May 2011 New Specialty Toys — Eco-Friendly

Ten sturdy earth-friendly boxes to stack, build and nest with early-learning concepts on each side. Learning letters, numbers, shapes, colors and baby animals has never been so fun and easy. It's a "Classic development toy made entirely from earth-friendly recycled materials," Rich Hill, director of marketing at innovativekids, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2011.

This 22 piece rattling building block set was designed specially for Little Builders. Shake, rattle, and build with these colorful blocks sized for little hands. Launch date: June 2011.
Awards: Dr. Toy 10 Best Toys of 2011

This award-winning patented cloth pocket diaper is made with sturdy snap closures, which are made to last and require no maintenance. FuzziBunz diapers have no Velcro®, so they won't fray, collect lint or snag your baby's clothes. FuzziBunz come in a variety of sweet and fun colors and they fit snugly on your baby without the added bulk that  comes with most one-size diapers. They offer "Lots of adjustability with 30+ adjustable buttons and snap settings to adjust waist, leg casings and rise. It is the most adjustable one-size diaper," Ashley Boudreaux, marketing director at FuzziBinz, told TDmonthly.
Awards: 2007 Iparenting Media; 2008 PTPA Media; 2009 Best of Business Awards; 2010 Stevie Awards: Best New Product of the Year; 2010 Stevie Awards: Most Innovative Company

Rock away on Rocker-feller, a carefully designed and crafted rocking horse. All details are laser engraved. Overall measurements are 29"" long by 11 1/2"" wide by 19 1/2"" high. Seat is 12"" off the floor. Sized for early toddlers, up to age three. Made from responsibly harvested solid pine and with a non-toxic finish. Ships fully assembled. "Rocker-feller is constructed out of all wood," Barbara Rainville, marketing manager at Maple Landmark Woodcraft, told TDmonthly. Launch date: January 2011.
Awards: 2011 Baby and Child Best New Products Awards Winner, 2011 Blogger's Best January NY International Gift Fair

Earth-friendly wood rainbow fairies puzzle that exercises skills that prepare children for reading, math, problem solving and more. The 12-piece puzzle is made of wood from sustainable forests, and comes in a handy carrying case so kids can easily keep track of all the parts. Launch date: July 2011.

The cooperative board games collection includes Count Your Chickens, Hoot Owl Hoot, Lost Puppies, Mermaid Island, and Stone Soup. Ideal for children two years of age and up, the games focus on socialization skills in a cooperative, group play setting. "Unlike traditional games where there is one winner and one (or many) losers, with cooperative games the players work together against a common obstacle in the game, not against each other. If the game is lost, the defeat is shared equally among the players. And, if the game is won, everyone is a winner," Donna Modrell, marketing & operations manager at Peaceable Kingdom Press, told TDmonthly. Launch date: January 2011.
Awards: Hoot Owl Hoot! - 2011 Dr. Toy Best Green Product

Nourish Toddler celebrates a toddler's growing independence with an easy-to-use, impossible to spill and healthy drink of their own. It is 10 oz of purified spring water in a unique, patented bottle designed for little hands and complete with a spill-proof sippy top. Nourish is also BPA-free, Phthalate-free, made in the USA and 100% recyclable and reusable. Toddlers can now quench their thirst without drenching themselves and everything around them. ""Nourish Toddler is the only 100% spill-proof sippy cup on the market,"" Brittany Roderick from Nourish Inc told TDmonthly.
Awards: 2010 MAX Award for Most Innovative New Product in Georgia; 2011 Water Innovation Award: Runner Up for Best New Water Brand

Nourish Baby eases the stress of feeding time on the go. It is 8 oz of pre-measured purified spring water with a wide neck for easy formula mixing. Nourish is also BPA-free, Phthalate-free, made in the USA and 100% recyclable and reusable. ""Nourish Baby is like no other baby bottle because it already comes with water in it and is the first immediate consumption drink for babies on the market,"" Brittany Roderkick, from Nourish Inc, told TDmonthly.
Awards: 2010 MAX Award for Most Innovative New Product in Georgia; 2011 Water Innovation Award: Runner Up for Best New Water Brand

These reusable machine-washable crowns will last for many years. Just replace the right birthday number. Felt numbers 0 to 9 included. Organic Cotton fleece lining is soft and comfy for little heads and is free from harmful chemicals. Adjustable hook and loop closure fits most children. Can be also used for dress-up play or as a fashionable accessory. Any felt shape can be attached to the front.

This edible fingerpaint was created in 2007 with babies in mind, adhering to baby safe ingredients which are organic. The paint is also vegan, wheat-free, sugar-free, and contains no preservatives. Babies and toddlers can start expressing themselves artistically earlier, without parents having to worry about them ingesting harmful chemicals and dyes. Fantastic Finger Paints come in 5 colors. Purple/Blue with REAL blueberries, Red/Pink with REAL beets, Orange & Yellow with REAL pumpkin and green with REAL spinach. CPSIA Compliant. Made from Organic Fruit & Vegetable powders, rice cereal and rice flour. Paints come in 6 oz. convenient tottle bottles which have powder in them. Just add the water, shake and create. Makes over 12 oz. of paint per bottle (refill bottle with water and get more paint). Must be refrigerated after water is added.
Awards: A Dr. Toy Best Green Product for 2011; TDmonthly Top Toy Award, June 2011
— Why it won: This paint is extremely eco-friendly, and encourages parents to introduce their children to art and painting as soon as possible, without having to worry about their child being harmed by ingesting the chemicals in non-organic, non-plant based paints. This means kids can start learning forms of creative expression from a younger age.

This game is easy enough for first time game players and the game can be made infinitely more challenging simply by adding more owl tokens into the game. This allows the game to age with the child or for older kids (or even adults) to play with younger kids. Like in Candyland, kids practice color recognition and moving tokens. Unlike Candyland, Hoot Owl Hoot is a cooperative game, meaning all players are playing for the same outcome together. A cooperative game eliminates stress, builds self-esteem, and teaches kids that playing together can be fun. Kids learn to work together, they share in the game play, and they practice cooperation. The object of the game is move all the owls from start to the nest before the sun rises. Players take turns, but work together. Launch date: May 2011.
Awards: A Dr. Toy Best Green Product for 2011; 2011 Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Award; 2011 Parents’ Choice Major Fun Award; 2011 Disney FamilyFun magazine Toy of the Year (T.O.Y) Award.
— As of 05/23/2011 this product had 4.8 out of 5 stars from 10 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Teaches kids to work together; difficulty can be increased as players get better; eco-friendly.

Playspaces come in a decorative envelope but become a 3-D play scene. Two sturdy interlocking boards create four areas to populate with pop-out characters with stands. The reclosable envelope measures 9-3/4 x 15" and has a string closure. 100% recycled paper is used for the product greyboard. Playspaces are designed for children ages four and older. They have small parts, and are a choking hazard for children under 3 years of age.
Awards: A Dr. Toy Best Green Product for 2011

The My Natural Ballerina is a 12", earth friendly rag doll made from natural (unbleached, unprocessed) cotton and colored with miYim's proprietary PureWaterWash process that uses plants and minerals in soy water for the dye bath. Her pink dress, hair bow and toe shoes are sure to please dancers of all ages.
Awards— A Dr. Toy Best Green Product for 2011

Bag-o-Loot is a new card game that combines strategy, luck, interaction and emotions. During their turn, players can create sets of matching cards called collections, steal collections from other players, or complete a set, making a Bag-O-Loot. But players must be wary- The Bag-O-Loot could be a bluff. Players must outwit or outguess their opponents and try to commit a robbery to end the round. "It is just as fun and engaging for a group of adults to play, a group of kids to play, or a mixed group of adults and kids to play," John Shelley, president of Bag-O-Loot, told TDmonthly.
Awards: 2011 Dr. Toy's Best Picks; 2011 Preferred Choice Award in the category of Family Card Games from Creative Child Magazine.
— As of 10/19/2011 this product had 5 out of 5 stars from 10 reviews on Amazon.com.

Fastrack is an all-new kind of sports game. It consists of a wooden tray with an elastic band across each end and a bridge in the middle with a slot opening. Each side starts with 5 wooden disks. Using the elastic cord, players must be quick and aim well to be the first to send all of the disks zooming across to the other side. The first to successfully clear all 10 disks to the opponent's side wins the round. "Fastrack is high quality, eco-friendly, durable and made of wood," Nicole Britton from Blue Orange Games told TDmonthly. Launch date: June 2011.
Awards: 2011 Dr. Toy's Best Green Product; 2011 ASTRA Best Toys for Kids
— In a July 2014 survey, one out of 14 retailers told TDmonthly that Fastrack was their store's best-selling toy.

Build-A-Robot features four interchangeable, geometric-shaped heads featuring the emotions of happiness, sadness, anger and surprise as well as a range of textures to address sensory issues. To strengthen fine motor skills, the heads are attached with snap connectors. The legs are attached with screw connectors allowing the robot to sit or stand. Designed specifically to address the needs of children with ASD, the robot appeals to children of all ages. Launch date: February 2011.