February 2010 New Specialty Toys — Language

This compact, easy to use projector is designed to provide hours of entertainment and creativity. It teaches how to trace and write the alphabet and numbers (for ages 3 to 4 years). Kids over 4 years can trace and draw 24 animals and write their names in English/Spanish. A bright LED provides a clear image along with long battery life. The size of the image can be adjusted to suit the drawing surface. Awards: 2009 Creative Child Preferred Choice Award. Launch date: October 2009.

This blend of alphabet blocks and crossword games is designed to grow with the child and is fully bilingual. Children start off by learning the English and Spanish alphabet using the blocks. The learning continues as they spell first words while playing the 12 crossword games in English and Spanish. Launch date: October 2009.

The award-winning Joe Rock and Friends interactive stories are now available on iPhone and iPod Touch. Featuring two languages (English and Spanish), original fun songs, 3D graphics, instant switching between languages, optional narration, and word tracking, these stories can provide a great reading experience for emerging readers (ages 3-8) and a great tool for language learners. "The multi-language features ... allow instant switching of any page between the two languages," Allan Crossley, CEO, BoggleNoggin Media Inc., told TDmonthly. Awards: 2008 Outstanding Product - iParenting Media Awards, Preferred Choice Award - Creative Child Magazine, June 2008, Editor's Choice Award - Children's Technology Review, June 2008 & Dec 2006, Recommended - Parent's Choice FOundation, March 2008. Launch date: September 2009.

This toy looks like the real thing and is designed to be very sturdy. It is also lightweight, compact and portable. There are eight early learning activities in English and Spanish. The interactive bilingual toy teaches the alphabet, words, numbers, shapes and colors. Includes 3 AAA batteries. "The Ingenio line is affordable and innovative, making it attractive for the specialty market," Ilango Sankaralingam, President, Smart Play, LLC, told TDmonthly. Awards: 2009 Creative Child Toy of The Year. Launch date: October 2009.

Conceived by child literacy expert Dr. Brij Kothari, BookBox Series stories are designed for child entertainment while simultaneously improving reading skills. Using scientifically tested same language subtitling (SLS), children are assisted in the improvement of listening comprehension and reading and foreign language skills — while watching fascinating “Stories from Around the World” that bring cultural and educational values to children. The "Animal Stories" DVD features three stories: Based on an ancient Indian fable, "Four Friends" is about animal friends that work together to outwit a hunter and protect each other. "The Turtle’s Flute" is about a turtle that is a gifted flutist. When the turtle played her flute, everyone danced. One day, she is trapped by a greedy man. How will she escape? "Zippy the Zebra" is about a zebra that is bugged by a hide full of fleas. No amount of tail swishing or tree trunk scratching would give him any relief. Finally a pair of birds help him out by making a meal of his unwelcome guests. "This DVD helps children to read in English, Spanish, Chinese, French, German or Italian. With three ways to use the program - Read to me, Let me read and Let me listen plus you can print the PDF of the book from a computer," Selina Yoon, President, Master Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: October 6, 2009. Awards: Kids First, Dr. Toy's 100 Best Products, Dr. Toy's 10 Best Audio/Video.

Let's Go Guang! Chinese for Children is a kit for kids to learn Chinese as a second language. Children join Ling and Kai while they visit their grandparents and discover Guang, a fun-loving dragon. It's designed for kids to learn how to properly pronounce about 50 useful everyday Mandarin Chinese words, phrases and sentences, including greetings, introductions and numbers. Each kit includes: DVD: "Meet Guang, the Chinese Dragon" (Animated Feature), "Making Dumplings" (Live footage), and "Mini Lessons and Songs," all in English and Mandarin Chinese; illustrated hardback book: "Story of Meet Guang, the Chinese Dragon with Pinyin"; English audio CD; flash cards with simplified Chinese characters, Pinyin; English Parents/Educator Guide; and vocabulary list.
— "This is a unique, high-quality, high-production toy/product that is effective, yet fun and engaging for kids," Karen Wu Audi, Co-Founder of aha! Chinese, told TDmonthly. "Kids learn Chinese and don't realize that they are learning the language." Awards: 2009 iParenting Media Award; and Dr. Toy's 10 Best Educational and 100 Best Children's Products Awards. Launch date: August 8, 2009.