The Circle Rattle from Sassy is designed to develop thinking in babies 3 months and up by providing a feast for the senses. The rattle has been updated to include a whole new palate of bright colors and patterns. In addition, it offers soft sounds, gentle movements and a variety of bumpy, chewy, soft and solid textures to capture baby’s imagination and stimulate the senses. The thin ring is sized just right for tiny hands to grasp. The Circle Rattle won an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Platinum Award.

Parents can sing along to the tunes of classic nursery rhymes with these books made of durable, washable materials. Three different modes give the options of singing, music only and off. Other titles include “I’m a Little Teapot” and “Rock-a-Bye Baby Dear.” The product won the 2007 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award. Launch date: January 2006.

Al-i-Sorter brings baby’s favorite activity of shape-sorting to the tub. Baby can either drop shapes through alligator’s back or “feed” alligator by placing shapes in his mouth. After-bath pick-up is fun and easy as shapes store in alligator’s tummy. The Al-i-Sorter helps develop baby’s motor skills by encouraging eye-hand coordination. “This toy has many facets to it and lots of different activities,” Peggy Barrett, public relations consultant for Sassy, told TDmonthly. “You can even hang it to dry because the tail is the hook.”

Inspired by nature, this soft doll is lightly scented with lavender and features wooden rings along with bright colors and textured fabrics — velour, corduroy, fleece and sateen. It is handcrafted from quality hardwoods and features water-based finishes. Launch date: October 2007.

Inspired by nature and suitable for babies 3 months and up, this hand-crafted rattle features quality hardwoods, water-based finishes, a curvy, easy-to-grasp shape, fuzzy berries, click-clack leaves and a variety of textures and shapes. Launch date: October 2007.

Inspired by nature and suitable for babies 6 months and up, this handcrafted piece features quality hardwoods, select corduroy and fleece fabrics, and water-based finishes. The product comes in “packaging made from 100-percent recycled paperboard,” Director of Sales Sherri Schiff of Sassy told TDmonthly. Launch date: October 2007.

Inspired by nature and suitable for babies 3 months and up, this handcrafted piece features quality hardwoods, select twill, sateen and fleece fabrics, and water-based finishes. It includes components that rattle, crinkle and make a click-clack sound. Launch date: November 2007.

This colorful burro can be attached to a stroller or carrier to entertain while baby is on the go. It features interior jingle bells and crinkle legs, and is attached to the ring by a scrunchy tether so that it can be pulled down and jiggle back into place. Launch date: August 2008.

Suitable for ages 6 months and up, one of these colorful maracas plays a tune when moved or shaken; the other makes a rattling sound.

This aquarium crib toy features a bold, bright spectrum of colors to help baby develop visual perception. A school of fish in a variety of silky, nubby, fuzzy, smooth and bumpy textures enhances baby’s tactile experience as the reaches out to touch them. Classical music and tonal sounds encourage development of listening/hearing skills. This crib toy offers pleasing sounds to encourage motor and cognitive processing. Adjustable elastic straps make it easy to attach to a variety of cribs with different rail widths and to put the action at the right height for baby. It can also be used for floor play when baby is old enough to sit up. "This toy stimulates baby's vision and tactile development with many colors, patterns and textures," Peggy Barrett, PR consultant for Barrett Marketing Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2009.

The bright green inchworm’s segmented body offers many different sights, sounds, activities and textures. Baby can gaze at the smiling face, with its high-contrast eyes and soft, teethable antennae. The symmetrical face is designed to have a calming effect on baby. The activity center has a baby-safe mirror outlined in black and white stripes, and the inchworm’s multi-textured features foster tactile exploration, which encourages brain development. A convenient snack segment flips open and can be stocked with small snack foods to encourage development of baby’s pincer grasp. Babies can push a leaf to hear “moving” classical music, including the “William Tell Overture” and silly sounds. A bumblebee on the base clicks when baby dials. It has high contrast stripes and bright orange silky wings that crinkle to the touch. The toy attaches to all strollers using Velcro® straps. Launch date: July 2009.

This large, soft-framed, true-reflection mirror is designed to encourage baby’s developing vision by providing a sight pleasing to baby — the human face. Framed in a bold geometric pattern, the mirror can be hung from crib rails at an angle so that a newborn can gaze into it while lying down, or it can be attached flat against the rails to accommodate a sitting baby. It also stands on its own outside the crib, providing tummy-time enjoyment or entertainment. The symmetrical bee has bold, high-contrast stripes. A red, black and white ladybug provides high contrast visual stimulation and includes a tracker ball in its center to aid in the development of visual perception. Textured leaves attached to the bottom edge offer peek-a-boo play as baby lifts them to find geometric patterns underneath. "Although babies have limited vision at birth, they show a clear preference for bold patterns, bright colors and faces. This mirror is well-suited to provide just the right amount of stimulation without overwhelming baby," Peggy Barrett, PR consultant at Barrett Marketing Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2009.

These books are filled with bright, bold images and made from sturdy “wet-proof” material designed to stand up to eager hands, teething and readers who drool over the pages. The colors, geometric designs and symmetrical elements can calm baby and help little ones focus. The words imitate baby’s first babbling sounds, including “baba,” "dada” and “mama,” and encourage baby to experiment with language and refine his skills. A soft, plush block featuring images from the books reinforces the sights and sounds. "Engaging baby early in language is fundamental, as both communication and language development are significantly shaped by experiences. By 9 months of age, babies can recognize specific words up to two weeks after hearing them read repeatedly from a storybook," Peggy Barrett, PR consultant at Barrett Marketing Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2009.

Bright, bold colors, high contrast, symmetrical animal faces, and real-life photographs of people baby loves make these photo blocks an ideal toy to stimulate baby’s visual development. The set has four blocks that stack to make a house. There are two cubes, a rectangle and a triangle for the roof. "Babies love to look at faces, even as newborns, so these lightweight photo blocks will capture even the youngest child’s gaze and imagination," Peggy Barrett, PR consultant at Barrett Marketing Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2009.

Baby can take the wheel with this key set. A black-and-white-striped “key chain” holds the three keys in tonal colors — colors close to each other on the color wheel — to help improve baby’s visual acuity. The keys offer raised ridges, bumpy dots and key-shaped indentations to encourage tactile exploration. A variety of dynamic car sounds can be heard when baby pushes the three colored buttons on the key chain. The keys also make clacking sounds when shaken. "This toy offers visual, auditory and tactile stimulation and encourages baby to engage in pretend play," Peggy Barrett, PR consultant at Barrett Marketing Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2009.

Velcro fasteners attach this trio of smiling bugs to baby’s infant carrier handle. Rich primary colors and high-contrast black and white geometrics are designed to catch the eye of even the youngest baby. The bold patterns and symmetrical faces and bodies allow baby to focus, helping baby feel calm. The bee and dragonfly have shiny fabric wings with top stitching, and the ladybug has ridged corduroy wings. The wings crinkle to the touch, designed to to delight baby and encourage exploration. The dragonfly, bumble bee and lady bug can be moved to different spots on the carrier handle to give baby a different perspective. Each bug makes its own soft sound. When a toy is positioned to the side of baby’s head (and field of vision), it can be shaken to help baby seek the source of the sound. "This toy encourages visual development: it has high-contrast, geometric patterns, faces and bright colors and can be hung at a distance to fit baby's developing vision," Peggy Barrett, PR consultant for Barrett Marketing Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2009.

Baby can push back on this little car and let it go to see colorful beads pop, pop, pop inside the car’s clear top. The cheery little car has a bright green “chassis” and blue wheels with teal tire treads. A smiling face is embossed on the front of the car. "The movement of the little car encourages baby to crawl after it," Peggy Barrett, PR consultant at Barrett Marketing Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2009.

Bold black and white geometric patterns — stripes and polka-dots — are designed to attract baby’s attention and help her focus on this ring-shaped rattle. Chewy textures on the handle and three smooth, smaller blue, green and teal rings on the handle are designed to encourage baby to teethe and touch, developing baby’s tactile sense. The smaller rings make a soft click clack sound, and black and white beads in the clear portion of the handle make soft rattling sounds. The thin ring is sized for tiny hands to grasp.

This little photo album holds six 4" x 6" photos and a wallet-size photo of the people baby loves most. Each photo is framed by a bold color and has a geometric pattern where photos are to be placed, designed to cultivate baby’s visual acuity. A colorful tab at the bottom of each page helps baby learn to turn the book’s pages. "The photo book provides interaction opportunities between parent and baby and helps introduce baby to new names and people," Peggy Barrett, PR consultant at Barrett Marketing Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2009.

This smiling bug is designed to encourage development of communication with textural variety for mouthing. When refrigerated, the squishy, ridged, water-filled upper wings provide cool comfort for teething babies. The bottom wings are bumpy and chewy for added teething enjoyment. Other teethable textures include a smooth, shiny face and body; a round, white handle with raised black stripes; and a thin, chewy antennae. Beginning at birth, a high-contrast, smiling, symmetrical face is designed to engage and calms baby. Slightly different shades of blue on the wings encourage eye sight development at 6 months and up. "The toy's many textures encourage development of communication through mouthing of the toy," Peggy Barrett, PR consultant at Barrett Marketing Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2009.

This petite piano is designed with many textures and moving parts to foster tactile sensitivity. Baby gets a lesson in cause and effect by pushing on the white keys and hearing one of three classical music selections from Beethoven and Mozart. The blue and purple keys light up as the music plays. The textured handle is shaped like a baby grand. Two large, colorful beads slide around on the handle for added play value. Like a player piano, this one has a moving cylinder on the top. Baby can spin it and watch beads rattle and pop inside, or hold the rattle by the handle and shake it to make a baby’s own music. "It fosters tactile sensitivity through multiple textures and moving parts," Peggy Barrett, PR consultant at Barrett Marketing Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2, 2009.

This set has two different balls for baby to grasp, roll and hold. One is a ball-within-a-ball that chimes with every move. The sturdy plastic outer ball has generous cutouts to make gripping easy for little hands. Rattling and rolling inside it is a smaller inner ball with a bold polka dot pattern on one side and mirror on the other. A larger squishy plush ball rounds out the pair. It has bold, solid colored stripes in a velvety fabric interspersed with cheery polka-dot stripes in silky fabric. All are in high-contrast, bright colors to stimulate baby’s vision. The ball has an inner layer of crinkle fabric to make crunchy sounds when baby grabs it. It chimes when rolled, thrown or shaken. Launch date: July 2009.

This rattle is designed to catch the eye of even the youngest babies with high-contrast black and white geometric patterns and bold orange and red accents. Like a mini barbell, the rattle has a thin handle with a ball on either end. One side features a black ball with white polka-dots. The other is a clear ball with a rotating disk showing three eye-catching images. These bold visuals encourage baby to track the rattle as eye muscles develop. Three thin rings in tones from yellow to red rattle around the handle. Baby is encouraged to finger these rings and to touch and mouth the raised bumps on the handle to cultivate tactile sensitivity. The toy "provides auditory, visual and tactile stimulation," Peggy Barrett, PR consultant for Barrett Marketing Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2009.

This mirror allows babies to gaze at their own faces and also encourages parental interaction with baby: “Who is that?” “Look at your happy smile!” “Your eyes are so blue!” The mirror straps on to the handles, placing it at the right height and angle for baby to see his reflection. Two spinning balls, one on each side of the mirror, feature reflective surfaces and bold geometric patterns in high-contrast black and white. A smiling caterpillar in bright colors sits on top of the large mirror. He has a symmetrical smiling face designed to engage and calm baby. "This mirror can be adjusted so that even very young babies can see the patterns, colors and mirror to help develop vision," Peggy Barrett, PR consultant at Barrett Marketing Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2, 2009.