April 2011 Notable Toys — American-Made

With a little help from some crayons or colored pencils, and the included red and blue (cyan) 3-D glasses, the children (and adults) will discover a whole new world right before their eyes. While any child can appreciate the cool 3-D effect, the art books are very beneficial for children diagnosed with Autism, ADD, ADHD and Down Syndrome. Once the child sees the depth of these images, it almost ensures they will complete the task. Wholesale is sold in packages of 15. Launch date: March 2010.
Awards: TDmonthly Top Toy Award, June 2011
— Why it won: 3-D is no longer passive! This set of coloring books allows kids to feel their pictures have really come to life. Once they wear the special, included set of glasses, their work seems to pop off the page. It's a great toy for traveling or Dr.'s offices, and will be sure to keep kids and their spectators engaged for some time.

The Mei Tai Baby Carrier is a modernized version of the traditional Chinese cloth baby carrier. It may be used to carry babies and toddlers in an upright position facing in or out, on the hip, or on the back. "Our Mei Tai is adjustable to enable users to adjust the width narrower for young babies or to face out," Beth Leistensnider, president of Catbird Baby, told TDmonthly.

The inside play area of this Princess Carriage easily accommodates 2-3 children. Carriage comes complete with 2 authentic lanterns, swinging carriage doors and a sunroof. Carriage has detailed pre-printed line work and includes colored markers.

The sleek contemporary design of this galactic cruiser will accommodate 1-2 children inside. Child uses flip up booster door in back of shuttle for easy entry. Front windshield flips up for additional peak-a-boo play. This Space Shuttle can also be easily positioned on its tail for “Take-off” position play.

This classic design is large enough to accommodate 2-3 children. Includes pre-printed line work and color markers for tons of coloring fun. Features a pointed tower and a door that folds down, just like a castle gate over a moat.

This high styled Pirate Ship will accommodate 2-3 small children and includes a flap door in back for easy access, a real spinning steering wheel and 2 Pirate swords. Safety tested designs with markers included- they're easy to assemble and built for serious play.

Trace, bake, shrink and build your favorite sea life in 3D! Classic Shrinky Dinks® with a new 3D twist! Make your favorite sea creatures: octopuses, dolphins, sharks and more. The new 3D Shrinky Dinks® Sea Life kit comes with 10 Shrinky Dinks Sheets (5” x 8”) and Sea Life tracing sheets. Just follow the easy to use illustrated instructions and you’ll be making your own 3D ocean in no time! "These are the only Shrinky Dinks on the market that show kids how to make real 3D figures," a rep from BSW Toys told TDmonthly.

Trace, bake, shrink and build your favorite zoo animals in 3-D. Make your favorite safari animals: Pandas, tigers, elephants and more. The new 3-D Shrinky Dinks Zoo Safari kit comes with 10 Shrinky Dinks Sheets (5” x 8”) and Zoo Safari tracing sheets. Just follow the easy to use illustrated instructions. "These are the only Shrinky Dinks on the market that show kids how to make real 3D figures," Andrew Tober, director of creative development for BSW Toy, told TDmonthly.

Trace, bake, shrink and build your Fairy Princesses in 3-D. Make your own fairy princesses, wings, flowers, jewles and more. The new 3-D Shrinky Dinks Fairy Princess kit comes with 10 Shrinky Dinks Sheets (5” x 8”) and Fairy Princess tracing sheets. Just follow the easy to use illustrated instructions. "These are the only Shrinky Dinks on the market that show kids how to make real 3D figures," Andrew Tober, director of creative development for BSW Toy, told TDmonthly.

Trace, bake, shrink and build your favorite Military Aircraft in 3-D. Classic Shrinky Dinks with a new 3-D twist! Make your favorite Fighter and bombers: the F-117 stealth, B-2 bomber, F-22 raptor and more. The new 3-D Shrinky Dinks® Military Aircraft kit comes with 10 Shrinky Dinks Sheets (5” x 8”) and Military Aircraft tracing sheets. Just follow the easy to use illustrated instructions. "These are the only Shrinky Dinks on the market that show kids how to make real 3D figures," Andrew Tober, director of creative development for BSW Toy, told TDmonthly.

Trace, bake, shrink and build your favorite Space Shuttles in 3-D! Classic Shrinky Dinks with a new 3-D twist. Make your own space program with the Astronauts, Space Shuttles, planets and more. The new 3-D Shrinky Dinks Space kit comes with 10 Shrinky Dinks Sheets (5” x 8”) and Space tracing sheets. Just follow the easy to use illustrated instructions. "These are the only Shrinky Dinks on the market that show kids how to make real 3-D figures," Andrew Tober, director of creative development for BSW Toy, told TDmonthly.

Trace, bake, shrink and build dinosaurs in 3-D. Make standing figurines of dinosaurs: the T.rex, Triceratops, and Brachiosaurs. The new 3-D Shrinky Dinks Dinosaur kit comes with 10 Shrinky Dinks Sheets (5” x 8”) and Dinosaur tracing sheets. Kids just follow the easy to use illustrated instructions. This is "The first kids craft kit to make 3-D Shrinky Dinks," Andrew Tober, Director of Creative Development at BSW Toy, told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 2011.

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.

The Tie-Not Filler attaches to your hose and works with our Tie-Not tool to fill and tie water balloons in seconds. Made in the USA. The Tie-Not Filler is the "Only filler on the market that attaches to the hose and does not need to be clamped to a table. [It] can work anywhere your hose goes!" Laura Sikorcin, President of Tie-Not Inc, told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 2011.

Flarble is The Smallest Flying Toy in the World. Flarble is safe to fly indoors and are decidedly low-tech, but requires no batteries, and no on-line or computer connections whatsoever. Newly patented and 100% made in the USA. "The single thing that sets our toy apart is that there ARE no other toys like ours, and it's absolute universal appeal," Gordon Bopp, President of Rock Creek Molding Inc, told TDmonthly. Launch date: February 2011.

This 19 x 13" 100 pieces Sharks jigsaw puzzle features over 20 shark species. Made of strong, easy-fit puzzle pieces, grained paper for a glare-free picture, recycled board, recycled paper, and vegetable based ink. "Beautiful illustrations make your child aware of the diversity in shark species. Your child will learn important characteristics of individual shark family members," Erich Fellinger, Eurographics sales manager, told TDmonthly. Launch date: March 2010.

100 pieces Penguins jigsaw puzzle. This puzzle features over 15 species of the penguins. Features: 100 pieces, Dimension: 13 x 19 inches, Superior-quality piece by piece, easy-fit puzzle pieces, Strong puzzle pieces, Made from recycled board, Image printed on recycled paper, Ink is vegetable based. This 100 piece puzzle will challenge and educate. "Beautiful illustrations educate your child about species diversity and important characteristics of individual penguin family members," Eric Fellinger, sales manager at EuroGraphics, told TDmonthly. Launch date: March 2010.