January 2009 Notable Toys — All

Decked out in green, this truck carries the message of recycling in its very construction, as it's made from 100-percent recycled milk jugs.  It is free of metal axles and measures 12" L x 6.25" W x 7" H. Launch date: February 15, 2009. “We're sticking to our strategy that served us well in 2008,” said Robert von Goeben, Co-founder and President of Green Toys Inc. “Our customers say they love who we are, and want more safe, earth-friendly, U.S.-made toys. We've responded by adding some cool new products, yet staying true to our core mission.”
— "[We're] doing extremely well with trucks, particularly the Recycling Truck from Green Toys," Rick Henry of Stellabella Toys in Cambridge, Mass., told TDmonthly when discussing best sellers in late October 2009.

Made from recycled plastic milk containers, this energy-efficient dump truck features a functional dumper and measures 10" L x 7 1/2" W x 7 1/8" H. Launch date: February 15, 2009.
— "The new trucks from Green Toys will be big hits with 2- to 4-year-olds," Patti Tepper-Rasmussen, owner of Learning Tree Toys, Books & Games in Oklahoma City, told TDmonthly following the 2009 ASTRA Marketplace.

This 66-lb. cube features acrylic, distortion-free mirrors on the top, bottom and sides, and measures 29" on each side. Part of the company's collection of early learning furniture, it is designed to offer a fascinating perspective of self-awareness. Launch date: January 2009.

Suitable for children ages 9 months and up, this set includes three textured scrubbers that can be filled with water and easily unscrew for cleaning, even in a dishwasher. They are BpA, phthalate and PVC free. Launch date: February 2009.

Joining the company's family of micro-robotic creatures, this six-legged ant features thin, mobile antennas and travels very quickly. Launch date: February 15, 2009.

Aquarium Mini is part of the new ZipBin® Minis line. This travel-sized ZipBin® includes two sea life toys among an available assorted collection.

The ZipBin® Airport looks like an airport hangar and when unzipped, reveals an operating airport with runway, control tower, heliport and hanger.  When play is done, capture all the toys inside. This play set includes a die cast, propellered plane.

DinoPack™ is a backpack that looks like a dinosaur’s head when worn on the back and opens to reveal a prehistoric adventureland play surface for imaginative fun. Included with the DinoPack™ is a T-Rex figure.

The CAMP Travel edition is very compact and mobile, with a unique wood design. Up to 4 multi-level players, and has fun “setback” and “move forward” functions. All new outdoor trivia cards, with vibrant full color images, includes content highlighting all 50 states.
— "The board game Camp has sold well in our store. Happy to see the travel edition that kids and parents can play together," Marlene England of Dancing Bear Toys & Gifts, told TDmonthly at Toy Fair 2010.

Full-size sports fun with these double-sided magnetic dartboards. With super strong magnets, the blunt-end darts hit and stick tightly on the board for hours of safe, game-time fun. Choose from Hockey/Lacrosse or Baseball/Soccer SportDARTS. 18"X14" flexible dartboard with eight magnetic darts.

LiddleLAX is the world's first 'liddle-size' lacrosse stick and ball set for great 'off-the-field' lacrosse fun and games. The lacrosse head is strung with 'stretchable stringing' to ensure maximum velocity of the mini elastic lax balls. Goalie target included for additional fun.

Manufacturer's Description: Displayed like a box of fine chocolates, these delicious plush darlings are all of 4" tall and come wrapped in a velvety smooth drawstring bag. There is a palm sized soft character for every occasiob: teddy bears in caramel, chocolate, honey or pink, a monkey, a pink pig with wings, a panda bear, a pink kitten, a lion, a prayer bear, an elephant and a puppy. There are 14 specific words or phrases of inspiration to choose from, "Get Well Soon", "It's a Boy", "It's a Girl", "Happy Birthday" for boy or girl, "Happy Graduation", "Thank You", "Thinking of You", "Courage", "Faith", "Hope", "Best Friends", "Love" and "Prayer". Each colorful drawstring bag is intricately embroidered with the word or phrase as well as a coordinating logo or icon. For example the white bag scripted with "Hope", also has an embroidered pink daisy. Launch date: Spring 2009.

For the bride or hostess at any party, our Make Your Own Petal and Favor Cones are an inexpensive way to create a truly personalized favor.  Each package includes 10 cone forms that are easy to assemble and ribbon to tie them closed.  Easy step by step instructions for assembling them on the back of the package.

Blow The World’s Biggest Bubbles! This is the famous Bubble Thing that started the giant bubble sport. It blows gorgeous high-flying rainbow-colored bubbles the size of baby whales. Easy! A thrill for all ages. Great for outdoor parties. Graceful operation without compare. Keep dipping and opening and closing the flexible fabric loop to create a fantastic menagerie of bubble shapes and sizes. Package includes BIG Bubble Mix powder that makes 2.7 gallons of world class bubble solution. Just add water and dish soap.

Blow IMPOSSIBLY Big Bubbles! The Bubble Thing Deluxe set the first-ever Guinness soap bubble record in 1988. Length: 50 feet. Volume: 240 cubic feet. And it can blow much bigger. The Deluxe does all the fascinating tricks the smaller Bubble Thing does but more spectacular. The Deluxe is the one you should demonstrate outside your store to attract astonished happy crowds and free media attention. A sporting challenge for big kids and adults, it also adjusts easily in size so six-year-olds can play. (It uses the great BIG Bubble Mix which you can buy separately.)

Stir 2 tablespoons of this world class bubble powder into 16 cups of tap water, add a cup of dish soap, and you’ll blow gigantic soaring bubbles up to 8 feet in diameter! Even 50 feet long! It’s fun to mix. Nontoxic. Designed for the giant Bubble Thing wands (and other wands) and out-bubbles the competition at 1/4 the cost per gallon. The BIG Bubble Mix refill bottle seen here makes 5.4 gallons of solution.

Little mice need players' help to push their pieces of cheese into their mouse holes. But participants must watch out for the cat! To play the game, players try to flick a mouse token on the game board so it hits and propels one or more cheese tokens into a mouse hole. The first team of mice to get all its cheese through the mouse holes is the winner. This wooden game is made in Canada. Launch date: 2009.

Bagazoo is a wonderful game for the whole family and an ideal game for children's parties. Eight different games can be played with the Bagazoo. It received a 2008 iParenting Media Award. "Bagazoo is set up to provide more opportunities to play than a normal bean bag toss game. It provides more challenge for the older children, while still accommodating the very young ones," Mary Pepin, project manager for Bojeux, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2009.

In this game of secret colors and surprise endings, someone will have four in a row before you know it. Players reach into a bag and pull out a token, which might be their color, an opponent's color or a wild card. Players can place their tokens on the board to extend their row, block another player, or fool others into thinking they have a different color then the one they really have. The ultimate goal is to get four tokens in a row. "The whole family can play this simple-to-learn strategy game," Barbara Uebelacker, PR manager for Patch Products, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2009.
THIS PRODUCT IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE

X-Ball®, the newest creativity toy from the makers of the award-winning Ball of Whacks®, presents a whole new playful way to stimulate creativity. The set of 30 X-shaped magnetic design pieces click together to form a geometric orb. The uniquely angled X-shaped pieces allow imaginative users to invent their own shapes and designs. The X-Ball comes with an illustrated, 96-page creativity guidebook that offers lots of ideas for other fun shapes and creative applications. "X-Ball was created as a companion toy to the award-winning Ball of Whacks, and its unique X-shaped pieces can be combined the magnetic pyramids for creative play," Lynn Araujo, communications director for Creative Whack Company, told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 15, 2009.

Past Videos: ASTRA 2009

Introducing the easiest way to center up to 4 lbs. of clay on a potter's wheel the first time, every time. The QuickCenter is "training wheels" for the centering process. The components of the system include the Universal Adaptor, Recessed Bat, Canister/Plunger, False Bottoms Set, Ejector, and QuickCenter Bat Pins. "Centering clay on a potter's wheel can be intimidating for students and those new to ceramics. The QuickCenter takes the guesswork out of centering clay in just three easy steps," Richard Fullenweider, advertising and media director of AMACO, told TDmonthly. Launch date: December 2008.

Late for the Sky's City games serve as great connections to preserving both the memory of home and the excitement of going somewhere new. Whether as a souvenir or homesickness cure, all the familiar places are there. And if players are living in the city the game is designed around, it’s fun playing with places they can see out their window. "We chose some favorite landmarks and traditions, mixed in some Rocky Mountains, professional sports, music, a great big amphitheater, and some BIG FUN ... and voilà [vwä lä] -behold; Denver-OPOLY!" Carla Miller of Late for the Sky Production Company told TDmonthly. Launch date: December 2008.

In this fast-paced card and dice game for the whole family, players take turns as the sushi chef by rolling four sushi dice. Other players then race to match sushi cards in their hand to the sushi that was rolled. The first to do so says "Order up!" and lays down his or her cards. Whoever gets the most sushi cards by the end of the game wins. Players can use Wild Wasabi to help, but must beware the dreaded Stinky Sushi card. "It is easy to play, and the whimsical theme keeps you coming back for another hand," Mike Richie, game developer for Mindtwister USA, told TDmonthly. Launch date: April 2009.

All-inclusive, hand-drawn, step-by-step drawings are combined with watercolor instruction and come with classical music that innovatively provides the means to shift into the right/creative mode of thinking. The ready-to-go, eco-friendly portfolio includes the "Definitely Drawing and Watercolor" workbook, a classical music CD, a watercolor pencil set, a sharpener, a paintbrush, a sketch-pad and a pencil. The combination of materials "[creates] an optimal environment for children to produce watercolor masterpieces," Owner Cheryl Miller of Rock N Go LLC told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 2009.