August 2010 Notable Toys — All

In this collectible card game, players work with powerful Pokémon to become a Pokémon trainer. Each tin expands increases game play choices, and contains one promo foil card and four booster packs.
— In July 2010, five percent of 38 surveyed retailers told TDmonthly that Pokémon cards are a top-selling collectible.

The collectible card game's 2011 Core Set is available in booster packs featuring five different cover art images. Each pack includes 15 cards.
— In a July 2010 survey, two of 38 specialty retailers told TDmonthly that Magic: The Gathering cards are a best-selling collectible item.
— In August 2010, three percent of 43 specialty retailers named Magic: The Gathering a best seller in the card game category. The game was also mentioned as a top-selling overall item.

This knight action figure wears a suit of silver armor decorated with a unicorn emblem. The set includes a horse figure with matching armor.
— Eight percent of 38 retailers told TDmonthly in July 2010 that Papo figures are a top-selling collectible.

This 24-pack includes giraffes, flamingos, elephants, hippos, kangaroos and rhinos. Silly Bandz bracelets are designed to be collected, worn and traded with friends.
— In July 2010, Richard Gibson, owner of Learning Express of Newton in Newton, Mass., told TDmonthly of rubber band bracelets, “We've always had them, (but) they just started getting hot. Kids come in with 30 or 40 on their hands, then they trade them. All of a sudden, they just kind of took off."
— In a summer 2010 survey, eight of 38 retailers named rubber band bracelets a best-selling collectible item.
— TDmonthly  first reported on kids collecting rubber band animals back in 2005.

These donut erasers have interchangeable parts that can be removed and reassembled. They come in six colors and are available in "vanilla" and "chocolate" versions.
— In summer 2010, nine of 38 specialty retailers told TDmonthly that Japanese erasers are a top-selling collectible item. Nancy Hanson of The Toy Box in Friday Harbor, Wash., cited sales of four to five Iwako erasers each day.

For 2 to 6 players, or up to 3 individual players, Sequence Numbers is similar to the original Sequence game, except the cards are a mathematical equation, whose answer is a number found on the game board. First player or team to achieve the required amount of Sequences wins the game.

Salsa comes in a fully packed set that highlights her Singing Sensation personality. The box set comes with pet Salsa, purse, blanket, guitar and sparkling dress, trading card, and an 8.5" x 11" Pet Poster. The entire packaging also doubles as a playstage to further increase the play value and collectibility of these Little Pets Living Big Lives.

Cooper comes in a fully packed set that highlights his Surfer Dude personality. The box set comes with pet Cooper, purse, blanket, surfboard and board shorts, trading card, and an 8.5" x 11" Pet Poster. The entire packaging also doubles as a playstage to further increase the play value and collectibility of these Little Pets Living Big Lives.

Karma comes in a fully packed set that highlights her Yoga Master personality. The box set comes with pet Karma, purse, blanket, yoga mat, toga top and pants, trading card, and an 8.5" x 11" Pet Poster. The entire packaging also doubles as a playstage to further increase the play value and collectibility of these Little Pets Living Big Lives.

Woofgang comes in a fully packed set that highlights his Celebrity Chef personality. The box set comes with pet Woofgang, purse, blanket, chef hat and scarf, frying pan, cleaver, trading card, and an 8.5" x 11" Pet Poster. The entire packaging also doubles as a playstage to further increase the play value and collectibility of these Little Pets Living Big Lives.

The Merbs™ Motivational Game System is an incentive-based program with a twist. This tool provides a game-based storyline that motivates kids to complete schoolwork. Students are challenged to help a populations of creatures, The Merbs™, build a civilization. They earn cash to buy game properties, creating an economy. The competition of the system encourages increased homework completion and class participation. This allows the instructor to evaluate students daily through simple game play. Parents can also use the System at home to motivate children to complete homework. For 2 or more players.

Baby will discover a whole world of wonder with Haba’s Discoverers’ Meadow Fabric Ball. A squeaking bird, rustling shamrock and other sensory delights are scattered around the colorful velour ball.
— GreatDad Tom Green liked the movable bird, snail and flower and felt that the ball was “a nice size for a baby to hold.”
— Michele Zipp of The Stir said she and her infant son love squeezing the “crinkly and ringing little critters.” Her son always “gets excited when it gets in his little hands.”

Kaloo Perfumes are specially designed to bring comforting scents to babies via carefully balanced fragrances. The perfume is all natural and alcohol-free, and comes packaged in a bottle with a plush animal head topper.
— Cheryl of Madhouse Family Reviews loved the “sweet, fruity, delicate fragrance that smells light and summery.” Additionally, Cheryl reported, “The bottle with the soft toy head on the lid is so cute that it has pride of place on the shelf.”

Light Up Marble Racers brighten the world of mini cars. Each Light Up Marble Racer contains a rolling and flashing LED marble. The exterior of the cars can be customized with the slick racing decals included with the cars.
— Bonggamom Finds declared, “Move over, Matchbox! Take a hike, Hot Wheels! There's a new kid in town.” She loved that the Racers offer girl-friendly varieties to “spark their imaginations” and are compatible with similar toy cars.
—“The Light Up Marble Racers are nothing like I have seen before” raved Shop with Me Mama Kim Delatorre. The stickers make the cars “super cool looking” and piqued the interest of both her son and daughter.
— In a summer 2011 survey, Rebecca Goblish, owner of Picayune Toys in Dunwoody, Ga., told TDmonthly that Marble Racers are her best-selling die-cast toys. She sold 3 dozen of their race tracks last Christmas season.
Awards:  2010 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Award, Gold Seal.

Lockrobots are brightly hued interlocking plastic robot-shaped blocks designed for building, stacking, balancing and creating puzzles. Made in the USA, the Lockrobot 30-Piece Medium Bucket includes six each of green, red, yellow, blue and orange Lockrobots.
— Brandi of Living Solo Gratia tried Lockrobots with her kids, who “had a ball playing with these little guys,” stacking the Lockrobots and making pyramids. However, Brandi recommended buying a larger Lockrobots set: “The 15-piece set is fun but we would have been able to be more creative with a larger set.”

S’Quarrels is a card game based around the theme of squirrels collecting acorns before winter arrives. Under a nearby oak tree, embark upon the rigorous task of collecting and storing acorns before winter sets in. Your opponents are trying to take them all before you do. Whirlwinds, Ambushing, Quarreling, and Hoarding are all part of the game. Get the coveted Golden Acorn, while avoiding the Rotten Acorn. The player to store the most Acorns before Winter arrives wins.
— "What's selling really well for me is S'Quarrels," Jude Larene, owner of Izilla Toys in Seattle, told TDmonthly in July 2010. "I'm selling piles of it and I need to order more today. It gets into a neighborhood and everybody wants it."
— S’Quarrels received a great reaction from The Board Game Family. “Bring out the S’Quarrels cards,” they explained, “and kids can automatically picture being a little squirrel running around gathering acorns.” However, the reviewers cautioned that younger players may get “more frustrated when they aren’t quick enough to slap the hoard pile when that card is played.”
— As of 10/30/2012 this product had 4.6 out of 5 stars from 7 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Easy for kids to learn, but enough strategy is involved to appeal to adults; fun for groups. Cons: Not as fun with less than three players.

Gyrowheel is a revolutionary front wheel for children’s bikes that is designed to be a better solution than traditional training wheels. It senses unbalanced biking and re-centers the bike underneath the rider’s weight at the point when tipping starts to occur. "This is the only product that teaches correct riding technique," Gyrobike CEO Daniella Reichstetter told TDmonthly.
Awards: TDmonthly Toy Fair 2010 Top 20 Products; Wired Magazine 10 Hottest New Bike Gadgets

Gyrowheel is a revolutionary front wheel for children’s bikes that is designed to be a better solution than traditional training wheels. It senses unbalanced biking and re-centers the bike underneath the rider’s weight at the point when tipping starts to occur. "This is the only product that teaches correct riding technique," Gyrobike CEO Daniella Reichstetter told TDmonthly.
Awards: TDmonthly Toy Fair 2010 Top 20 Products; Wired Magazine 10 Hottest New Bike Gadgets

These best-friend necklaces come in nine treat-themed designs, including ice cream-and-cake, coffee-and-donut and milk-and-cookie. "Best friend necklaces have always been one half heart for one friend and another half heart for the other. Now, both friends get to have two charms each so the necklaces are the same but opposite, with one large charm and one small," Violet Gumdrop's Darcee Matlen told TDmonthly.

This chart provides hands-on environmental education by introducing six key recyclable material categories and teaching how to sort 48 “recyclable” cards into the right bins. The cards are made of 65-percent recycled card stock and the chart is made from 80-percent recycled plastic. Awards: Dr. Toy Best Green Toy Award 2010

The Hydro-Dome is a hydroponic system that features a Hydro-Pump, offering true hydroponic gardening on a small scale with a flood plain and bubbler system. The Hydro-Dome includes a greenhouse with a hydroponic tray, two-part nutrients, net pots, rock-wool seeds and comprehensive instructions. Awards: Dr. Toy Best Green Toy Award 2010

The My Pop Old Fashioned Soda Shoppe is an environmentally friendly product that can make up to ten liters of soda or seltzer a week. Children can reuse glass seltzer and plastic soda bottles many times. The ingredients can be all natural because users make the soda with ingredients from their own kitchen. Awards: Dr. Toy Best Green Toy Award 2010

Bug takes children on a lively, animated, educational journey, encouraging them to try hard to work through the games and puzzles at hand. Awards: Dr. Toy Best Green Toy Award 2010

Players compete as Givers or Takers to save Paradice, a metaphor for the world, by uniting the humans to gain the power to give life back to the forests, before one human Takes too much and Paradice is lost for ever. The game includes 38 2” x 2” tiles, one die and rules. It is made in the USA from vegetable inks on recycled paper and is designed for one to two players. Awards: Dr. Toy Best Green Toy Award 2010