August 2010 Notable Toys — Books

ABC’s Around the World was developed to be used as the foundation for a child becoming multilingual. The interactive wheel enhances the learning experience. Children, especially pre-literate children, both hear the word and “read” the “picture” at the same time.

Each box set includes a huggable, earth-friendly organic cotton animal stuffed with recycled soda bottles, along with a storybook featuring the 3" plush character. These sets are available in Little Polar Bear, Little Gorilla and Little Elephant versions.

The gentle concepts of this book aim to inspire children to love the natural world. Animals Everywhere is designed to teach children about animal habitats from snowy mountains to dusty deserts.

The gentle concepts of this book aim to inspire children to love the natural world. Little Helpers shows kids that small actions taken each day can make a big difference in helping the Earth.
Awards:  2010 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal.

Ten chunky books can be stacked or stored to turn even a few minutes into a learning lesson. Concepts include colors, shapes, rhymes, opposites and more. The book tower is available in Little Animal or Little Learning versions.

This book comes with three ready-to-design tiaras, and a stencil for making countless more, along with a treasure trove of sparkly pieces for decorating them. The kit comes with 21 jewels, 100 sequins in various shapes and sizes, 16 pompoms, 36 gel stickers, stencils and a glue stick.

This book comes with two tear-resistant paper puppies — a Chihuahua and a Yorkshire terrier. Their punch-out wardrobes include winter and summer outfits, rain gear and even a bikini. Unlike regular paper-doll duds, these clothes stay securely in place and look just as stylish from the back as they do from the front. Also included are accessories like food bowls, bones, a fluffy purple tutu and a convertible doggie carrier.

The Superhero Starter kit holds all the basics needed to launch little heroes. Provided are a red cape, masks, wrist shields and three pages of snazzy stickers so kids can accessorize their newly super selves.

This book is a celebration of the information that has been overlooked by the typical textbook. A creative map for each state makes flipping through the pages like taking a virtual road trip. Also included are goofy games, quizzes, puzzles and other diversions.

This prompted journal is filled with doodly artwork growing out of the corners and creeping up the edges of the pages like a wild vine of inspiration. There are also tons of activities, including “doodle-starters” — faintly printed guidelines of shapes and patterns. Clever journal prompts and drawing ideas mean there is never a struggle thinking of what to doodle. A custom-designed gel pen is included.

Kids can find out what the future holds with these fortune tellers. The book includes 24 fortune tellers and eight sticker sheets, and features a colorful lenticular flip cover. "Not only are our activity books fun and hip, they are produced with the lenticular technology. The front covers flip from one colorful image to another," Iscream Prepress Manager Leslie Montalbano told TDmonthly.

This 96-page activity book lets kids create lists that are all about them. "Not only are our activity books fun and hip, they are produced with the lenticular technology. Our covers flip from one colorful image to another," Leslie Montalbano, Iscream prepress manager, told TDmonthly.

Life goes from Hollywood to Michigan to Mars when Lisa and her family take in her grandmother who has dementia. The Weavers quickly discover the “comicals” of Nora Jo bring a whole new realm of “crazy” to their copasetic abode. And the question becomes, how high a price can they pay for this traumatic change? "As Nora Jo Fades Away is a great read with an even grander cause: to create action and awareness," Lisa Goldman, Five Star Publications office coordinator, told TDmonthly.
Awards: 2010 Paris Book Festival Romance Award First Place

Life is never boring back at the pond once Iggy, Radic, Cabby and Roc get together. Readers can join them for a humorous yet serious look at nature. "'Green Pieces: Green From the Pond Up' is a delightful read for any age group. Grown-ups will be reminded of what they were told by their parents — to respect nature — and young readers will learn, through the eyes of the four main characters, why it’s important to respect nature," Lisa Goldman, Five Star Publications office coordinator, told TDmonthly. 

THIS PRODUCT IS NO LONGER PUBLISHED BY FIVE STAR PUBLICATIONS as of 8/18/2010.

The Klutz Glossy Bands book kit lets kids make their very own durable rubbery jewelry. The kit includes four tubes of non-toxic, acrylic gel. Kids can follow the instructions to squeeze and swirl the gel into beautiful patterns that turn into one-of-a-kind bracelets.
— Deal Seeking Mom Tara Kuczykowski declared, “If your child is into the Silly Bandz craze, he or she is sure to love making Glossy Bands!”
— Jennifer of 5 Minutes for Mom reported that her 11-year-old daughter “loved this kit, and it’s something she could do on her own, without help or hovering from me.” Jennifer liked that the Klutz Glossy Bands book “provided enough instruction to get her started, and enough leeway for her creativity to grow and her to try new things on her own.”
— Jo-Lynne of Musings of a Housewife gave the book to her daughter, who spent several days making bracelets. Her daughter’s love for the kit led Jo-Lynne to call the Glossy Bands Book “the perfect birthday gift for your craft-obsessed little girl.”

Straw, sticks and bricks are just the beginning in Steven Guarnaccia’s imaginative reinterpretation of the fairy tale classic. “The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale” transforms the pigs into representations of architects Phillip Johnson, Frank Gehry and Frank Lloyd Wright, complete with iconic houses that mirror those designed by the famous architects. The architecture may be different, but the wolf still huffs and puffs in this delightful adventure in modern design.
— The Kansas City Star’s Stacy Downs calls the tale “a squealing lesson in architecture.” The architectural twist made the book fascinating for Stacy, too, as she read it to her toddler sons.
— John Hill of A Weekly Dose of Architecture enjoyed the “landscape of modernism within the familiar story.” He also praised the learning potential of the story, explaining, “As the parent of a two-year-old girl I can see the myriad educational opportunities, from matching images to word association and even creating stories within the story.”

Full-color photos combine with clearly labeled instructions, trivia and a compelling story to make this 48-page Brickmaster kit ideal for LEGO fans. Young builders can build fantastic models of undersea craft from LEGO's Atlantis line or come up with distinctive Atlantis creations of their own. LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Brick configuration and the Minifigure are trademarks of the LEGO Group.

Based on the Gospel of Luke, this story brings the dramatic events of Jesus's birth to life. "With beautiful illustrations, this timeless story is told in a way that will easily introduce children to God's grace for a fallen world," Rosemary Parkinson, Corporate Communications, Concordia Publishing House, told TDmonthly.

The Hear Me Read Bible is designed to help children learn to read and learn about Jesus. This level one series is comprised of 18 complete stories that contain 25 words or less. "Each story uses colorful illustrations, limited words and repetition to help children develop reading vocabulary and skills," Rosemary Parkinson of Concordia Publishing House Corporate Communications told TDmonthly.

Told from the viewpoint of a young boy whose grandpa keeps bees, The Beeman explains how bees live and how they make honey. The book includes notes on bees and a recipe for muffins. "The informative facts and delicious recipe that comes after the Beeman's story really highlights the narration and encourages kids to get involved and try new things," Leah Lesser, Group Communications Director, Barefoot Books, told TDmonthly.

This jolly band of bugs jumps and jives to a creepy crawly calypso beat. From spiders to fireflies, butterflies to centipedes, Debbie Harter’s humorous illustrations match the Caribbean spirit of this jaunty rhyming text that introduces children to cardinal and ordinal numbers, and takes them straight into the marvelous world of bugs. "The bright and quirky illustrations, coupled with the sing-along CD, are sure to help youngsters get over their fear of creepy crawlies," Barefoot Books Group Communications Director Leah Lesser told TDmonthly.

When the day has ended and everyone else has fallen asleep, a young boy embarks on a magical adventure with his friend the Moon. Their unusual journey is described in lyrical verse, creating a enchanting story that celebrates the serene beauty of the world at night. "The lyrical text and poetic voice adds a soothing factor to this imaginative tale," Barefoot Books Group Communications Director Leah Lesser told TDmonthly.
— The Reading Tub praised the book for its “nice combination of reality reading (seeing one's glow in the water) and fantasy (the boy and moon sharing a night-time flight) that will appeal to all readers.” The reviewer added that “the notes at the back will be wonderful for expanding the book beyond the poetry when our toddler gets a little bit older.”
— Sheela from The Joy of My Life noted that the “delightful and dreamy” illustration “evokes a magical night world in this book, and, accompanied by rhythmic verse has become a bedtime must-read over the last few weeks in our house.” Sheela liked that the book contains factual scientific information while “still preserving the imaginative and magical world personifying the moon through the motley illustrations that project the ethereal story.”

In this novelty peek-a-boo book, children are invited to look through the holes on every other page to answer the repeating refrain, "Who’s coming to see how my garden grows?" The energetic, rhyming text introduces all sorts of creatures that are busy foraging and frolicking in the garden.

Even though it doesn’t have a door, Chicken, Pig and Cow love everything about the home that Girl made for them out of Popsicle sticks. Everything but Dog, who lives outside, but whose drooling makes it feel as if it’s raining inside. When Cow is left alone one day, she ends up making friends with Dog. Best of all, Dog knocks down two Popsicle sticks creating a door, so that now their home is truly perfect.
Awards: 2010 Great Books for 2010, Canadian Toy Testing Council; 2009 Toronto Public Library First and Best List; 2009 Pennsylvania Center for the Book Best Books for Family Literacy; 2009 Ontario Library Association Best Bets List; 2009 Cdn Children’s Book Centre Best Books for Kids and Teens; 2009 Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards finalist