September 2012 New Specialty Toys — Books

For early and emerging readers, this edition of An Elf’s Story™ is a re-telling of the Christmas story featuring the McTuttle family and Chippey, a pixie scout elf sent by Santa from the North Pole. Join Chippey, Snowflake, Wordsworth, and Zart in this heartwarming Christmas tale about believing in the magic of all things Christmas.

In 1939 Robert L. May, a copywriter working at Chicago's Montgomery Ward & Co., wrote a holiday story at the request of his employer. Almost two and a half million copies of the little tale about a reindeer with a shiny red nose were given away to children who visited Montgomery Ward stores that year. The rest is history. Over seventy years later, the beloved classic is once again available in a faithful, hardcover facsimile of the original 1939 Rudolph, with original text and illustrations by Denver Gillen.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar™ Match and Munch Game uses the recognizable art from Eric Carle’s illustrated tale of The Very Hungry Caterpillar™ to help kids learn to identify healthy foods by practicing association and matching skills to help the caterpillar transform into a beautiful butterfly. The 55 food cards and 10 butterfly tokens are stored in the adorable caterpillar carrying case for easy transport and safe keeping. When kids are ready to play, each player receives 5 food cards to start and the remaining cards are placed in a pile. The goal is to complete a hand of either, five oranges, a hand of four strawberries and one apple, or a hand of three blueberries and two pears.
Awards: 2012 Dr. Toy 100 Best Toys

My1story books are a fun, entertaining collection of the world’s most renowned children’s characters and fairy tales under one cohesive and comprehensive brand. Each storybook introduces classic fairy tale characters in a new story twist. The collection has five titles with the first two, Lil’ Riding Hood and Jack’s Beanstalks The goal is to build under the My1story umbrella books that parents, grandparents, and children will find their favorite classic characters and hopefully kindle many happy memories through storytelling.
Awards: 2012 Dr. Toy 100 Best Toys

Curious kids will be inspired by the endless possibilities of the fifty fun-filled building activities in The Budding Builder. With great ways for children to take ideas from their limitless imaginations and to fashion them into reality, this book shows parents and kids how to create a fairytale cottage, make a marker organizer, carefully construct a toothpick sculpture, and build a bird feeder.
Awards: 2012 Dr. Toy 100 Best Toys

Few things are as satisfying as the THONK! of hitting a target. With Coin Blaster Arcade, even novice sharpshooters can flick coins with surprising speed and accuracy using the included “coin blasters” — the world’s first coin-operated, finger-powered mini-cannons, only from Klutz. The book is full of awesome tabletop target games including Hot Shot Hoops, Break the Bank, Skee Coin, and Penny Putt Golf. Ten different games test your coin blasting mastery and let you dominate the kitchen table.
Awards: 2012 Dr. Toy 100 Best Toys

This easy-to-use spiral-bound book includes reproducible pages of questions for students, a complete answer guide, and interpretive activities for each of the 32 styles presented from prehistoric art to the present. The book is designed to correlate with Crystal's DVD series Learn Art Styles with Lisa, as well as the Art Styles Posters and Display Cards, but can also be used as a standalone resource as well as with books and the internet as other sources of information.

Just imagine all of nature—mountains, prairies, oceans, and all—lying on your bed as a patchwork quilt. Take flora and fauna in their unique habitats, fold them up and you have a book, this book. Earth’s major habitats are spread before you, ready to be examined. Here in this beautiful package are revealed the key concepts of natural science. This patchwork quilt of nature covers the whole Earth to learn about, to enjoy, to care for, and to love.

Just imagine—you are a young orca whale. Your special friends are two cousins and your 100 year-old great grandmother, the clan leader. You learn to play with them, face danger with them, hunt with them—and even go people-watching with them. Based on actual orca, or killer whale, research, this book combines science with the real story of how family, friendship, and a grandmother’s love are helping this magnificent but endangered orca clan to survive.

From Basher, the illustrator who made science too-cool-for-school, comes a fun and funky poster and sticker book to introduce the youngest readers to the wonderful world of Basher Science. Featuring some of the friendly and iconic superstars of the best-selling titles in the series—Rocks and Minerals, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Planet Earth, Oceans, and Physics—as well as four pages of reusable stickers and gentle, child-friendly text, this book is an appealing, interactive treat for the youngest science hounds. Launch date: July 2012.

Inference Jones provides short, fun, and easy-to-use activities that improve critical reading and higher order thinking by developing the student’s ability to draw inferences from written text. Research shows inferential reasoning is a prerequisite component to superior reading comprehension. Launch date: February 2012.
Awards: Creative Child Magazine

Children love to make up stories, and these 40 creative projects and activities encourage them to free their storytelling instincts. Younger children will love making story stones and a storytelling jar, and then will love using them to create stories of their own, while older kids will enjoy word grab bags, story walks, and journaling exercises. For everyone ages 5 to 12, whatever their reading level, this book has everything needed to spark an infinite number of child-created stories. 144 pages. Launch date: September 2012.

When Cora and her younger sister, Mimi, are sent to stay with their elderly aunt in the isolated village of Byers Guerdon, they receive a less-than-warm welcome. Auntie Ida is eccentric and rigid, and the girls are desperate to go back to London. But what they don't know is that their aunt's life was devastated the last time two young sisters were at Guerdon Hall, and she is determined to protect her nieces from an evil that has lain hidden for years. Along with Roger and Peter, two village boys, Cora must uncover the horrifying truth that has held Bryers Guerdon in its dark grip for centuries - before it's too late for little Mimi. Riveting and intensely atmospheric, this stunning debut will hold readers in its spell long after the last page is turned. In an exquisitely chilling debut novel, four children unravel the mystery of a family curse - and a ghostly creature known in folklore as Long Lankin. Launch date: July 2012.

It's a rainy day, so Posy decides to stay at home and do some baking. With the cupcakes safely in the oven, she settles down to lick the bowl when a large, blue, furry paw appears at her window. A moment later, a monster walks in- oh, no! But something about the monster looks familiar...Pip and Posy are friends (most of the time!) in the newest title in this series about the dramas of toddler life. Launch date: July 2012.

Maisy and her friends love everything to do with Halloween - painting faces on pumpkins, dressing up in costumes, bobbing for apples, and especially going out to trick-or-treat. But they can't do any of these things unless their little fans join the festivities by completing each scene with colorful stickers. Launch date: July 10, 2012.

Play with your favorite SpongeBob Squarepants™ characters in this 3in1 activity book. The activities include Magic Pen® Painting, Invisible Ink and Sticker Puzzles. The Special Pen reveals the invisibly printed pictures. The Special Pen also produces a rainbow of colors instantly. Unscramble the stickers to create a surprise picture. Each book includes 24 pages of fun, a special pen and 2 jumbled sticker puzzles.

Play and learn with your favorite Dora the Explorer™ characters. The activities include Magic Pen® Painting, Invisible Ink and Sticker Puzzles. The Special Pen reveals the invisibly printed pictures. The Special Pen also produces a rainbow of colors instantly. Unscramble the stickers to create a surprise picture.
Book 1: Each book includes 24 pages of fun and a special pen.
Book 2: Each book includes 24 pages of fun, a special pen and 2 jumbled sticker puzzles.

An abandoned egg shows up in a barnyard and Rooty Rooster forces Kora Hen to hatch it. Although Kora accepts the odd chick as her own, he has to struggle to be accepted by Rooty.
Awards: Reader's Favorite Five Star Rating Award

The Zoobies team is proud to bring to life the classic Norman Bridwell storybook character, Clifford the Big Red Dog. Not only is Clifford a playful, cuddly plush toy, but also a soft book that opens up into a bedtime story — the perfect bedtime companion.

The talented author of the best-selling Basher informational series brings his unique sensibility to this fun series of concept books for the youngest readers. Bouncy BoBo is back, leaping through bright, cheerful scenes, and discovering all kinds of amazing opposites—from big elephants and tiny mice to a noisy drum kit and a quiet balloon ride. The super-colorful artwork, bold design, and funny antics will make this a read again favorite for the youngest set. Launch date: April 24, 2012.

The talented author of the best-selling Basher informational series brings his unique sensibility to this fun series of concept books for the youngest readers. From the moment he gets up to the time he goes to bed, lovable (but accident-prone!) BoBo bounces through his day. A big, bold clock face on each spread will help preschoolers learn how to tell the time, and the super-colorful design and silly antics will keep them engaged. Launch date: April 24, 2012.

The numbers 1 to 20 are creatively counted in this companion to the critically acclaimed Basher: ABC Kids. Witty, rhythmic text and Basher’s bold, appealing artwork highlight the gallery of unforgettable characters like two cheeky monkeys playing tennis, three messy piggies baking cakes, and five cool caterpillars blowing bubbles who dance across the pages. But there’s some learning that comes with all this fun—each double-page spread features a number line from 1 to 20, which combines with the language to give children essential tools to learn how to count quickly and with confidence.

What do you get when you combine a word and a number? A wumber! Paying tribute to William Steig's CDB!, best-selling book, cre8ors Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld have wri10 and illustr8ed this s2pendous book that is 1derful 4 readers in kindergar10 and up. If we've confused you, just take a look at the book — 4tun8ly it has helpful pictures. Kids will get it ins10tly. Launch date: May 30, 2012.

Did you know that James West invented the microphone in your cell phone? That Fred Jones invented the refrigerated truck that makes supermarkets possible? Or that Dr. Percy Julian synthesized cortisone from soy, easing untold people's pain? These are just some of the black inventors and innovators scoring big points in this dynamic look at several unsung heroes who shared a desire to improve people's lives. Offering profiles with fast facts on flaps and framed by a funny contemporary story featuring two feisty twins, here is a nod to the minds behind the gamma electric cell and the ice-cream scoop, improvements to traffic lights, open-heart surgery, and more - inventors whose ingenuity and perseverance against great odds made our world safer, better, and brighter. Authors: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, basketball legend and the NBA's all-time leading scorer, champions a lineup of little-known African-American inventors in this lively, kid-friendly book. Raymond Obstfeld is the author of more than forty books of fiction and nonfiction and is a professor of creative writing. He lives in California. Launch date: January 2012.