November 2010 Notable Toys — All

Travel Buddies™ neck pillows are designed to comfortably support sleepy heads on planes, trains, and automobiles.

Each Shoulder Buddies "Smarts" character teaches kids a special life lesson, from friendship to fire safety. The magnetic feature lets kids wear Shoulder Buddies on their shirt, hat, hair and more. Kids can take Shoulder Buddies and their "Smarts" with them wherever they go.  This collection includes 8 buddies, including Biffle, Breezee, Peace, Eco, Blaze, Pirate and Princess.

With Terra Kids from Haba, children are perfectly equipped for adventurous rambling nature tours. Terra Kids are bubbling over with ideas and love to get to the bottom of things and conduct their own experiments. Knack of Knots - the knots contained in this kit can be a little tricky! The box contains everything little fidgets need to understand complicated knots or to be able to tie them perfectly. Includes information cards, screw links, rope and instruction booklet. Stores in a screw topped box with aluminium snap link.

This DVD collection includes 17 discs.  Some of the stories included are Goodnight Moon, Corduroy, Good Night Gorilla, The Wheels on the Bus, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly,  Is Your Mama a Llama?, Giggle Giggle Quack, The Hans Christian Andersen Collection, The James Marshall Fairytale Collection, He's Got the Whole World in His Hands and others.  Run time:  1152 mins.

18 not-so-scary stories in a 3 DVD collection. From the kid-friendly Halloween stories A Very Brave Witch and By the Light of the Halloween Moon, to family favorites The Teacher From the Black Lagoon and Where the Wild Things Are, kids and parents delight watching their favorite books spring to life on DVD.  DVD Features: Getting to Know Maurice Sendak Spanish Version of Where the Wild Things Are; French Version of Where the Wild Things Are Interview with Author Mike Thaler; Interview with Illustrator Jared Lee; Read-Along; Talk About the Stories.  Run time: 175 mins.

Corner to Corner is a set of beautifully colored tiles with varied building possibilities. The set includes several designs, such as a sailboat and a house, for children to recreate. Though the set includes a small number of blocks for its price, it is high quality and can be used to create complicated three-dimension cubes and pyramids. The tiles can be arranged in a flat pattern or upright, thus generating new results each time.
Awards: Parents’ Choice Approved Award, Fall 2010 Games.

The Giant Puzzle Pony Stud is a puzzle made of sturdy cardboard. Once the puzzle is built, children can use it as a scene for the two horse figures and one girl figure included with the set. It also comes with a "Look Closely" story that has the child look for certain items in the scene.
Awards: Parents’ Choice Silver Honor, Fall 2010 Puzzles.

Lift your child’s creativity to new heights with Color Blanks. Color Blanks allow your child to engage in creative fun by designing their own plastic haracters using stickers, mini markers and more. Using a blank canvas, you child can create their
character, play with it or display. This activity set features one or two collectable, poseable, plastic figures, various colorful stickers and mini markers.

Based on the movie Thomas & Friends: Misty Island Rescue, Thomas and James must travel through the mysterious mountains of Misty Island. Build and rebuild to new heights as Thomas and James race on unfamiliar tracks from sea level to high up in the mountains.  Take Thomas and James through eerie tunnels to get to their destination. This set includes fun accessories such as a lake break-through barricades and rock slides.

This multi-dimensional playset allows little pirates to sail about the Seven Seas with a pull-along pirate ship that plays a magical buccaneer tune. It also transforms into a secret pirate hideout when the crew needs shore leave and to hide treasure from other brigands. The secret quick-release trap door keeps the treasure safe from thieves; as they step on the floorboard, it quickly releases and sends the brigands tumbling down to a holding cell. With all of the accessories a little buccaneer could ever ask for: a catchy tune, a crew, a real working cannon, a friendly shark and a treasure chest, the Pull-Along Musical Pirate Ship offers many options for hours of adventure and fun for your little captain.

The classic Warrior versus Dragon style of play has grown up and moved ahead into a world filled with new technology and weapons. Two ultimate Predavor Dragons, Bloodclaw and Deadeye, go face-to-face against the super heavy-weight Alliance Warbyrd, equipped with multiple missile launchers, dual built-in flight controllers and landing gear, and light and sound effects. The Ultimate Action Dragon Destroyer buildable set includes one Alliance General and two Troopers with shields and weapons, as well as two exclusive Dragons with buildable, removable weapons and Power Core in chest.

So what’s the appeal of football? And how does the sport work? All the answers can be found in How Football Works. It's an examination of the players, the plays, the legends, and the science behind this powerful sport.  From the way the body initiates a tackle to a behind-the-scenes look at how an NFL team prepares for its weekly game, How Football Works presents the facts, drama, and one-of-a-kind anecdotes that make football such a popular sport.  Paperback: 64 pages.

This toy gives kids the opportunity to stimulate their imagination and learning skills while encouraging discovery, fine motor skills and open-ended play.  The practical storage bag keeps all of the pieces securely in one place and comes with a hand-strap to make carrying the blocks a snap.  6.8 x 12 x 13.8 inches ; 3.6 pounds.
— As of 06/06/2011 this product had 4.7 out of 5 stars from 73 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Easy for kids to take apart; durable; easier for toddlers to use than LEGOs and other small building blocks; encourages creativity. Cons: Don't stick together as well as LEGOs; children can put the storage bag over their head and suffocate.

With the help of her animated and real friends, Meredith LeVande sings 15 catchy children’s songs about everyday concepts to which young children can relate. Each is brought to life on video. No two segments are exactly alike; there is a lot of variety of video technique and each segment is uniquely choreographed.

In this second book of the Stone of Tymora trilogy, R.A. Salvatore and his son Geno continue their gripping tale of coming-of-age in a world filled with magic, featuring a cameo of R.A. Salvatore's signature character Drizzt Do'Urden.

Here is the fast-paced conclusion to the Stone of Tymora fantasy trilogy for young adults, by R.A. Salvatore and his son, Geno Salvatore.  The Sentinels includes a cameo appearance by Drizzt Do'Urden, the Dark Elf who has been featured in seventeen of Salvatore's books and is the most popular Dungeons and Dragons character.

This book is written in the style of a travel journal and offers a different slant on Monet’s life and art. It is filled with unusual stories and facts students might not know. A visually stimulating book with 35 engaging activities for students. 32 pages,
hardcover.

Here is a 5-dish set engraved with a classic elephants New Yorker cartoon.  Each set comes in the New Yorker baby collection window gift box that can sit on a shelf or hang on the wall.  Packaging includes care instructions in English and French.

Here is a 5-dish set engraved with a classic "She's Got Food Issues" New Yorker cartoon.  Each set comes in the New Yorker baby collection window gift box that can sit on a shelf or hang on the wall.  Packaging includes care instructions in English and French.

Six white and black bean filled hamsters (4.5") make up the assortment. Each hamster holds an oversized red heart embroidered with either "XO," "Love," "Hugs," "Kiss Me," "I (heart) U" or "Love Me."

The OrganWise Guys provide a comprehensive program to teach kids about nutrition and promote a healthy lifestyle. By making friends with the OrganWise Guys, kids learn all about healthy habits for life. The Back to School Kit includes: School Days Here We Come Book, Keeping the Beat Music CD, Monthly Healthy Behavior Tracking Calendar, Breakfast Skippin' Blues DVD and Sir Rebrum Plush Toy.
— Katleen from Life With 4 Boys reports that the kit “has gone a long way towards helping all four of my boys the different things they need to do each day to stay healthy and grow up strong.” Katleen added: “My youngest is in love with the music CD and his favorite is the ‘That's How You Exercise’ song. I still catch my oldest reading the book to the younger ones every so often.”
— “My girls really rocked along with the CD included in this kit and as a parent I liked the healthy behavior tracking calendar,” explained Chris, Dad of Divas. Overall, he liked that “The kit was a great combination of many forms of reinforcement to consider living healthy as well as making good choices.”

Bobbie Hinman continues her fairy series with this tale explaining what happens to missing socks. With illustrations by Kristi Bridgeman, The Sock Fairy book and accompanying CD tell how the Sock Fairy spirits away lost or mismatched socks.
— A Whole New Me’s Marta called the book “a delight from beginning to end. The rhyming sing-song story and the magical illustrations make this fun for parent and child alike.”
— Bianca Schulze from The Children’s Book Review applauded the rhythm of the book and CD for being “easy and flowing for young listeners and beginner readers alike.” She concluded that “This is a suitable book for both boys and girls and for anyone who appreciates rhyme or just likes to have a giggle.”

Standing tall at 16.3”, this cool piece of retro decor emits colored mood lighting that shifts with the mesmerizing motion of the 'lava' inside. The heat of the bulb in the base of the lamp warms the secret goo formula, causing it to convect in unpredictable globs and bubbles.
— “Lava Lamps are the most popular, I have some from Schylling,” said Fred Rosenberg, owner of On The Park in Kingwood, Texas, of his best-selling tween items. “I sell as many as I can get.”

A winning design from High Intencity's Design-A-Charm contest, the Peace Love and Happiness charm was designed by Emily R. from Pleasantville, NY and rendered in vibrant detail in an enamel charm measuring approximately one inch.10 % of the proceeds from the sale of this charm will go to the World Wildlife Fund on behalf of its designer.
— “Charm It! works really well in this area,” said Blanche Snipes, owner of Tree Top Toys in Redmond, Wash., when asked about her top-selling items for tweens.
— Two of 44 retailers listed Charm It! as a best-selling item for tweens during a September 2010 survey.
— Katie Rook, manager of Be Beep A Toy Shop in Columbia, S.C., told TDmonthly in an October 2011 survey that High Intencity charm bracelets are their best selling tween item.
— Dean Smith, owner of JaZams in Princeton, N.J., told TDmonthly in a Summer 2012 survey that they sell between 40 and 50 Charm It! charms each month.