June 2011 Notable Toys — Educational

"BUGS" is the critically acclaimed second album of Mister G, a celebrated songwriter and educator who performs internationally.  The songs, which include fan favorites such as "Shark in My Bathtub" and "Pam the Pug," span a range of musical styles from funk to rock, bluegrass to bossa nova. The CD includes several original bilingual (Spanish/English) songs, which grew out of Mister G's concerts for kids in Latin America.

"Pizza for Breakfast" is the critically acclaimed first album of Mister G, a celebrated songwriter and educator who performs internationally.  The songs, which include fan favorites such as "Sneaky Chihuahua" and "Pony with a Problem," span a range of musical styles ranging from pop to rock, bluegrass to ska. Kids, and their parents, will be singing along with the environmental toe-tapper, "Don't Waste Stuff" and soaping up to "Bath." Launch date: January 2010.

Invented by a British mother of six, My Wee Friend is a simple potty training method. It is a black disc which adheres to the bottom of a training potty. When the child uses the potty, the disc temporarily reveals a smiling face, then reverts to black. It can be left in the potty, cleaned as usual and reused for up to 12 weeks. Suitable for both boys and girls, it motivates the child and reinforces consistency. It is available in nine designs.

Come On, Let’s Go! will guide children (and their parents) on a musical and visual journey. Susie Tallman’s first DVD compiles 22 fun-filled music videos from the best of Children’s Songs, Nursery Rhymes and Let’s Go! Travel, Camp & Car Songs. The full-length DVD offers all the musical brilliance and charm of Susie Tallman with lots of new faces and wonderful, imaginative places. Join Susie and her friends on a farm horsin’ around, quack like ducks on a lake, jump on the bed with monkeys and eat cupcakes at a tea party.  "As with all Susie Tallman’s music CDs, Come On, Let’s Go! offers fresh, upbeat styles, real instruments, lots of voices, and interesting, inspired visual takes on old favorites," Amy Steadman, President of Rock Me Baby Records, told TDmonthly. Launch date: June 2011.
Awards: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award; Parent’s Choice Recommended Award.

Who will be the player/team to win the most cards by guessing other players' words correctly the fastest, and with the fewest letters possible?  Players take turns making a word from the lettered cards in their hand, but they don’t show their word to any of the other players. Instead, they place each lettered card of their word face down on the table.  Then... the first letter of the word is revealed (and the timer is started) as the other players begin to shout out possible words for what the hidden word could be. A player must guess the word before the timer runs out... so if at any time two or more players agree to see another letter, another card is turned over and players continue to try and guess the word. The player who first guesses the hidden word correctly wins the number of cards that are still left face down... or ALL of the cards if the word is discovered with only one letter revealed. Launch date: June 2012.

The more brain cells you have, the smarter you are.

In the game Fauna, players are not expected to know all the answers, simply gather their wits and make an educated guess. Right on target? Great! Close? That's good too, since players can score partial points. The more they play, the better they get.  Playing Fauna involves some fun betting for points. Contents: 1 double-sided game board (metric & imperial units); 180 animal cards with 360 animals; 1 card box; 42 bet markers, divided in 6 colors; 30 black evaluation markers; 1 lion marker (for the starting player). Launch date: July 2011.
Awards: 2009 Spiel des Jahres Nominee Germany

Part of the four games of the Architecto line, use these 18 orange blocks to build and replicate different models in order to enhance spatial visualisation skills. Children will be captivated by the amazing structures they create, whether in perspective or a towering high rise. The Geoblocks are sold separately so users can transform Architecto, Equilibrio, Tangramino or Cliko into a two-player game. One set of Geoblocks is already included in the four Architecto line games. Launch date: 2005.

Two spider clans are fighting each other in an epic duel. Spiders in bigger groups will defeat the weakest in the intersections of the web. A thrilling and challenging strategy game, where players attack and capture their opponent's spiders. Contents: 18 spiders (9 white and 9 red); 1 board; 1 bag; Game rules. Launch date: 2010.

Players place their cards so that the patterns match, aiming to create point-scoring sets. Smartrix can be appreciated on several levels; for beginners, it is a smart and fun matching game. As players' skills improve, Smartrix provides deep and captivating strategy, combining memory, risk-taking, tactics and a touch of luck.  Contents: 70 cards; Game rules. Launch date: June 2010.
Awards: 2010 6/6 Consumer Guide Canada

Cheery is a frog. He’s a Chiricahua Leopard Frog, to be more precise. Okay, he’s not a frog yet. At the beginning of the story, he’s still a tadpole. Young readers will learn how a tadpole turns into a frog and why some frogs—like Cheery—are dramatically declining in numbers around the world. Author Dr. Elizabeth W. Davidson is a research scientist at Arizona State University where she is working to save these amazing amphibians. Cheery: The true adventures of a Chiricahua Leopard Frog puts the problem in terms that young readers can grasp. The book contains valuable lesson guides for parents and teachers.

This innovative spin on the classic story of "Jack and the Beanstalk" helps build reading confidence and fluency. With Jack, Jack's mother, the giant and the giant's wife, kids can experience the excitement of reading and acting at the same time. The kit includes four masks so kids can put on a real performance.
Awards: Father's Day 2011 Mr. Dad and Great Dad Seals of Approval.

This is a set of 27 interlocking Cubes arranged in a 3x3x3 cube shape.  The puzzle challenges the player to transform the arrangement of the 27 cubes from one shape to any other shape, without disengaging any of the Cubes from each other. Cubes must be shifted by sliding along their faces.  The Cubes can shift in all three dimensions: X, Y and Z, but each face slides in only one direction. There are many solutions because there are millions of shapes you can tranform from and to.  The ultimate goal is to be able to logically understand how to shift from one shape to another in the fewest number of moves.  Other games can be invented by disengaging the Cubes and re-engaging them with the colors "flipped" on one or some of the Cubes, creating a "marked" Cube. The challenge is then to shift the "marked" Cube or Cubes into a specific position in the arrangement
Awards: TDmonthly Top Toy Award, June 2011
— Why it won: This cube puzzle challenges kids to use their spacial-temporal reasoning and logic skills. It's innovative design allows for more open-ended play than similar products, and it is portable for fun on-the-go.

BrushyBall is an interactive toothbrush holder and  timer.  A sink top 'follow-the-leader' toothbrushing game, BrushyBall, guides children through brushing their own teeth for two minutes.  BrushyBall coaches young brushers with an adorable voice and pearly white teeth which light up in six sequential sections.  BrushyBall was specifically designed to motivate young brushers, captivate short attention spans and teach complete brushing of all teeth. BrushyBall also holds up to four toothbrushes for open air drying and offers 900+ brushing sessions on two AA batteries (included). Launch date: Fall 2011.

Ten sturdy earth-friendly boxes to stack, build and nest with early-learning concepts on each side. Learning letters, numbers, shapes, colors and baby animals has never been so fun and easy. It's a "Classic development toy made entirely from earth-friendly recycled materials," Rich Hill, director of marketing at innovativekids, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2011.

Kids will amaze their audience by rehearsing and performing 25 awesome chemistry experiments in their own science show. Whether they’re moving particles with their magic wand, creating self-destructing bottles, sparking fireworks from an orange, or watching mystical black snakes grow from a pile of power, this kit is sure to educate and entertain friends and family of all ages. Includes lab equipment, materials, chemicals, cue cards with stage directions, and a 64-page, full-color, comic-book style manual. The kit "Provides young scientists with the tools and instruction to create their own science show instead of watching one," Kim Hammann, sales & marketing manager at Thames & Kosmos, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2011.
— In a November 2011 survey about hobby toys, Mary Porter-Green, owner of The Curiosity Zone in Ashburn, Va., told TDmonthly, "We sell lots of science kits — the best selling ones are chemistry sets from Thames & Kosmos."

Produced since 1917, the gyroscope has been a classic educational toy for generations that continues to fascinate young and old alike with its mysterious force that seems to defy gravity. Gyroscope technology is used in numerous applications such as guidance and navigation systems in ships, planes and spacecraft. Instructions with several amazing enjoyable tricks available with each gyroscope. YouTube video link available to assist with selling. Manufactured in Indiana (USA Made). "Still a popular selling product after many years in the market. Our #1 selling toy out of over 450 products offered," Bob Sherman, sales associate at TEDCO Toys, told TDmonthly.
Awards: 2010 Seal of Approval from Homeschool.com; Dr Toy's Classic Toy Award

Earth-friendly wood rainbow fairies puzzle that exercises skills that prepare children for reading, math, problem solving and more. The 12-piece puzzle is made of wood from sustainable forests, and comes in a handy carrying case so kids can easily keep track of all the parts. Launch date: July 2011.

Pedestal Pets are sold as "Pencil Toppers".  Each series includes 4 animal pencil toppers, 4 coordinating pencils and 4 fun fact trading cards. "The similar items on the market are sold as squishie toys and are not made specifically to be a pencil topper, although they sometimes market them that way. Similar products on the market either tear, or won't stay on the pencil at all," Lisa Jo Scherfel, owner of Inspired Design LLC, told TDmonthly.

The cooperative board games collection includes Count Your Chickens, Hoot Owl Hoot, Lost Puppies, Mermaid Island, and Stone Soup. Ideal for children two years of age and up, the games focus on socialization skills in a cooperative, group play setting. "Unlike traditional games where there is one winner and one (or many) losers, with cooperative games the players work together against a common obstacle in the game, not against each other. If the game is lost, the defeat is shared equally among the players. And, if the game is won, everyone is a winner," Donna Modrell, marketing & operations manager at Peaceable Kingdom Press, told TDmonthly. Launch date: January 2011.
Awards: Hoot Owl Hoot! - 2011 Dr. Toy Best Green Product

Kids construct circuits with colorful electric building blocks to learn about electricity and how electronic devices work. The innovative snap-together blocks in the ElectronX building system make learning electronics fun and accessible. Use the blocks’ bright colors and unique shapes, and easy-to-follow assembly diagrams to construct a variety of functional circuits. Includes Over 70 different experiments and building projects, plus capacitors, resistors, LEDs, phototransistor, cable blocks, battery holder, speaker, sound-integrated circuit, 30 contact blocks, and a 64-page, full color manual. Launch date: June 2011.

Soft foam books with bold photographs of sweet and funny kittens that pop off each page and stick to sides of the tub. Launch date: August 2011.

Kids can put on a play with this fun, two sided foam stage set that floats in water or stands up on a table. Kids can use puppets, dolls, stuffed animals, or their own hands to create performances and indulge in creative play. It's "Portable Puppet Play Anywhere, Anytime," Rich Hill, director of marketing at innovativekids, told TDmonthly. Launch date: August 2011.

Recall is an educational memory game. People will be surprised on how much they will remember when playing this game. RECALL teaches people how to retain information for a period of time instead of just short term. This product is good for kids, teens, adults and seniors. Recall will remove the intimidating factor in terms of memory. "There are some memory games out there where you practice memory but you don't really learn from it. RECALL is an educational game where your ability to recall will be taken to another level. Good practice for one player, great for cooperative play," Derek Chinn, owner of LMD Enterprises, told TDmonthly. Launch date: October 2011.