild? Will the Pirate go diving in the moonlight to find the hidden egg? Each story is different and encourages children to develop their imaginations and creativity as well as sequential thinking and language skills. Launch date: February 2011.

Milly is a pink kitten that can be dressed up in cute outfits and carried in a scented cat carrier.

This line of seven dolls is soft and huggable, with baby-safe embroidered features.

Years after a big old tree tumbles to the ground and is rotting, is it really dead? In a new picture book for children, author Anthony Fredericks invites children to take a closer look. Roly-polies and daddy longlegs and velvet mites prowl here and there, while salamanders and chipmunks dash everywhere. Old logs offer a wonderful opportunity for a low-cost field trip. There might be one in your own backyard. Tons of small creatures live there, so often overlooked. A letter from roly-poly to the reader introduces this “neighborhood,” saying, “I have lots of weird neighbors, and remember, weird is interesting.” With a blend of science and rhyming text, Fredericks and illustrator Jennifer DiRubbio have created a lighthearted yet educational picture book. To further whet the appetite of nature-loving kids, Fredericks provides “field notes” and “fantastic facts” about the animals at the back of the book. And as a courtesy to teachers and parents, he provides an extensive description of projects and activities to do based on the book, ranging from simple finger play to readers theater. This is the sixth book in a series by the same author/illustrator team. Previous titles include Under One Rock; In One Tidepool; Around One Cactus; Near One Cattail; and On One Flower. Also available in hardback ($16.95).

Travel to incredible places in this plush locomotive with three jungle friends. Don't forget to change their places from time to time so they can see all the views. Velcro allows child to switch the three animals between the locomotive's two windows and nose. Also included is a canvas carrying tote. Made of Polyester Fiber. Surface wash, air dry.

The Greatest Newspaper Dot-to-Dot Puzzles volume 8 is a new 5.5" by 5.5" pocket-sized collection of weekly dot-to-dots that have been published in various USA and international newspapers. Includes difficult dot-to-dot puzzles with no clues as to the final form. The images slowly emerge as the puzzler connects the dots. In addition to traditional connect-the-dots, it includes unique innovations such as connecting odd/even numbers and multiple line variations. 40 pages long with 36 puzzles.

The Greatest Newspaper Dot-to-Dot Puzzles volume 7 is a new 5.5" by 5.5" pocket-sized collection of weekly dot-to-dots that have been published in various USA and international newspapers. Includes difficult dot-to-dot puzzles with no clues as to the final form.  The images slowly emerge as the puzzler connects the dots. In addition to traditional connect-the-dots, it includes unique innovations such as connecting odd/even numbers and multiple line variations. 40 pages long with 36 puzzles.

The Greatest Newspaper Dot-to-Dot Puzzles volume 6 is a new 5.5" by 5.5" pocket-sized collection of weekly dot-to-dots that have been published in various USA and international newspapers. Includes difficult dot-to-dot puzzles with no clues as to the final form.  The images slowly emerge as the puzzler connects the dots. In addition to traditional connect-the-dots, it includes unique innovations such as connecting odd/even numbers and multiple line variations. 40 pages long with 36 puzzles.

The Greatest Newspaper Dot-to-Dot Puzzles volume 5 is a new 5.5" by 5.5" pocket-sized collection of weekly dot-to-dots that have been published in various USA and international newspapers. Includes difficult dot-to-dot puzzles with no clues as to the final form.  The images slowly emerge as the puzzler connects the dots. In addition to traditional connect-the-dots, it includes unique innovations such as connecting odd/even numbers and multiple line variations. 40 pages long with 36 puzzles.

This line of hand puppets features charactes from Puppet Heap's short films "Mother Hubbard" and "I Knew an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly." “We’re very excited about the launch of Puppet Heap Playthings™,” said Paul Andrejco, Puppet Heap’s founder and CEO, “Putting the magic of Puppet Heap’s creative team into the hands of a wider consumer audience is what this new branch of the company is all about.”

Fruitominoes, is a domino game for players aged 5 and up featuring fruit connections rather than dots. "With Fruitominoes, we put our fruity new spin on a classic!" said Rena Nathanson, CEO of Bananagrams. The game comes in a portable pouch so that it can be played at home or on the go.
 

ZIP-IT! includes 24 ivory-like letter cubes packaged in a cloth pouch with unique self-scoring zippers, so everything you need is in the bag.  No pencil, paper or board needed.  Each player takes 12 cubes and races to form their own crossword grid using any side of the cubes.  The first player to use all their own cubes calls "ZIP!" and scores a point by moving their own zip up the pouch. The first person to score 10 points shouts "ZIPIT!!!" and wins the game.  One hand can be played in as little as than 20 seconds.The game was designed to be easily portable.  Also includes complimentary WEORDS Dictionary, a list of weird words that can help win word games.

This new game board has a patent-pending design that allows players to play thousands of game variations on a single game board. For children it is an educational tool that challenges manual dexterity, math skills, and fosters good  sportsmanship. It can be played indoors or outdoors, with endless evolutionary potential. It measures 39"x39" round and 3.25" high, weighs 9 lbs.