January 2009 Notable Toys — All

These animated stories from the "Book of Virtues" originally ran on PBS. Stories include "A Christmas Carol for Annie," in which Annie's desire to make a profit for her drama club blinds her to the true meaning of Christmas. "The Gift of the Magi" teaches kids the difference between true generosity and giving for the sake of taking credit for being "good." As a bonus, the DVD can be watched in Spanish, too. Approximately 75 minutes. Launch date: September 3, 2008.

Featuring the voices of kids' favorite "Sesame Street" characters, this 13-track album includes the songs "Sleigh Rider," "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Blue Christmas."

The Laurie Berkner Band present a series of 24 songs for kids that take them through adventures such as "Going on a Hunt," "Jump and Fly," and "Walk Along the River." Launch date: 2008.

This DVD follows 11-year-olds Zoe and Alex on a thrilling, beantifully animated CGI adventure, as they are swept from their local library into Animalia — a unique world of speaking animals. The four great adventures were first seen on PBS Kids Go and are based on teh bestselling picture book by Graeme Base. Launch date: 2008.

Smithsonian Networks, a partnership between Showtime Networks Inc. and The Smithsonian Institution, reveals never-before-seen footage of Japanese kamikaze training. Conceived by the Japanese in a frantic effort to avoid defeat during the final months of World War II, suicide attackes resulted in more than 150 allied ships damaged and more than 4,000 U.S. soldiers killed. Although ultimately unsuccessful, the strategy was an effective demoralizing campiagn that left American troops uneasy. "Day of the Kamikaze" documents the origins of kamikaze battle and shares eyewitness acocounts of the biggest and bloodiest suiceide attack over two days in 1945, when the Japanese launched "Operation Heaven" against the allied fleet in the Pacific. Another CD, "Eyewitness Kamikaze," shares personal stories of young WWII crewmen under kamikaze attack. Each program is available separately and runs for approximately 2 hours. Launch date: November 11, 2008.

This 14-track educational album helps kids remember facts and history by setting them to music. Songs include "Revolution, Revolution," "Grew to the West," "Pledge of Allegiance" and "Branches of Government.

This two-disc collection features 10 episodes of "The Magic Garden" television show that was a hit with parents and children in the 1970s. It stars Carole and Paula along with friends Sherlock and Flapper, and comes with a bonus CD of songs and a story.

This 7-disc set contains the entire final season of the classic TV series "Daniel Boone" starring Fess Parker as the legendary frontiersman, who lived from 1734 to 1820. The hour-long show ran from 1964 to 1970, Thursday nights on NBC. The plots and themes of the socially conscious show were often inspired by real-life historical figures and events. The final season (1969-70) features appearances by Jodie Foster in one of her earliest acting jobs, sausage king Jimmie Dean, and James Doohan, who played Scottie on "Star Trek" as well as numerous others over the 22-episode program. Launch date: 2008.

This CD, created by moms, kids, teachers and musicians, is designed to be used in conjunction with Rock n Go's "So Skip Counting" workbook. Songs include "Punk 10s" and "New Wave 6s." The order of the songs reflects the order in which schools most often introduce skip counting to students. Launch date: 2008.

Katsa's extreme skill or "Grace" is the skill of killing — something she's long been carrying out on behalf of her uncle. But meeting Prince Po brings a special friendship into her life, and she comes face to face with a truth about her own skill, as well as an awful secret that could bring destruction to the kingdoms. Launch date: October 2008.

Written by Laurie Krebs and illustrated by Aurelia Fronty, this picture book takes kids on an adventure across Lake Titicaca and through Machu Pichu to the city of cusco, where a wonderful festival is underway. The educational endnotes include facts about Peru's population and culture, the Andes Mountains and the Inty Raymi Festival. Launch: 2008.

A follow-up to R.D. Henham's "Red Dragon Codex," this novel explores ths story of Satia, a young thief, and the lies she tells to a young black dragon so he will spare her life. But the dragon's evil nature, and Satia's dishonesty, may be a bad combination. Will it lead to their doom? Launch date: 2008.

It's Saturday, and one small girl and her Dad do the shopping while Mom is working. When the little girl sneezes, it sets off a reaction that leads to her Dad being blamed for a supermarket calamity. After the daughter speaks up and takes responsibility, the mood changes. Written by Matt Harvey and illustrated by Miriam Latimer. Hardcover, color, 32 pages, 8.5" x 11". Launch date: September 2008.

In the midst of Rani's cousin's wedding plans to marry a wealthy widower named Frank, Rani starts to feel like the ghost of his first wife is haunting the house. Will a mystery message help Rani get rid of her? Launch date: August 2008.

Once called a "musical Dr. Seuss," Jim Copp recorded nine children's albums from 1958 to 1971. These critically acclaimed, clever rhyming stories told through song won Copp many passionate fans. Now his most popular characters — Kate Higgins, Miss Goggins and the gorilla, and Martha Matilda O'Toole — hop, stomp and skip to life on the pages of the "Jim Copp, Will You Tell Me a Story?" picture book illustrated by Lindsay DuPont.T he book comes with a CD featuring three of Jim Copp's original recordings. Hardcover, 56 pages, color. Launch date: September 2008.

This book written by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Vlasta van Kampen captures the story of a group of hippos at their peak of boredom, and follows them on a journey to happiness, which they find wallowing in the mud. It combines simple text with colorful, expressive artwork. Launch date: April 30, 2008.

This fitness DVD gives offers parents a way to work out with their children from birth to 6 years old, while having fun at the same time. It features real moms and kids alongside cartoon scenery background to catch children's attention. There are three workout options: cardio; toning and abs; and cardio, toning and abs. Launch date: 2008.

In this two-episode DVD, characters Walker and Ping Ping take boys and girls on a tour of the Great Wall of China, and journey to the desert and the sea, eventually ending up in a Chinese street market. The story imparts bits of history and culture as they meet a Silk Road merchant and dumpling maker, and learn about calligraphy and the theater of the lantern shadows.

This high quality, 1:64-scale die-cast police car comes with a code that allows users to log onto the corresponding, interactive website. Once logged on, users get a garage and can fix up their cars and race them in the world of street racing, track racing and the dragstrip. The 06 Charger debuts in a limited edition. Launch date: February 2008.

KooKeys offers a line of plush animals with online, interactive digital counterparts known as the Virtual Koo. Each plush KooKey comes with a special key that unlocks the online world for children to explore, interact, play, and learn. Launch date: 2007.

Kids who are studying karate will appreciate this soft plush handpuppet dressed in a traditional Gi. He even sports a pair of nunchukas in case the other puppets get out of line. Launch date: 2008.

This soft plush hand puppet from Timeless Toys features a great big hippo mouth. Launch date: 2008.

This soft plush  kangaroo puppet keeps her joey snugly tucked in her pouch. Launch date: 2008.

This mega gift basket includes the following: a Kids Rule! ruler, Bumblebee Scissors, a Turtle Flashlight, an Easy Writer, a Dragonfly Whistle, Glow in the Dark Spiders, Waikiki Sunglasses, a wind-up caterpillar, wind-up bugs and a magnifying glass. Launch date: 2008.

This fun gift basket for boys includes the following: a velour, reversible dog-and-cat hat, baby keys, a blue picture block, a puppy crinkler and a mother-and-baby-lamb toy that plays "Imagine." This gift basket is only available to consumers via the Rich Frog website; individual items are available at wholesale prices. Launch date: 2008.