December 2011 New Specialty Toys — General Toys

Mungi Bands are magnetically connectable designer bands.  Each halfband is designed to interchange and connect to any other half band, and are connected by a magnet to create a whole band. "Mungi Bands allow the user to express themselves by choosing which design combination to wear," Chad Anger, owner/Inventor of Mungi Bands, told TDmonthly. Launch date: December 2011.
Awards: 2011 Best of Show
— As of 09/13/2012 this product had 5 out of 5 stars from 1 review on Amazon.com.

Children can direct their own stories from one of four magnetic story backgrounds: Fairytales, Robot's Landing, Animal Cottage, and Forest Adventure. Theater directors-in-training can move their magnetic figures around the scene to help tell their own original story. Launch date: January 2012. 

Made of completely safe natural rubber and painted with vegetable—based paints, these teethers have a gentle, delicate squeak that won't hurt baby's ears. Molded and hand—painted in Morocco. 6".

Block Mates build upon the foundation of unit blocks by providing children with a themed exploration set, designed to enhance the original principles of block—building. All Block Mates are designed to fit standard unit blocks and can be built in their natural form or mixed and matched with others in the set to create new, imaginative vehicles or creatures. Patented gasket design ensures a snug fit. Set of 4 construction vehicles: Dump Truck, Sanitation Truck, Back Hoe and Cement Mixer. Features rugged sure—grip wheels with steel axles. Blocks not included.

A cleverly cunning cubical conundrum. Individual cubes attached by twisting, turning joints. Flexible tetris-shapes are satisfying to flip and spin. Attempt to recreate the cubical configurations of emerald, ivory & black shown in the Tridio Puzzle Book. Scan the two-dimensional designs pictured, and set kids' minds & hands in motion. Modify the three tetris-shapes. Consider the color placement. Stack the Tetris pieces. Bring images to life in three-dimensional structures. 48 visual challenge puzzles.

MagnaMobiles are vehicles that feature an innovative, multi-faceted, connection feature called "rotating magnet technology." Put the pieces together and take them apart to create new and inventive vehicles. The blocks and pieces also make a clicking sound when joined together and rotated - adding another element of fun. These one-of-a kind vehicles are designed for kids to exercise their creativity.

The 150 piece set of Playstix allows kids to build a wide variety of models right out of the box, without the need for any additional or specialized parts. An Idea Booklet illustrates fun things to build, from a simple table and chairs to a two-story cabin. Each Playstix piece has grooves that interlock when one Playstix piece is placed across another. The different length Playstix pieces are color-coded, so it’s easy to see how each model is built.

BunkiMunki™ Keys are collectible trend merchandise kids can wear in unique ways to express their own style. When kids see other kids wearing the iconic key, they will recognize fellow members of BunkiMunki, an innovative social network that provides tweens a unique online experience. Kids create their own alias in the likeness of BunkiMunki™, the brand character, their own home space with realistic decor, and choose activities like journal writing, music creation, earning badges, games and virtual shopping. Launch date: October 2011.

Cotton Candy Cutesies are truly sweet plush characters with wispy hair that looks just like cotton candy. Each scrumptious Cutesie has a distinct personality based on their flavor - from rainbow cookie and orange cream soda to bubblegum and hot cinnamon.

Zip-Itz are magical and mischievous plush creatures that came to life after a mysterious machinery malfunction at the Zany Zipper Factory. Instead of zippered rain boots, purses, wallets and more, the machines spewed out colorful Zip-Itz instead. While no one is quite sure how they came to be, one thing is for certain - they make the very best pals. Adorned with rainbow-teeth zippers that open to reveal secret pockets, Zip-Itz are perfect for hiding all kinds of treasures. Each creature has a unique personality. The line includes 12 Zip-Itz Miniz and 6 Zip-Itz. Launch date: 2012.

Zip-Itz are magical and mischievous plush creatures that came to life after a mysterious factory machinery malfunction at the Zany Zipper Factory. Instead of zippered rain boots, purses, wallets and more, the machines spewed out colorful Zip-Itz instead. While no one is quite sure how they came to be, one thing is for certain - they make the very best pals. Adorned with rainbow-teeth zippers that open to reveal secret pockets, Zip-Itz are perfect for hiding all kinds of treasures. Each creature has a unique personality, fabric pattern, design and story based on what they were intended to become at the factory. The line includes six Zip-Itz characters. Launch date: 2012.

Johnny is an airplane with friction-powered, rotating propellers, and a cargo hold with 3 secret compartments.
— Gladys Griffin, owner of Main Street Toy Shop in Columbus, Ga., told TDmonthly in a November 2011 survey that the Johnny Jungle Plane is her best selling aircraft/flying toy.

For high flying fun. Super flight performance with 7” wingspan. Soft foam with weighted nose for long glides. Hand or rubber band launched.
— Kim Emigh, manager of e-commerce at Growing Tree Toys in State College, Pa., told TDmonthly in a November 2011 survey that Hot Wingz are one of her top-2 best selling flying toys.

Stop the prisoners from escaping the police station through the pipe drain. They won't get far on foot. Use the police car to chase them down and transport them back to prison in the police van. Help keep LEGO City safe with this feature-packed set. The LEGO City Police Station (7498) features: Set Contains 783 Pieces; Includes 4 police officers, 2 robbers, a police dog and lots of accessories; Modular building make building easy; Includes police car, prisoner transport van, and bicycle; Station features 2 jail cells, command center with computers, helicopter landing pad on the roof, garage for two vehicles.
— As of 11/07/2011 this product had 4.5 out of 5 stars from 11 reviews on ToysRUs.com. Pros: Lots of accessories; fun to build; very detailed. Cons: Expensive; took one reviewer two days to assemble completely.
— As of 11/07/2011 this product had 4.5 out of 5 stars from 15 reviews on Amazon.com.
— Paul Sahagian, owner of Learning Express in Needham, Mass., told TDmonthly in a December 2014 interview that this Frozen Coloring book is one of the best-selling books at their store.

This is a "Twist on the Classic Four-in-a-Row Game." It's full of secret colors, sneaky moves and wacky wild tokens that make players Swivel. Just when one player is about to get four in a row, another player may have to twist a level of the 3-D board and change everything. Launch date: 2011.

Crayola Super Tips Markers have unique, durable tips for drawing thick or thin lines. Use the sides for coloring in large areas and the tips for adding details. Super Tips are great for school projects, doodling, and coloring fun.These markers use ink that's formulated to easily wash from skin and most children's clothing. As an added bonus, these sets include some Silly Scent markers. The set of 50 contains 12 markers with silly scents.
— As of 10/14/2011 this product had 3.9 out of 5 stars from 5 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros:  Very washable; scented markers smell good. Cons: Yellow marker is actually orange; colors aren't true to their cap colors.
— As of 10/14/2011 this product had 4.2 out of 5 stars from 16 reviews on ToysRUs.com. Pros: Glides smoothly; good color variety; comfortable grip. Cons: Messy; two reviewers said that the markers were not, in fact, washable.

Kids can transform, configure, and manipulate Block Builders for endless building and perpetual design. Fold and unfold the six distinctively hinged blocks to create skyscrapers, modern art sculptures, geometric marvels - just about anything imaginable. Includes 50 puzzle challenge cards. Block Builders puzzle challenge cards range from beginner to expert. Look at the design on the front of the card and recreate the shape using the indicated number of blocks. The solution is provided in an exploded view on the opposite side of the card.

This Pigeon plush toy, from Caldecott Honor Award Winning Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, has a bean-filled body of soft chenille with embroidered eyes, and velour feet and legs. Squeeze Pigeon and hear him plead "Let Me Drive the Bus!!!"... in author Mo Willems' own voice.
— As of 10/14/2011 this product had 4.3 out of 5 stars from 7 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Cute; good for kids who are fans of the book. Cons: No off switch.

Includes 24 blue and turquoise magnetic rods & 20 chromed steel spheres. Magnetic rods combined with non-magnetic spheres transform into thousands of geometric forms.
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Products For Kids

Kids can send marbles down the wooden 99-piece Quadrilla Twist & Rail Set. Curved rails, straight rails, and a big twist make up this set.  50 marbles are included along with a cloth bag for safe storage.
Awards: Dr. Toy's 10 Best Toys - 2011

FyrFlyz is a revolutionary new spinning toy that puts the power to create an amazing light show in kids’ very own hands. Each FyrFlyz toy is a precision balanced instrument designed to spin on its axis. Simply by swinging the connected two strings and applying tension or allowing slack, kids create a continuous movement (figure eights, rings, etc.). The fun begins when the lights go out and the FyrFlyz multi-color LED lights turn the movement into an amazing light show that kids can play themselves or show their friends.
Awards: Dr. Toy's 10 Best Toys - 2011

55 piece Jigsaw puzzle. Pieces shaped like the states. Complete children's geography lesson of the USA. Fun for the whole family.

This 500 Piece Puzzle of the USA is actually shaped like the United States of America. The groups of pieces are shaped like the individual States. Alaska and Hawaii are their own separate puzzles. Each state is overlaid with it's own flag. The entire familiy can be entertained while learning a complete geographic lesson of the USA.

Since the pieces are actually shaped like the Countries of the World, you can't complete this 600-piece puzzle without figuring out where every Country is located. No other puzzle comes with such a superb geography lesson! 600 pieces.