December 2011 New Specialty Toys — Books

This adventure kit comes included with all the necessary tools to explore the amazing world of Bugs 3D. The kit contains a 3D book, 3D cards, magic costume card, software and Popar Reader. Kids will have an unforgettable experience as they grow wings and watch their favorite bugs leap from the pages or cards. "Popar® Toys use Augmented Reality (AR) technology to create an immersive reading experience that will allow the user to see incredible virtually “real” 3D objects and animations that will pop off the book or card," Scott Jochim, President of Popar Toys, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2011.
Awards: 2012 Best of the Toy Fair - The View; 2012 National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval.

Watch the helicopter as it zooms around the tracks in this delightful interactive book. Pull back the helicopter, place it on the tracks and let it go. Launch date: January 2012.

This Enchanting Activity Kit Includes: The Multi-Award Winning Hardcover book The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. IDEAS Music CD.  Eight - 27" square 100% nylon scarves, two of each of the following colors: ocean bottom blue, purple anemone, wave break blue and deep sea swirl.  Recommended for children ages 4-8.  All products made and constructed in the USA. Launch date: October 2011.

The Monster Eater book and plush animal was designed by a mom to help other parents who are dealing with a child who is convinced there is a monster in their room and won't sleep. The story helps show children they are empowered to defeat the monsters themselves with the aid of a Monster Eater. "There are plenty of stories out there who tell of monsters - none are stories about helping the children to overcome their fear to sleep in their rooms; and all night. Comes with a handy 'Monster Repellent' spray bottle," Wendy Lasater, CEO of Dandy Innovations, told TDmonthly. Separately,  the book is $8.99, the Monster Eater plush doll is $24.99, and the bottle of Monster Repellent is $2.99. Launch date: October 2011.

Out of all the holidays, Emily Elizabeth and Clifford like Halloween the most. They play games, trick-or-treat in the neighborhood, and tell ghost stories. Best of all, they can wear costumes. Clown, witch, knight, or ghost—what will Clifford decide to dress up as this year?
— Lynda Blankenship from Smart Toys & Books in Knoxville, Tenn., told TDmonthly in a December 2011 survey about Halloween that, "any Halloween books with established characters, like Clifford or Fancy Nancy," tend to do well.

From the vast and colorful imagination of Mary Engelbreit springs a Mother Goose world bursting with warmth and humor. All the favorite time-honored characters are here - Little Bo-Peep, Humpty Dumpty, Old King Cole, Jack and Jill, and many, many more, along with such treats as a mouse running up the clock, piggies going to market, and children dancing round the mulberry bush. As complete as can be with one hundred rhymes in all. Launch date: September 20, 2005.
— As of 12/06/2011 this product had 4.6 out of 5 stars from 52 reviews on Amazon.com.
— Maryalice Miner, co-owner of Miner's Doll & Toy Store in Ocean Springs, Miss., told TDmonthly in a December 2011 survey that they sell about 6 copies of this title each month.

Kids discover what makes the weather happen and how to predict what's ahead. Activities include making equipment to measure rainfall, wind direction and speed, humidity, and barometric pressure; recording measurements and observations in a Weather Log; and simulating weather events to demonstrate the science behind them. From foggy mornings to sunny afternoons to our changing seasons, weather forecasting is a year-round, practical science that children will have fun learning about. Perfect for budding meteorologists and science lovers. Launch date: January 28, 2017.
— In a December 2011 survey Mary Porter Green, owner of The Curiosity Zone in Ashton, Va., told TDmonthly, "We sell a lot of the science and craft books from Ideals Books - such as Science Play and Weather Forecasting. They are brightly colored with great graphics on the covers and full of simple projects for kids."           

A loveable monster with big puffy mitts has just flown in from Planet Tickle. His mission is to bring joy and laughter to Planet Earth. How? By tickling any child who happens to follow along in this book. Parents read aloud and do the tickling. The book comes with blue Tickle Monster mitts, with holes in the fingertips to make it easy for parents to instantly transform themselves into Tickle Monster and turn pages while tickling. Launch date: September 30, 2009.
— As of 12/06/2011 this product had 4.9 out of 5 stars from 81 reviews on Amazon.com.
— In a December 2011 survey, William Meredith, owner of Learning Express in Cary, N.C., said Tickle Monster was one of his best selling books. "It's a good infant item. You can buy it for a baby,” but it's also suitable for toddlers and preschoolers, he said. They sell about 10 copies every month.

Greg Heffley is in big trouble. School property has been damaged, and Greg is the prime suspect. But the crazy thing is, he’s innocent. Or at least sort of. The authorities are closing in, but when a surprise blizzard hits, the Heffley family is trapped indoors. Greg knows that when the snow melts he’s going to have to face the music, but could any punishment be worse than being stuck inside with your family for the holidays? Launch date: November 15, 2011.
— As of 12/06/2011 this book had 4.2 out of 5 stars from 58 reviews on Amazon.com.
— In a December 2011 survey about best selling books, Dean Smith, owner of JaZams in Princeton, N.J. told TDmonthly that they sold 36 copies of the book in the first month after its release.

Young fashionistas get to design their own outfits, makeup, hairstyles, and accessories with our 75 pages of lightly printed outlines of faces, figures, and fashionable extras. The grand finale to the fashion show is the Look Book portfolio of keepsake album pages with die-cut frames, perfectly sized to display their best work. Launch date: August 2011.

Olly Oogleberry™ is a curious and lovable alien seeking adventure and discovery.  After traveling 11 million light years from his home planet of Oogleberry, Olly and his merry band of alien misfits finds the companionship of young earthlings who share with him all the wonders of your extraordinary planet, Earth. In return, Olly Oogleberry teaches earthlings about space, aliens, UFOs and distant galaxies. Launch date: June 2011.
Awards: 2011 Davey Award for Education and Youth Web Site (OllyOogleberry.Com); 2011 IMA (Interactive Media Awards) Outstanding Achievement Award in category of Teens for www.OllyOogleberry.Com

In addition to true, but gross, humorous, interesting and wacky stories and facts, Arizona Way Out West & Wacky and Arizona Way Out West & Witty: Library Edition make reading about Arizona’s history fun through word searches, crossword puzzles, coloring pages, recipes, crafts and many other amusing activities.

Learning to Play Piano is designed for the parent and child to experience making music together. The pre-primer method book is filled with active participatory activities: writing in note names, tracing hands, writing in finger numbers, clapping, singing and playing melodies. The pull-out Keyboard Tent (included) provides a fun visual reference to associate notes on the page to keys on the piano. Children learn to play familiar melodies with their right hand gain the readiness skills needed to graduate to any commercially available piano method. The full-color book is filled with words of encouragement and praise from the familiar Debbie and Friends cartoon character. 24 pages.

During an ordinary visit to the library, a girl pulls a not-so-ordinary book from the shelves. As she turns the pages in this book about coral reefs, the city around her slips away and she finds herself surrounded by the coral cities of the sea and the mysterious plants and animals that live, hunt, and hide there.

Discover the many wonders of the world in this amazing illustrated tour of some of the most interesting places on Earth. Each spread focuses on one destination, and the amazingly intricate artwork gives readers a visual flavor of the place, with masses to look at and discover the more you look. There are links from one place to the next – historical, geographical, natural history or just simple proximity – for example, there is an ancient Egyptian obelisk in NY’s central park, with two sister obelisks in Paris and London. Find the one in the Central Park using Google™ Earth co-ordinates and it gives you the clue to where you will be going next. You will also need to solve a puzzle with the help of Google™ Earth to collect co-ordinates for your final secret location – again on Google™ Earth. For instance, the puzzle tells you to visit the Statue of Liberty on Google™ Earth and to count the number of points on its crown. This number is one of the co-ordinates you need to find your final destination at the end of the book. Launch date: September 27, 2011.

Ricky is wishing for a Christmas tree to light up his family’s house, but Dad has been too busy—until today. Dad tries to pick out the first tree they come across at the market, but Ricky convinces him to buy the biggest tree they can find instead. While they’re trying to tie it onto their sled, the rope snaps and they tumble backward into the snow. Rather than getting angry, Dad starts a snowball fight with Ricky, and as they play together, Dad is reminded how much fun winter can be. A touching story about the strength of a bond between father and son, this colorful book featuring the lovable Ricky delivers an important message about what really matters during the holidays. Launch date: Fall 2011.

A hair-raising, thrilling sled ride down a snowy hill tests Piggy's mettle in this amusing picture book. His parents don't want him to slide by himself, but he can't resist. Soon he whizzes past alligators in fetching Nordic sweaters and dodges a legion of penguins in silly hats toting a long pair of skis, narrowly avoiding one mishap after another. Over, under, around, or through, Piggy must make split-second decisions to safely reach Mom and Dad at the bottom of the hill. Launch date: October 1, 2011.

Ian's new potty makes him feel like a big boy. He is excited to know he will wear real underpants and go to the potty, but the new system will take some getting used to. Ian sits on the potty, but nothing happens. When he is out playing, he feels a tickle in his tummy, and his pants are wet. This sympathetic story about a universal situation will help children understand that mastering this new skill takes time and patience, and everyone is entitled to a few slip-ups. Ian wears big boy underpants, builds a big boy fort, eats a big boy sandwich, and finally learns to use the potty like the big boy he knows he is. When he achieves his goal, it is time to help mom empty the potty, wash his hands, and go outside to play with the other big boys. Launch date: November 2011.

Miss Lina’s ballerinas have all learned how to dance as a group. But now Miss Lina has a new surprise for them – a boy will be joining their class and performing in their end-of-year show. The girls have grand visions of dancing their first pas de deux with a prince. But when he finds himself surrounded by so much pink and so many girls, he turns quite shy, and dances his way out the door.

It is Christmas time and Kevin is discovering all of his family’s holiday traditions. He wonders why Mom put a tree inside the house; she tells him that it’s a Christmas tree for decorating with shiny ornaments, little lights, and a golden star at the top. Then Kevin helps Mom prepare Christmas dinner for all of their relatives and is excited to exchange presents with everybody. Even though he loves the special food and is grateful for his presents, Kevin learns that his favorite part of Christmas is getting to spend time with the people he cares about. With simple language and bright illustrations, this festive story focuses on the joys and delights of experiencing a holiday through the eyes of a child. Launch date: September 1, 2011.

The fun traditions of Halloween are celebrated in this engaging picture book in which the whole family prepares for the big day. Daddy carves the pumpkin into a scary monster face, while Mommy makes pumpkin soup and pumpkin cakes with the trimmings. Everyone makes scary costumes for the neighborhood Halloween party. After bobbing for apples, the children travel door to door collecting sweets and singing scary songs. When the excitement is over, the makeup and costumes come off, and it is time to crawl into bed, forget about the ghosts and goblins, and dream of next year's celebration. Simple shapes and just the right amount of spooky suspense introduce youngsters to a favorite holiday. Launch date: Fall 2011.

The fog in Foggytown was so thick that people bumped into parking meters . . . and streetlamps . . . and each other. So Joey and Chloe's parents decide it's time to move. But Joey and Chloe love their house. And as it turns out, their house loves them . . . and has a very special and utterly fantastic way of taking matters into its own hands. Comic- and picture-book star Mark Siegel has spun a delightful and compelling fantasy for young picture book readers, illustrated in a unique style that combines elements of traditional picture book, comic, and animation art.

Dragons exist. They’re ferocious. And they’re smart: Before they were killed off by slayer-knights, they rendered a select group of eggs dormant, so their offspring would survive. Only a handful of people know about this, let alone believe it – these “Slayers” are descended from the original knights, and are now a diverse group of teens that includes Tori, a smart but spoiled senator’s daughter who didn’t sign up to save the world. The dragon eggs have fallen into the wrong hands. The Slayers must work together to stop the eggs from hatching. They will fight; they will fall in love. But will they survive? Launch date: September 27, 2011.
— As of 11/23/2011 this book had 4.4 out of 5 stars from 10 reviews on Amazon.com.

Derek Fallon gets the opportunity of a lifetime—to be a stunt boy in a major movie featuring a pretty teen starlet. After accepting the job he learns that he is the star's stunt double and must wear a wig! His friends are never going to let him live this down. If that weren’t his only problem, his parents are threatening to give away his pet monkey, and his best friend just posted an embarrassing video of him on YouTube. Can life get any worse? Still the irrepressible Derek takes it all in stride and even manages to save the day. Launch date: Fall 2011.