TDmonthly's ToyFair 2006 Preview--Software Product Category

Creativity Express by MADCAP LOGIC LLC

Creativity Express is interactive educational software for children ages 7 to 12. The program is a blend of animated storytelling and interactive activities that teach the principles of art and provide the tools for creative self expression. It contains 16 modules that explore the elements of art and creativity, plus projects that allow children to put these concepts to use in artwork that they can create on the computer with the digital paint software included or with their own traditional art supplies. “Created by former Disney animators, the feature-film-quality 3-D animation and storytelling guides kids to develop advanced creativity and visualization skills,” Inside Sales Manager Lera Haines of Madcap Logic told TDmonthly. Launch date: November 1, 2007. 10/4/2007 (Price: $29.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Roll-Up Drum Kit by DREAM CHEEKY

The drum kit can be easily rolled up stored. It features an innovative interface that allows all programming and sound to be activated from a computer, and it allows users to email their beats to a friend. The sets can be personalized or chosen from pre-selected sets. No batteries are required; simply connect the USB drum kit to a computer. Launch date: March 2007. 10/2/2007 (Price: $34.99)

JumpStart World 1st Grade by KNOWLEDGE ADVENTURE, INC

The first grade level software provides children with a revolutionary 3D world of learning that progresses in response to each child’s pace. Kids are introduced to puzzle play and problem solving as they build essential first grade level skills and explore a vast world of learning. This product is a 2007 iParenting Media Award winner. 9/26/2007 (Price: $19.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Digital Photo Activity Kit by APTE INC

Give your kids the joy and pleasure of their very own digital camera. With this loveable, squeezable camera, taking a picture is a snap. Get teacher-designed photo-project software just for kids. Digital Photo Activity Kit is packed with photo projects to energize the creative and writing skills of every kid. In minutes your kids will be creating storybooks, newsletters, journals, and stationery. Click on the Game Center to play five challenging games with your photos. Or create fun stuff in the Craft Corner or Movie Maker. Your kids will have endless hours of fun with this loveable camera and Digital Photo Activity Kit software. Software includes both an English and Spanish version. 8/29/2007 (Price: $38.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

RocketReader Kids Version 3 by ROCKETREADER PTY. LTD.

RocketReader Kids improves reading fluency by training children to instantly recognize common words. It combines phonic and whole word recognition instruction with training and assessment methods that adapt to suit each child’s needs. There are more than 80 graded lessons on the 1,000 most popular words, with picture and sound rewards. Parents can create lessons, and the program includes informative reports and flashcards, so they can see their child’s progress and continue learning off-screen. “RocketReader Kids uses a revolutionary approach to develop sight word reading ability at the earliest possible stage,” a company representative told TDmonthly. The downloadable version is $99. Launch date: July 27, 2007. 8/22/2007 (Price: $119.00)

KaleidoDraw by PROTOZONE

KaleidoDraw introduces kids to the art and science of symmetry patterns. This fun program is simple enough for a 3 year old and complex enough with infinite possibilities to fascinate all ages. In minutes, users will be making Magical Masterpieces that explode with a kaleidoscope of color. KaleidoDraw is running in Museums, hospitals and schools all around the world. Designs can be saved and printed for use in scrapbooks, pictures, cards and more. This product was a Children’s Software Review All Star award winner in 2003. “ProtoZone software is unique. It is intuitive, easy, complex and completely open ended; the only limits are the user’s imagination,” CEO Jim Metcalfe of ProtoZone told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2003. 8/9/2007 (Price: $18.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End PC Game by DISNEY

Players must use their cunning and savvy ways to defeat villians in this exciting PC sword game. Players can choose to fight as either as Captain Jack, Will or Elizabeth, each character unleashing a different variety of attacks. Launch date: May 22, 2007. 7/25/2007 (Price: $19.99)

Reel Deal Slots "Ghost Town" by PHANTOM EFX INC.

Get ready for the BEST slot machine experience from Phantom EFX yet…and that’s saying a lot! This year, we take you on a spine-tingling journey as you immerse yourself in Phantom EFX’s new haunted lobby within Reel Deal Slots “Ghost Town!” 7/20/2007 (Price: $19.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Reel Deal: Casino "Gold Rush" by PHANTOM EFX INC.

Introducing the first, the only, casino, race, and sports book PC game. With Reel Deal Casino "Gold Rush", not only do you get the widest variety of casino style games, but this year’s multiplayer portion of the game features the first and only live feed sports book! 7/20/2007 (Price: $19.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Gary Gadget: Building Cars by VIVA MEDIA

Design, Build and Drive!

Put together engines, gadgets, doors, wheels, lights and tons more! Just about everything you think can be used for making a car is in Gary's junk yard. It's up to you to recycle these wacky old parts into amazing vehicles in the workshop.

Features:
 7/5/2007

Pet Vet 3D: Animal Hospital by VIVA MEDIA

Calling all animal lovers! Have tons of fun running your very own pet vet clinic.  As a doctor you'll get to take care of fuzzy bunnies, adorable cats, dogs, horses, ponies and even piglets.  Packed with oodles of awesome activities ranging from animal examinations, dog training and even horse back riding; you'll learn amazing facts about animals while you treat, care, and love them! 7/5/2007

Learn To Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster by VIVA MEDIA

King for a day! Fritz is in charge of the castle when his parents go on vacation. It's every kid's dream until the dastardly King Black challenges the young stand-in king to a duel! Explore the kingdom and discover 7 arcade-style games that explain everything from chess basics to master strategies. Exercise your brain and put what you've learned to the test in the Intelligym, a training ground for future chess pros. You'll soon realize that this chess game is anything but child's play!

Powered by the World's #1 Highest Rated Chess Software Suitable for players of all levels. Free 1 year full access to the internet chess server Playchess.com with product registration! An added value of $19.99! 7/5/2007

Piano Made Easy® by MAYRON COLE MUSIC CONSERVATORY INC

Piano Made Easy turns learning into a piano-playing adventure. As the child is taken on a musically guided tour of a very funny zoo, he or she will explore 10 different areas, in sequential order, and learn such things as note values, keys on the piano and rhythm. In addition to 57 original compositions, the interactive CD also features 10 rhythm and keyboard games. The 49-key battery-operated piano keyboard is placed in front of the computer screen in place of the typing keyboard. Piano Made Easy has won a 2007 iParenting Media Award for Excellent Products, a Toy Man Seal of Approval Award of Excellence, a Family Review Center Platinum Award, an eChoice Award and a 2007 Toy of the Year Award from Creative Child Magazine. ( Watch Video) 5/21/2007 (Price: $119.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

You're Blushing, Little Octopus by BLOCK PUBLISHING

In this story, a little octopus is teased for her ability to change colors; when she uses this same ability to save a little angelfish, however, she becomes a hero. This CD-ROM, part of the Webs to Whales Nature Tales series (winner of the 2007 Teacher’s Choice Award for the Family from Learning Magazine), introduces kids to an amazing variety of coral reef animals. Interactive lessons, with narrated text and hundreds of photos, cover octopus anatomy, mollusks, food webs, reef conservation, animal camouflage and octopus physics. The CD includes interactive games, printable activity sheets and a teaching guide. "This product combines reading, science and technology. You get a wonderful story with interactive software that teaches the science behind the story. [It's a] great product for homeschoolers," Cheryl Block of Block Publishing told TDmonthly. Launch date: June 2007. 5/15/2007 (Price: $21.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

JumpStart World Kindergarten by KNOWLEDGE ADVENTURE, INC

JumpStartWorld for the PC makes learning reading, math and critical thinking skills fun as children take on missions and games in a colorful and safe 3D world. Parents can participate by adding birthdays and sending their child encouraging messages, and can monitor their kid’s progress through email reports. “JumpStart World is the first educational software product to offer children in grades K-2 a vast, fantasy 3D world to explore, while providing an adaptive learning system that personalizes their experience. Additional Adventure Packs and higher grade levels will generate repeat customers,” Victoria Rangel of The Bohle Company told TDmonthly. MSRP applies to the retail store box with two Adventure Packs. Launch date: May 18, 2007. 5/2/2007 (Price: $19.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Crazy Machines 1.5: More Gizmos, Gadgets, & Whatchamacallits by VIVA MEDIA

Kids can go crazy with more than 200 brand new gizmo-twistin’ levels, enjoying all new elements, music, backgrounds and more. They start off in the Inventor’s Training Camp to sharpen their skills, and then experience explosive action and building fun using 100 awesome and wacky parts, including bottle rockets, cannons, bombs and robots. It’s the ultimate brain-teasing puzzle game. Launch date: March 2007. 4/23/2007 (Price: $19.99)

Gary Gadget: Building Cars by VIVA MEDIA

Children can design, build and drive with this set, putting together engines, gadgets, doors, wheels, lights and tons more. It’s up to them to recycle wacky old parts from Gary’s junkyard into amazing vehicles in the workshop. There are 16 missions and activities, and more than 127 parts to create endless car part combinations. Participants can earn certificates and medals, race their cars, and create a photo album of their favorites. This product “provides quality education while also being entertaining and fun for kids,” Project Manager Beatrice LaBarge of Viva Media told TDmonthly. It has won iParenting Media and ALA awards and received a spring 2007 Parents' Choice Award. Launch date: January 2007. 4/23/2007 (Price: $29.99)

Collage Machine by PROTOZONE

Collage Machine helps users create amazing new pictures with photos from either an included library of more than 500 images or their own collection. Kids can shape and manipulate the images, draw on them, and layer, overlap and fade them. Then, they simply save and print creations for framing, sending to others or adding physical elements. “Kids can start creating beautiful pictures immediately and continue to create in different ways for hours as they explore all the functions and capabilities of the program. Collage Machine can be used in many different ways — [to] enhance a homework project … for scrapbooking [or] making birthday or greeting cards; the possibilities are endless,” James Metcalfe of ProtoZone told TDmonthly. This product received a Parents' Choice Silver Honor Award for Spring 2007 and the Children’s Technology Review‘s Editor’s Choice Award for February 2007. Launch date: November 2006. 4/18/2007 (Price: $24.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

I.Q. Solitaire – U.S. Presidents by WINDMILL WORKS

This unique computer solitaire program for PCs has no numbers, and the order of United States presidents is the order of the game. Players put the "Carter of Hearts" on the "Ford of Spades" in this challenging, educational program. A help card is included. Four volumes include all 43 presidents. Launch date: January 2007. 3/8/2007 (Price: $12.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Charlotte's Web Storybook Creator by PLANETWIDE GAMES, INC.

This innovative, interactive entertainment software enables fans to use their imaginations and “Charlotte’s Web” movie content to create their own storybooks. The completed storybook can be posted to blogs, emailed to friends, or printed out. Storybook Creator users can drag and drop characters, backgrounds, icons, tag line, symbols, audio clips and artwork into more than 500 different layout and design templates, and then combine their creation with a personalized storyline. Launch date: December 2006. 3/1/2007 (Price: $29.99)

FormWild DVD - Birds by FORMWILD

From this software, kids can print forms and follow directions on cutting and folding in order to assemble three-dimensional birds, insects, fish and mammals. The product teaches children creature identity, crafting skills and appreciation for nature. CDs are available at a suggested retail price of $12.00. 2/19/2007 (Price: $24.00) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Story Logic – Jungle Animals by SMART NEURONS

“Jungle Animals” is an award-winning software CD from the Story Logic series. The CD uses fun characters, toe-tapping music and pleasing animation to help children create stories and then listen to them. It encourages critical thinking, imagination and decision-making skills in a child while laying the foundation for language skills and reading comprehension. Children develop the ability to express themselves through this fun and educational CD. Creative Child Magazine named it 2006 CD of the Year.
— “The CD was designed to allow even 3-year-olds with limited computer experience to fully enjoy the CD while older children with more experience can click their way to building stories quickly,” Sapna Ganeshan of Smart Neurons told TDmonthly about what sets the product apart. Launch date: March 2006. ( Watch Video) 1/9/2007 (Price: $24.60) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Reel Deal Card Games by PHANTOM EFX INC.

Phantom EFX introduces its first all-card PC games. These are fully integrable with the Phantom online casino, offering for the first time an online component to a card game-only title. There are more than 60 featured classic card games, such as Euchre, Gin, Cribbage and Bridge.
— “Players of Card Games are automatically invited into Phantom’s online casino to play and chat with other players. … Also unique to Reel Deal Card Games is a full prize vault, offering players fun and exciting incentives for winning a hand and beating out the other players,” Jim Thompson, president of Phantom EFX, told TDmonthly. Launch date: March 1, 2007. 1/8/2007 (Price: $19.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

Giggles Computer Funtime for Baby: My Animal Friends by LEVERACTIVE LLC

This award-winning software includes 14 activities and over 60 songs, and allows babies to tap computer keys for on-screen fun. Activities include At the Zoo, Penguin Playground and more, and feature a unique mouse action. The two-CD set includes a bonus screensaver version. “Babies are wildly curious and want to touch the keys they see their parents touching all day.” This product “sells just as well in the toy market, the baby market, and the software market, and is a growing line of soon to be three titles with many more on the way.” President Tim Leverett of Leveractive told TDmonthly. Launch date: September 2006.  ( Watch Video) 12/5/2006 (Price: $24.95) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]

I Spy Mystery by SCHOLASTIC

Kids can discover a new way to play I SPY with 13 fascinating mysteries on this CD-ROM. They simply choose a case file, and then earn mystery clues by solving riddles and searching for concealed objects. Children must employ problem solving skills to follow clues to solve the case of the Locked Gate and other mysteries. The game “engages kids in solving I SPY riddles and mysteries while simultaneously building their vocabulary and language skills,” Amabel Fulgencio of Scholastic told TDmonthly. It was named one of the 100 Best Children’s Products of 2006 by Dr. Toy. Launch date: August 2006. 11/10/2006 (Price: $19.99) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]