February 2009 New Specialty Toys — Books

This activity book is designed to hold children’s interest and they build fine motor skills, and features more than 200 age-appropriate learning activities and 284 stickers.

Press a song button on the guitar and sing along to popular children’s songs. Lyrics are printed in the book. Roll the bar on the guitar to play the melody note by note. Includes five song triggers.

Kids help Thomas take photos from around Sodor. “Digital camera” module includes buttons for five spread animations with sound effects, a flash snapshot button, and a slideshow button. Kids watch the LED animation and press the snapshot button to capture a still ‘photo’ that they can then view by pressing the slideshow button. Each spread animation can have six ‘photos’ and each ‘photo’ is accompanied by a sound effect.

Children will love using the real working flashlight included with this book to cast shadows on the book and the pop-ups that are on each spread. The flashlight includes five fun sounds. 

Children can sing along with their favorite characters using their own detachable digital MP3 player! Each book spread features the lyrics of four songs, each with its own icon. The child can select the corresponding icon on their MP3 player to hear the song. The MP3 player includes Play, Shuffle, and Stop buttons. On the LCD screen, a simple animated icon – one for each of the 20 songs – is also displayed.

Steering Wheel books feature a steering wheel mounted on a telescoping base that raises and locks into place. Sound triggers, including the horn button on the wheel, make realistic vehicle sounds to accompany the story. Each spread features the story with illustration on the left-hand page, while the right-hand page shows what the child sees through the “windshield” at a particular point in the story.

Trigger 25 magic moments including sound, character voice, and melodies by touching the “magic” spots on the page with the magic wand. Or wave the wand in the air to hear sparkly magic wand sounds.

Box set includes a storybook that makes three fun sounds and a plush toy of the character in the story.

Welcome to the Pit Crew! The Tool Box book helps readers join the team by letting them use three tools while reading the story. Hear the click-clack, tap-tap, and ratchet sounds by interacting with the shaped buttons. Press the illustrated buttons to hear Lightning’s engine rev and other race day sounds.

Created with the help of developmental education experts, My First Story Reader® is the younger sibling of the bestselling Story Reader®. It is geared towards beginning readers and features a smaller design that is friendly to little hands. Place one of the included sturdy board books into the reader and plug in the story cartridge to let the fun begin. Activities include first steps to reading, sound identification, matching, shapes, and colors. The reader features three big light-up buttons that play silly sounds.  Available storybooks feature favorite characters.

The bestselling and award-winning Story Reader® is a book that reads itself. It makes reading a fun experience and lets kids learn to love to read at their own pace. As each page of the book is turned, a narrator reads the page, while Story Reader® adds effects and music. Story Reader® is easy to use: parents or children simply insert the story cartridge, insert the book, and turn the page to let the adventure begin. Story Reader® boasts an ever-growing range of titles featuring favorite characters.

Gisela sat dreaming of her special costume. She could hardly wait for the great procession to begin in the village. All Hallows Day was a great holy day and Gisela was ready for a feast!

As Nana Star continues her journey to bring the baby star back home to the heavens, her new friend Blue Wolf shows her that she can do anything she sets her mind to as long as she has the courage to believe in herself. Storytime and sing-along CD included. Launch date: February 2009.

At home or away, little adventurers will enjoy engaging in wild pastimes with magnetic Sudoku, tangrams and other games, and venturing on safari in imaginative play scenes. There are 18 games, puzzles and play scenes, more than 100 magnets, a zipper bag for storage, and a handy flip-over magnetic back cover. Launch date: July 2008.

Young princesses make their way through palaces and enchanted forests as they have a ball with memory and strategy games, Sudoku, imaginative play scenes and tangram puzzles. This activity includes 18 games, puzzles and play scenes, more than 100 magnets, and a zipper bag for storage. "The Mega MagnaForms has a magnetic foldover back cover [that] allows easy movement to play games and provides endless fun for play on the go or at home," Rasheen Hewlett, marketing assistant for Peter Pauper Press, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2008.

Kids can trace the illustrations of Princess Bella and her adventures and watch her colorful story unfold. Launch date: February 2005.

This activity features a scratch garden filled with bright flowers and lively fairies. Kids will see their artwork blossom on rainbow-swirled and gold, silver and purple glitter pages. They can use the sketch pages to draw their own designs. Scratch & Sketch "inspire[s] kids of all ages to become more creative and imaginative," Rasheen Hewlett, marketing assistant for Peter Pauper Press, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2007.

This product includes 20 super-cool drawing and design projects, from hieroglyphics to superheroes to Van Gogh. It comes with punch-out, reusable stencils kids can use in their designs. "Easy-to-handle wire-o binding makes each book user friendly," Rasheen Hewlett, marketing assistant for Peter Pauper Press, told TDmonthly. It was a 2006 NAPPA Honors award winner. Launch date: 2003.
— Debbie Rogers, owner of Bear and Friends in Johnson City, Tenn., told TDmonthly in a January 2012 survey that they sell a dozen or so Scratch and Sketch books each month, making them a top selling arts and crafts item.
— In an April 2015 survey, two out of 10 retailers told TDmonthly that scratch art was a best-selling travel toy.

Trendy designers can create their own fashions — party dresses, jeans, T-shirts, flip flops, sunglasses, bags and jewelry — by scratching away the black coating with the handy wooden stylus to reveal the swirl patterns and holographic colors in their hot new wardrobes. Launch date: June 2008.

All-inclusive, hand-drawn, step-by-step drawings are combined with watercolor instruction and come with classical music that innovatively provides the means to shift into the right/creative mode of thinking. The ready-to-go, eco-friendly portfolio includes the "Definitely Drawing and Watercolor" workbook, a classical music CD, a watercolor pencil set, a sharpener, a paintbrush, a sketch-pad and a pencil. The combination of materials "[creates] an optimal environment for children to produce watercolor masterpieces," Owner Cheryl Miller of Rock N Go LLC told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 2009.

Kids can create and illustrate their own story in an accordion book, then mount it in a box with a cover that they design. The kit includes enough materials to create three box books, plus one special house-shaped book. "Eye Can Art kits provide an open-ended art experience with high-quality materials and clear instuctions. All kits are multi-use, meaning the projects can be done with a friend, sibling, family member, or multiple times by the same child," Shannon Ninburg, co-owner of Eye Can Art, told TDmonthly. Launch date: December 2008.
Awards: 2009 Creative Child Top Toy of the Year Award

Young artists can dive in for hours of fun and creativity as their artwork appears like magic while they learn about 20 of the ocean's most fascinating creatures. "Our Scratch & Sketch products are great because they inspire kids of all ages to become more creative and imaginative. Kids are never limited to any one design, the colors are beautiful, and the activity promotes hand-eye coordination," Rasheen Hewlett, marketing assistant for Peter Pauper Press, told TDmonthly. "Easy-to-handle wire-o binding makes each book user friendly." Launch date: June 2005.

Snuggle up with a toddler and explore these themed picture books with
soft covers and sturdy cardboard pages. Other titles include "My Toys" ($8) and "Good Night" ($8). Launch date: February 2009.

Paper Posie's newest book, the just-published Flower Girl A to Z, is written in rhyme and filled with colorful, trendy photographs that help Flower Girls learn about their new roles in the wedding. 

6-1/4" x 6-1/4" Hardcover, 32 pages.
Illustrated throughout, includes mirror.