November 2010 Notable Toys — Electronics

Press the vdoBug buttons and follow along as Cinnamon Bear experiences springtime and April showers. Color along with the coloring page, watch video of animals in their natural habitat, work crossword puzzles and learn vocabulary words. Listen and sing along with music written by Grammy nominated Red Grammer with Latin Grammy nominee Maria del Rey. "This is the most interactive bilingual DVD available to date. With the vdoBug you can easily move between languages and the other 5 activites with the simple click of the button," Sales and Development manager Cheri Scheufler of Playentertainment LLP told TDmonthly.
Awards: 2010 Creative Child Magazine Product of the Year, Kids Products -Educational Equipment category

Press vdoBug's buttons and follow along as you meet perky and curious Pearl Squirrel. She is building her very first leaf nest. Watch video of the animals in their natural habitat, color along with the coloring page, work crossword puzzles and learn vocabulary words. Listen and sing along to music written by Grammy nominated Red Grammer with Maria del Rey. "Highly interactive, you can move from Engish to Spanish with just the click of a button and you can just as easily move to any of the other 5 activities," Sales and Development manager Cheri Scheufler of Playentertainment LLP told TDmonthly.
Awards: 2010 Creative Child Magazine Product of the Year, Kids Products - Educational Equipment category; 2009 Dr. Toy Best Vacation Product

Read anytime and anywhere with this cool new product from Mark-My-Time. It’s a bookmark with page clip, countdown and cumulative timer and bright LED book light all in one. The makers of the Mark-My-Time digital bookmark and digital metronome have created the perfect gift item for your young readers.  The Mark-My-Time digital booklight features a bright 3 LED light on an adjustable arm, a clip to attach the bookmark to the pages of your favorite book, and three cool camouflage prints in pink, blue and green; or, three animal prints in zebra, cheetah or pink leopard. All these features, plus the homework help timing functions: cumulative timer up to 100 hours, 60 second fluency timer, and countdown session timer that alarms when you are finished and even turns off the light. Take the work out of nightly reading homework logs.

With the LeapFrog Chat & Count Phone, children can sing along to songs about counting and phone routines, explore more than 15 phone activities and call on Scout for learning fun as they trade calls and voicemails. Parents can connect to the online LeapFrog Learning Path for customized learning insights and ideas to expand the learning.
  — As of 8.16.10, this product had 4 out of 5 stars from 9 reviews on ToysRUs.com and was listed No. 33 in best-selling toys and games. PROS: Interactive, educational, engaging. CONS: Some parents felt the product features too few activities.

This USB storage device honors the 30th anniversary of "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back." It is designed to resemble the film's popular Yoda character.

This USB storage device honors the 30th anniversary of "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back." It is designed to resemble the film's Wampa character.

This USB storage device honors Sanrio's 50th anniversary. It is designed to resemble the brand's popular character Tuxedo Sam.

This USB storage device honors Sanrio's 50th anniversary. It is designed to resemble the brand's popular character Chococat.

Cleverly loaded with a stealth audio device, this pen can record, save and play back "evidence." The pen includes a USB connection so kids can connect and upload files to a PC. The Spy Pen also links to SpyNetHQ.com to unlock a lie detector so "agents" can upload and analyze their evidence.

For missions requiring advanced stealth, this flexible snake-like camera attachment gets into the most hard to reach places. Kids can connect it to the Spy Net Video Watch to see around, below and above objects, like corners, fences and more.

This watch is packed with high-tech features including a working hidden video camera and audio system with onboard memory so young "agents" can record and save 20 minutes of crisp and clear video, or up to three hours of audio "evidence" or even still photos. Kids can play back all of their "evidence" on a built-in, ful-color 1.4 inch TFT video screen, then upload their files to a PC via the included USB connection.
— As of 1.06.2011 this product had 3.5 out of 5 stars from 73 reviews on Amazon.com and was No. 30 on the top 100 bestselling toys and games. Pros: Multiple Functions keep kids entertained. Cons: Reports of watches not taking a charge or losing the charge.