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The Few, The Proud...The Award-Winning Toys!
Who Made the Cut This Year?
By Alison Marek and Julie L. Jones
Thousands
of products are introduced to the toy industry every year, but only a
limited number are good enough, playable enough and innovative enough
to garner an award.
In addition to issuing
TDmonthly
Awards, TDmonthly
Magazine regularly asks manufacturers
to present their award winners to our readers so that retailers can quickly
identify products with great potential and manufacturers can learn and
be inspired by others' successes. Here are the most recent responses:
Aprendiendo Tempranito by A LA VIBORA DE LA MAR
 This 30-min. DVD, entirely in Spanish, fosters language development through beautiful Hispanic nursery rhymes and lullabies, as well as lovely poems by great Hispanic writers of all times. Attractive images of children, toys, animals and color patterns introduce concepts including color, numbers, texture, size, cause and effect and abstract thinking. It is soothing and captivating at the same time. The product received a spring 2007 Parents' Choice Approved Award. Launch date: October 2006.
5/23/2007 (Price: $14.99; Age: 0 to 3) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
123 Cuéntame un Cuento by A LA VIBORA DE LA MAR
 This 30-min. DVD, entirely in Spanish, introduces toddlers to a second language by teaching the numbers 1 through 20 and fostering language development through five short stories, nursery rhymes, catchy songs and charming sound effects. It presents beautiful images of children, toys and animals, and featured vocabulary includes days of the week, fruits, weather and more. The DVD “combines beautiful traditional Hispanic nursery rhymes and poetry by great Hispanic writers, as opposed to English nursery rhymes translated into Spanish,” Co-owner Teresa Rivera of A la Víbora de la Mar told TDmonthly. It received a spring 2007 Parents' Choice Approved Award. Launch date: September 19, 2006.
5/23/2007 (Price: $14.99; Age: 1 to 4) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
Do Re Mi Niño by A LA VIBORA DE LA MAR
 Featuring music by Mozart, Vivaldi, Chopin and Bach, this 30-minute Spanish DVD helps toddlers learn about musical instruments and sound as it fosters language development through beautiful Hispanic nursery rhymes and poetry, classical music and attractive images of children, toys, animals and orchestral instruments. It is part of a collection originally designed to provide quality learning opportunities for Spanish-speaking babies, and now serves to introduce babies to a second language. It received a spring 2007 Parents' Choice Approved Award. Launch date: September 2006.
5/23/2007 (Price: $14.99; Age: 0 to 4) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
Bobs & Lolo - Musical Adventures by BOBOLO PRODUCTIONS
 Using music, movement and make-believe, Bobs & Lolo celebrate the values of healthy living and aim to inspire an awareness and appreciation for the natural world with their young audiences. “Musical Adventures” includes songs about enjoying the outdoors (“My Bike,” “The Great Outdoors,” “Little Breeze”), conserving wildlife (“Wish for a Fish”) and going green (“Recycle With Me”). This product received a spring 2007 Parents' Choice Silver Honors Award. Launch date: December 2006.
5/23/2007 (Price: $14.99; Age: 2 to 10) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
Bears, Bees & Butterflies by PAUL HELOU
 With inventive, catchy arrangements and full, natural instrumentation — engaging to both children and adults — this album is songwriter/musical storyteller Paul Helou's tour through the forest. With a world music flavor, Paul introduces listeners to the wisdom and teachings of lively woodlands creatures. The intelligent, poetic and engaging lyrics, along with toe-tapping musical rhythms, teach children about their connection with the natural world — and to find joy in the music of their own heart. “The integrity, quality and substance of the music, lyrics and performance of ‘Bears, Bees & Butterflies’ make this product accessible to both entertainment and educational markets,” Helou told TDmonthly. This product received a spring 2007 Parents' Choice Award, a 2007 iParenting Media Award for Excellent Products and a 2006 Music Web Award (Best New Artist for Preschoolers). Launch date: January 2007.
5/23/2007 (Price: $15.00; Age: 2 to 8) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
Beautiful Rainbow World by WORLD MUSIC WITH DARIA
 By award-winning folksinger and children’s performer Daria, this CD presents songs from African, Caribbean, Australian, Latin American, Quechua, Native American, Hebrew, Arabic, Yiddish and African-American tradition. “‘Beautiful Rainbow World’ is a multi-cultural ‘pop’ music CD with positive values that embrace the whole planet and the dignity of all children,” Daria told TDmonthly. This product received a spring 2007 Parents' Choice Award. Launch date: September 11, 2006.
5/23/2007 (Price: $14.99; Age: 0 and up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
Alex Mahé: Wakin' Up the Sunshine by GOODTIME TRAIN ENTERPRISE
 This sun-filled interactive 16-song CD emphasizes clever melodies and witty lyrics packed with rhyme, repetition and alliteration. The songs, though dipped in humor, teach, inspire and emit feelings of warmth and joy while simultaneously harnessing creativity and imagination. They are ready-made for clapping, dancing and singing along. Alex Mahé is a charming performer who transmits the joy he takes in his performance to his audience. “Some songs explore the world of make believe while others instill reflection and promote deeper regard, appreciation and wonder for the multi-cultural world in which we live,” Mahé told TDmonthly. This product received a spring 2007 Parents’ Choice Approved Award. Launch date: October 8, 2006.
5/23/2007 (Price: $14.98; Age: 3 to 10) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
Bully 911 by THE ILLUSION FACTORY
 “Bully 911” is a one-of-a-kind DVD that addresses a variety of bullying issues, threats and concerns with easy-to-learn self-defense techniques for the times when "using your words" or running away does not work. With step-by-step instructions on defense against chokeholds and arm grabs, Johnny and Noel Gyro demonstrate techniques that allow children of all ages to escape bully abuse and stop becoming a victim in order regain their confidence and self-esteem. “It reaches both parents and children and helps them to combat a heart-breaking issue,” Fawn Vu of The Illusion Factory told TDmonthly. This product received a spring 2007 Parents' Choice Approved Award. Launch date: November 2006.
5/23/2007 (Price: $24.95; Age: 5 and up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
I Can Do It By Myself! by AUDRAROX INC.
 AudraRox, a Brooklyn-based band fronted by musician and teacher Audra Tsanos, is trying to broaden the spectrum of kids' music with its debut album. It’s not just music for kids; it's music for the whole family. This product received a spring 2007 Parents’ Choice Award. Launch date: October 2006.
5/23/2007 (Price: $15.00; Age: All Ages) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
I Wanna Play by ROUND RIVER RECORDS
 Children must get ready to shake, rattle, roll, strum, howl and sway with Bill Harley as he serenades kids and families with his characteristic silliness, hilarity and poignancy. The 12 new songs on "I Wanna Play," including the long-awaited and much-loved “Barbie’s Head is Missing,” are hilarious, sweet, silly and touching, and have a world music feel. “Singer/storyteller/author Bill Harley creates a world parents and kids can share through songs and stories that honor the emotional lives of children,” Office Manager Michele G. Eaton of Round River Records told TDmonthly. This product received a spring 2007 Parents’ Choice Foundation Gold Award. Launch date: February 2007.
5/23/2007 (Price: $15.00; Age: 4 and up) [Add to my Inquiry Basket][?]
Related Video:
Following are some of the programs represented in TDmonthly.com's section of award winners: Dr.
Toy, iParenting
Media Awards, TIA
T.O.T.Y., Oppenheim
Toy Portfolio, The
National Parenting Center, and Parents'
Choice Awards.
You may also access TDmonthly's review
section to see which products earned 5 TD stars.
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