November 2010 Notable Toys — Pretend Play

The new soft and colorful Rubbabu 2Skoolbus is fun and the rounded body and soft wheels make it is uniquely huggable.  Made of natural rubber, it is a great alternative to PU foam, and is as plush as it is strong despite its soft texture. Skoolbus is available in all the Rubbabu colors – so there’s plenty to choose from.
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

This is an active barnyard that will keep your youngster busily engaged and learning at the same time.  Every young farmer will enjoy opening the box and spilling out the 51 detailed figures smartly stored in 5 layers of tiers.  From the bright rooster on the roof to the red tractor and white fencing, nothing has been forgotten to recreate a down-on-the-farm experience. The red and white barn overlooks horses, sheep, pigs, and cows.  This activity will build eye-hand coordination and expand communication skills.
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

This versatile new little piano grows with your child! The main unit, decorated with a whimsical animal’s head, is perfect for toddlers because it sits safely and squarely on the floor within easy reach of little hands. Later on, the sides with the animal’s body can be attached, conveniently raising the piano to a comfortable upright height for an older child seated at the bench. Schoenhut toy pianos are noted for their excellent quality and unique chime-like tones. The width of the keys promotes proper finger placement, enabling an easy transition to a larger piano.
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

Safari Ltd’s latest addition to its Fairy Fantasies® Collection is this fanciful Tea Party set, which includes a brightly colored sunflower table with a teacake and teacups, 2 colorful fairies with butterfly wings and toadstool seats. Figures not sold separately. Meticulously painted by hand, this set is phthalate and lead free and meets or exceeds all safety standards. Includes educational information in 5 languages.
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

This delightful new soft jersey knit 15” doll with long yarn hair and nice embroidered face is a daily prescription for practical dress-up play. Contemporary rag doll has a variety of wardrobe features, including stretchy hair bow, tie-up shoe lace, Velcro shoe tab, button lab coat with zipper pocket, snap on stethoscope and attached pup, to encourage motor skill development and make getting dressed for the day fun through imaginative play. Doctor role playing addresses issues of compassion, health, and caring at an early age plus it reduces fear of the doctor and curtails possible upsets during those important examinations. This is the perfect doll for home, preschool, and, of course, the pediatrician’s office.
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

Now your child can go shopping with a colorful and sturdy Cozy Cart and put in a favorite toy. Push the cart around just like mom and dad do at the grocery store. The seat is big enough for a 12” doll or plush animal. Ample space in cart for toys and
other small items. Rugged construction lasts for many years. Easy assembly. No batteries required.
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

Spice up imaginative play while learning shapes, colors, and fine motor skills. This new cottage contains six holes that match six chunky candy shapes. The sorter engages children as they explore shape recognition, spatial reasoning, color recognition, fine motor skills, and imaginative play. Pieces store in the durable plastic house, which encourages clean up, and then empty through the door. Durable plastic pieces wipe clean. Good product for home and school.
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

This clever and complete shopping cart enhances pretend play with over 55 pieces that include play food, packages, and cans. The removable basket stores underneath. Shopping cart has a place for your child’s favorite doll or stuffed animal—and can be used with or without this feature. Also included is assorted play money to expand the play value. Caster wheels allow for easy turning. This cart is easy to assemble—no tools required. Will provide your young shopper with plenty of active pretend play and lots of assistance when you go grocery shopping.
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

This adorable Alice in Wonderland Tutu features a fluffy royal and light blue tutu, embellished satin aporn with harlequin trim and glimmering red sequence heart. Also includes satin hairbow. S/M - Girl's 3-6, M/L - Girl's 6-12. Costume comes wrapped in package with hanger for display.

This dramatic play wooden workbench is designed to be the right size for young children, right down to the nuts and bolts. The set includes a functioning vise, a tool rack, wooden tools, hardware and a storage shelf. A booklet with creative play ideas is included.
— In a February 2012 survey about wooden toys, Mike DiAndrea, manager of Hardware Toys in Paoli, Pa., told TDmonthly that they sell six of this item each month.

Little sleuths can fingerprint suspects, collect evidence and record findings with this "CSI"-themed kit. The set includes a field case, mini microscope, stamp pad, replacement ink, fingerprinting powders, fingerprinting brush, fingerprint lifters, plastic gloves, tweezers, magnifying glass, crime scene tape, goggles, string, L-shaped ruler, evidence bags and tags, slides, evidence markers, alternative light source, evidence logs, test tubes, stencil, plaster frame, crime scene journals, activity book, evidence, book of charts, fingerprint cards and situation cards.

Like its parent unit the GloMate PLUS, the GloMate Jr. uses LED Technology to illuminate in blue, green, red and rainbow hues. It is completely portable and operates on 3 AAA batteries. The GloMate Jr. is designed to last over 80 hours on fresh batteries, and can be used for for home, travel and even camping. "The ease of portability with great features puts the GloMate Jr. in a class of its own," MOBI Technologies National Sales Manager Andrew Buckband told TDmonthly.

The GloMate PLUS is a portable, rechargeable play and night light designed to fit perfectly into a child's hand. The built-in lithium-ion battery lasts over 10 hours on a single charge. The base features an LED ring that lights when charging and makes the it easy to find in total darkness. The GloMate PLUS lights up in blue, green, red or a rainbow mode that cycles through all of the colors. "The GloMate PLUS is designed as the perfect play friend. The multi-color LEDs make any child's adventure a colorful one," MOBI Technologies National Sales Manager Andrew Buckband told TDmonthly.

Girls can explore, play and help make the world a little better while looking just like their favorite Groovy Girl superhero! In Starletta fashion, the Starletta Dress Up comes with a matching cape and dress.

This set gives girls wings of their own that match Groovy Girl Becca Butterfly. The dress-up includes Becca's dainty pink and yellow dress and shimmery wings.

Girls can take Baby Stella or any of her friends with them wherever they go in the Cute Comfort Car Seat. Any of the Stella dolls will sit comfortably and safe on the go with this seat. The Cute Comfort Car Seat features pastel colored fabric and extensive detail. It can even be buckled into a car with the seat belt attachment loop.

Girls can keep their Lilydoll snuggly, warm and stylish all winter long with the Warmly Wooly Winter Wear outfit. The outfit comes with a super soft red knit hat and a yellow winter coat with white fleece trim on the neckline.

Giselle's intricate details are designed to fascinate listeners during storytime. Pretty in pink, Giselle features multiple patterned fabrics and textures and will fit all hands.

These easy-to-apply designs transfer 100-percent hypoallergenic high-grade mineral makeup to skin in seconds and can be applied multiple times. The kit comes complete with four fantastic designs. No water is necessary and they easily wipe away, yet are water and sweat resistant. Simply place each stamp, press firmly over the image, then peel to instantly reveal an image of a favorite character and design. Awards: 2010 ASTRA Must See Item at International Toy Fair; 2010 National Parenting Center Seal of Approval

These easy-to-apply designs transfer 100-percent hypoallergenic high-grade mineral makeup to skin in seconds and can be applied multiple times. The kit comes complete with two fantastic designs. No water is necessary and they easily wipe away, yet are water and sweat resistant. Simply place each stamp, press firmly over the image, then peel to instantly reveal an image of a favorite character and design. Awards: 2010 ASTRA Must See Item at International Toy Fair; 2010 National Parenting Center Seal of Approval

This realistic interactive lawnmower features mower, gas and oil sounds, as well as voice prompts to check oil and gas. It includes rotating grass clippings and a fold-down handle for storage, and requires two AA batteries.
— As of August 25, 2010, this product had 3.5 out of 5 stars from 17 reviews on Amazon.com. PROS: Interactive and appeals to toddlers. CONS: Not very portable, and some parents complained the handle does not stay up.

Kids can play with all of their toys and stuffed animals with plenty of room left to move with this large tent. Because of the unique circular design, this large diameter tent can easily fit in one's house or be used outdoors. Easy to assemble and to clean.

Big enough to allow multiple children inside, kids can play with all of their toys and stuffed animals with plenty of room left to move. Because of the unique circular design, this large diameter tent can easily fit in one's house or be used outdoors. Easy to assemble and to clean.

This well-ventilated play tent for your child comes with 1½" removable soft pad w/ washable cover and completely washable polyethylene floor, which makes this tent a convenient shelter to change baby out of the sun. Two mesh side panels allow air to flow in. The mesh door secures with Velcro. Easy to set up and take down in minutes.