August 2011 Notable Toys — All

Jemima Puddle-duck and Mr. Tod take a stroll down a country road, while rabbits and other wildlife busily move about, in this 36-piece floor puzzle featuring Beatrix Potter's timeless art.  Made in the USA from extra-thick puzzle board and wrapped on both front and back for extra durability. Launch date: March 2011.

36 piece Floor Puzzle featuring an image of a birthday party for the lovable Paddington Bear.  Made in the USA from extra thick puzzle board and litho-wrapped on both the front and back for outstanding durability.  Celebrate a child's birthday along with Paddington. It has "Sturdier and thicker pieces than most floor puzzles," Adam Silver, VP sales at New York Puzzle Company, told TDmonthly. Launch date: March 2011.

Each ZooLEY teether is made with 100% certified organic cotton terrycloth as well as untreated, naturally antibacterial Maple wood, two items which are safe and soothing for children to gnaw on as they cope with the soreness of teething. Launch date: September 2011.

Recess Music, a company that strives to awaken kids to the magnificence of our planet through albums of earth-friendly music, announces the release of Wild Child, the fourth in its award-winning “Celebrate Earth” series of CDs.  Singing the praises of African fauna, the 14 tracks of Wild Child showcase a variety of musical contributions by a sampling of today’s most gifted kids’ musicians, including Jack Grunsky, Anna Moo, and Danny Adlerman. "Sales of Wild Child will benefit Roots and Shoots, the children's division of the Jane Goodall Institute," Elizabeth Waldman Frazier, publicist at Waldmania PR, told TDmonthly. Launch date: August 2011.

15 fairy tales burst to life as joyful songs and colorful videos in this rocking new Parents' Choice Award Winning CD/DVD, Happily Ever Moey! A Fairy Tale Lark in Central Park. 65 children join Moey, New York City's "Pied Piper in Pink" to turn classic tales into songs and videos with new kid-power endings. "Little Red Riding Hood" rescues herself from the Big Bad Wolf. Snow White and Sleeping Beauty wake themselves up with their own magical kiss. Goldilocks is a parable to protect the environment. The true princess in Princess and The Pea gives her mattresses to the homeless and sleeps on a king-size futon! Entertaining, engaging, inspiring, and empowering, this award-winning DVD gets children and grown ups dancing to the beat.
Awards: 2011 Parents' Choice "Fun Stuff" Award

The STUFITs, are funny, quirky & versatile toys for kids 3+.  These plush toys feature a zip open mouth that can hold a multitude of treasures, and the attachable strap means they can easily be carried on any adventure.  The Stufit is also an ideal PJ Keeper, Day care buddy, or Travel companion. Launch date: October 2010.

Collection of modern designed, high-quality home and nursery decor. Launch date: March 2010.

Parents' Choice® Award winning musician/composer Ted Jacobs is dedicated to presenting exquisite acoustic musical settings of the world’s most beloved poetry. His third studio CD, Back to the Garden,is a collection of songs based on poems from Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses.  More than ten years in the making, this album is a companion to Jacobs’ award-winning recording, A Child’s Garden of Songs. "Back to the Garden affords a perfect antidote to urgent schedules and electronic fascination, providing time and space for children to reflect, dream, and imagine while they nurture their creativity with music that’s an ideal match for Stevenson’s poems," Elizabeth Waldman Frazier, publicist at Waldmania PR, told TDmonthly. Launch date: September 2012.

Includes one 16" green Beanpod, and two Beandolls. The Beandolls are soft and cuddly. The Beanpod can be hung from a loop on its end. Each Beandoll represents a different cultural theme and has a special symbol on it (the meaning of which is explained on its tag).

What’s a pouf? It’s a round, cuddly, over-stuffed plush. It can be used it as a pillow, for home decor or as a huggable friend for little ones. Comes in 3 sizes: 12 inch - $14.95, 10 inch - $10.95 and 7 inch - $8.95. Each size sold separately. Launch date: June 2011.

What’s a pouf? It’s a round, cuddly, over-stuffed plush. It can be used it as a pillow, for home decor or as a huggable friend for little ones. Comes in 3 sizes: 12 inch - $14.95, 10 inch - $10.95 and 7 inch - $8.95. Each size sold separately. Launch date: June 2011.

When he was 14 years old, Peter Parker was bitten by a spider that had been irradiated in a nuclear experiment. Something in the spider's venom changed him, over night, from the nerdy kid he'd been to something else entirely. Given incredible strength, speed and stamina, he reveled in his power. The tragic death of his uncle threw Peter's good fortune into fierce perspective, giving him direction. From that day on, he vowed to battle evil wherever he could find it as The Amazing Spider-Man. Detailed with defined "muscles", pose this Spider-Man action figure in a battle-ready pose with his "spinning" web accessory aimed at the enemy! Fully articulated, he's ready to make a stand in your collection. Action figure comes with a "spinning" web accessory and a S.H.I.E.L.D. file with a secret code.
— Mike DiAndrea, manager of Hardware Toys in Paoli, Pa., told TDmonthly in a Summer 2011 survey that he sells 6 Spider-Man action figures from Hasbro each month, and that they're his best-selling action figure.
— In a Summer 2012 survey Elmer Carranza, manager of Doodlehopper 4 Kids in Springfield, Va., told TDmonthly that they sell a dozen Spider-Man figures each month.

Draw Star Wars: The Clone Wars is packed with tips and techniques, practice space to draw right in the book, and translucent overlays to make kids a master of drawing. Start with stick figures, move onto basic shapes, and finish up with the details. Learn to draw 20 different Clone Wars characters. The book comes with everything needed, including a black marker, double-tipped metallic — colored pencils, and an always-sharp mechanical pencil. Of course, we also include perhaps the most essential tool for any artist… an eraser.
— Mary Porter Green, owner of The Curiosity Zone in Ashburn, Va., told TDmonthly in a Summer 2011 survey that she sells "Klutz books of all sorts —  dozens —  especially Star Wars," each week.

The Blast is made specifically for pool play with its engineered design to be more controllable and not bounce as high as the Extreme and Pro. Since it's lightweight, softer, and easier to catch, it is suitable for the whole family.
— Dean Smith, Co-owner of JaZams in Princeton, N.J., told TDmonthly in a Summer 2011 survey that he sells "about a gross" (144) of Waboba skip balls each month, but it's usually a summer item.
— Michelle Deutschmann, owner of Kaleidoscope Toys in Falmouth, Mass., told TDmonthly in an August 2014 survey that Waboba is their best-selling toy. They sell over 100 each month between two styles of the ball.

This DVD features twelve engaging, animated stories that will help children develop skills in a second language. While watching, children can switch between languages (Mandarin Chinese and English) at any time, and can also refer to the included bilingual booklet. By doing so, they will learn a large number of useful words and sentences. For kids 2-10 years old.

Individual Beandolls are available in 7 colors. They are also sold in sets of 2, 3, or 4 Beandolls in a plush green pod. Each doll has its own name and elemental symbol. These multicultural, cute friends work together to save Mother Earth from pollution.

What’s a pouf? It’s a round, cuddly, over-stuffed plush. It can be used it as a pillow, for home decor or as a huggable friend for little ones. Comes in 3 sizes: 12 inch - $14.95, 10 inch - $10.95 and 7 inch - $8.95. Each size sold separately. Launch date: June 2011.

What’s a pouf? It’s a round, cuddly, over-stuffed plush. It can be used it as a pillow, for home decor or as a huggable friend for little ones. Comes in 3 sizes: 12 inch - $14.95, 10 inch - $10.95 and 7 inch - $8.95. Each size sold separately. Launch date: June 2011.

Players are battling to build the biggest, baddest rockets possible and send them soaring into space. Each rocket requires metal, fuel, and the expertise needed for liftoff. As players build their rockets, they must beware of their opponents, who are eager to steal their goods and sabotage their work— players may even have some tricks of their own to thwart their opponents' progress. All the while, the launch pad is being constructed—as soon as it’s ready, the rockets that are “go” for launch will blast off into space, leaving all others behind. For 2-4 players; game time is 30-60 minutes.

Gold Mine is a unique tile-laying game in which players build a maze of mine tunnels and control miners that traverse the mine collecting gold nuggets. Players race to be the first to collect enough gold to exit the mine and stake a claim. It may sound easy, but the greedy miners have several tricks up their sleeves in order to gain an advantage—including sneaking through secret passages, fighting for gold, and scaring away other miners with bats. With a different game board every time, a great balance of luck and strategy, and the addition of optional rules, this game doesn't get old. For 2-6 players; game time is 30-60 minutes.

The volcano on the players' island has sprung back to life, unleashing rivers of molten lava in every direction. Players direct lava from the volcano at the center of the island toward the surrounding villages. If lava enters a village, it will heat up and eventually burn. Occasionally, lava will spring up from anywhere on the island and cause even more devastation! To hold back the lava, players can build walls of various materials or play cards to rotate, replace, and remove lava tiles as well as cool down and fortify their own villages.  After the volcano has finished erupting, the player whose village is at the lowest temperature wins. For 2-6 players; game time is 30-60 minutes. Launch date: October 2011.

Sometimes baby needs a little help falling asleep. With a gentle squeeze, the cuddly Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Soothe & Glow Seahorse glows and plays soft music, lullabies and soothing sounds of the ocean. After 5 minutes the music fades, the lights dim and baby drifts off to sleep. There are 8 lullabies to please baby and power/volume control for quiet play.
— As of 08/08/2011 this product had 4.8 out of 5 stars from 331 reviews on ToysRUs.com. Pros: Comforting; the soft glow helps babies who don't like being in the complete dark. Cons: Velcro closure doesn't stick after a bit of use; the music can be too loud for some babies.
— As of 8/22/2011 this product had 4.8 out of 5 stars from 96 reviews on Amazon.com.

The Laugh & Learn Learning Home Playset from Fisher-Price is a place that's full of fun ways for baby to learn, from A-B-C's and 1-2-3's to fascinating everyday experiences, with musical inspiration, sing-along songs, and plenty of discoveries. Both sides are loaded with activities, music, speech, and sounds. The playset combines early academics and everyday experiences.Teaches: Letters, Numbers, Counting, Shapes, Opposites, Colors, Greetings & more.
— As of 08/08/2011 this product had 4.8 out of 5 stars from 710 reviews on ToysRUs.com. Pros: Actually interests children for the whole age range; easy to assemble; helps kids learn how to stand. Cons: Expensive.

DINGaRINGs are a 3-in-1 RATTLE, SOFT TOY & TEETHING RING all rolled into one cheeky Australian character. Emma Owl is a truck driver who loves Country music & Surfing, but hates VPL & Speed cameras. Keith Koala works as a DJ, loves schmoozing & silk PJs, but is sick of trying to get the glitter out of his fur in the morning!   DINGaRINGs are safe, non-toxic, and highly interactive. Open up your babie’s senses with the perfect gift for ages 0 & up. Conceived & created in Byron Bay Australia.  Made with a social and ethical conscience in Indonesia.
Awards: Top 10 infant toy of 2010 from Babyology, Top 10 new products from Life Instyle trade show 2009 from KidsStyleFile