May 2011 New Specialty Toys — Educational

Children can carry along their own electronic tablet with the ABC WordPad, a compact electronic learning device that looks and feels like a little tablet. It features include five different learning activities: Letter Learning Fun, Word Learning Fun, Find It!, Spelling Practice Fun and Music Fun. This portable playbook requires two “AA” batteries (included). Launch date: May 2011.
Awards: 2011 Creative Child Preferred Choice Award; 2011 Dr Toy 10 Best High Tech Products and 100 Best Children's Products.

With The Klutz Guide to the Galaxy, kids can explore the universe without leaving the comfort of their backyard. This galactic tool kit has everything kids need: a build-it-yourself telescope, a night-sight flashlight, star and moon maps, a no-batteries-required sundial, a mariner’s quadrant to steer by the stars, tons of intergalactic activities, and more.
Awards: TDmonthly Top Toy Award, June 2011
— Why it won: Who knew you could build a telescope with a book? Everything needed to create a spyglass for space is contained within the Guide to the Galaxy's pages. There are lots of facts about the universe, plus other projects that kids can build to help navigate this world and others. It's a great gift that will appeal to both boys and girls.

In Spell it! players roll the five-sided lettered die. Using at least 3 of the 5 letters they must call out a word related to the given theme. The first to call out the word and spell it correctly wins a chip worth the number of letters in the word. If the word is misspelled, no points are received. Themes include "Home Sweet Home," "Around the World," "Famous People," "Sports, Games, and Hobbies," "Create a Theme," and "No Nouns." "Spell It! is truly a party game with words. There is always a challenge to get the longest word in the right theme and spell it correctly," Nicole Britton from Blue Orange Games told TDmonthly. Launch date: June 2011.

Arrange colorful cubes in different designs with Pixy Cubes. Each cube is colored green, red, yellow and blue- either as solids, halves or in two variations of crescent shapes. Players can race for speed, challenge their memory, or simply create pictures and designs as a pastime. "With so many options and travel-friendly packaging, Pixy Cubes is perfect for an afternoon of fun and mental stimulation," Nicole Britton from Blue Orange Games told TDmonthly. Launch date: June 2011.

Dragon Face is perfect for the chess and checker enthusiast and ideal for those with a penchant for fantasy and strategy games. Each side has an Emperor, 6 Ambassadors and 7 Governors. Each piece can move in different ways. Players capture an opponent's piece by jumping over it; that piece is then turned upside down and becomes the players own. The end goal is to capture the Emperor by locking it in. "Dragon Face is a great strategy game and a perfect way to develop critical thinking skills and concentration," Nicole Britton at Blue Orange Games told TDmonthly. Launch date: June 2011.

The Steps4Kids multiplication DVD provides engaging graphics and animation to help children memorize their math facts. Practice tests, memorization strategies, and parent/teacher section included. "The Steps4Kids multiplication DVD teaches math concepts, properties, single digit by double digit math and self help strategies to help children memorize their math facts of numbers 0 through 12," Nancy Holt from Steps4Kids told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 2011.

Funky Shape Sorter with Five Chunky Blocks. Kids learn about shapes and colors with the funky shape sorter. Rotate the gears, line up the shapes then slide the blocks through. Blocks drop inside the jet pack back with a funny clunky sound then slide out the side to keep the play going. Helps to improve fine motor skills and develop shape and color recognition. Launch date: April 2011.

Children will have a blast building and racing on this fast and fun Techno Gears Marble Mania Twin Turbo Trax. After completing the build kids can compete against each other as they race their marbles through this exciting turbo marble speedway. Fun sound effects add to the excitement and the winning time shown on an LED display. Colors may vary. Requires two "AA" batteries and two button cell batteries. "We manufacture the longest running marble run on the market, " Sherri Borrelli, Sales Administrator for The Learning Journey International, told TDmonthly. Launch date: May 2011.

The Make It! series are fun construction games that will challenge problem solving and memorization, and will develop fine motor skills of young children as they build their favorite creatures. Featuring Dinosaurs, Zoo Animals, Farm Animals and Animal Babies. Make It! is a multi-player game that teaches cooperation skills and animal recognition. Simply take turns selecting game cards and try to collect the pieces necessary to complete your animal.

Tegu's patent-pending blocks cleverly incorporate magnets inside sustainably harvested wood, offering gravity-defying blocks that show no visible point of connectivity and enable multi-dimensional building experiences. Available in the following honduran hardwood finishes: natural, mahogany, tints and jungle. "We utilize eco-friendly hardwoods, making them both durable and friendly to the forest," a rep for Tegu Inc told TDmonthly.
Awards: 2010 Parent’s Choice Award, 2010 Dr. Toy Best Green Toys and Children’s Products, 2010 Oppenheim Gold
— David Stelzer, owner of Shananigans in Baltimore, Md., told TDmonthly in a March 2015 survey that Tegu blocks were one of his store's best-selling eco-friendly toys.

Exercise your mind and outwit your opponents with Mosaic 4, the new fast paced 4 in a row abstract strategy game! Mosaic 4 is set up on a board of movable squares. Two to four players compete to be the first to get 4 tokens in a row. On their turn, each player can either place a token on the board, or shift an entire row or column of movable squares over by one space. The rules are simple but the game gets increasingly challenging. Mosaic 4 comes with instructions in English, Spanish, German and French. "The movable board squares add an extra challenge," Mary Lin from Gridly Games told TDmonthly. Launch date: April 2011.

Polish real amber to reveal the hidden treasures that may be trapped within. Just like the paleontologists in the movie Jurassic Park, kids will create a window back in time. Follow the simple instructions and peer into the real amber pieces in search of ancient bugs and plants that were alive during the time of the dinosaurs. This fun activity kit contains 5 real pieces of amber, 6 special grades of gemstone quality sandpaper, magnifying glass, adventure booklet, and an amber-colored key chain with a genuine scorpion inside. Launch date: 2012.
Awards: 2012 National Parenting Center Seal of Approval; 2012 Product of the Year - Informal Education Products

Snack Attack! is a fast-paced picture matching, token stacking challenge. Players spin the Snack Attack! Spinner Platter and the Snack Tokens appear. The player with the most Snack Tokens wins. The matching and stacking of Snack Tokens varies the game every time it’s played and two levels of play keeps the game interesting for both younger and older children. Launch date: March 2011.

PathWords is a new game that combines the Tetris® and Word Search. Players must find all the words in each challenge and place the puzzle pieces so that the letters under each piece spell a word. PathWords will delight puzzle game buffs and word search fanatics. Launch date: March 2011.
— In a Summer 2011 survey, Mary Porter of The Curiosity Zone in Ashburn, Va., told TDmonthly that ThinkFun was her best-selling brand of puzzles.
— As of 7/12/2011 this product had 4.9 out of 5 stars from 19 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Clear instructions; fun alone or as a group; challenging.

Each puzzle image is randomly designed and cut in the oddest ways to make it as tricky as possible. The Baffler has no straight edges, no overlapping images and many unique shapes. Each of the three puzzles in the series has a unique piece count: 67 pieces, 69 pieces and 78 pieces. "The puzzles feature unique shapes and no straight edges," Emily Giurleo, marketing coordinator at Ceaco, told TDmonthly.
— David Campbell, owner of Amazing Toys in Great Falls, Mont., told TDmonthly in a Summer 2012 survey that puzzles from Gamewright/Ceaco were among his best sellers.

These soft, plush animal banks carefully guard jingly treasures in their tummies. Available in Dogs, Pigs, and Frogs, these banks move and play their respective animal sounds when coins are added. Animated Animal Banks also aid in teaching and encouraging children to save their money.
Awards: The 2011 National Parenting Center "Seal of Approval"

Fur-Ever Home, the Animal Rescue Game is a family friendly board game of chance and skill where players take in dogs and cats, care for them, and adopt them out to loving “Fur-Ever Homes”. The game ends when all players have worked together and there are no more pets in Straytown. The player with the most points from placing dogs and cats in Fur-Ever Homes wins. But, players have to make decisions about money to stay in the game. "It is the first board game on the market where players get to test their skill at running their very own animal rescue, and adopting out animals to Fur-Ever Homes," Carianne Burnley, CEO of Petsapalooza LLC, told TDmonthly.