January 2011 Notable Toys — All

Mary Meyer has brought the bold fashion and flare of its top selling Print Pizzazz products to their baby line by softening the bold and turning up the cute. Baby Pizzazz is the result. There are two collections for Boys – Squiggles Puppy and Dots Giraffe – and two collections for Girls – Birdy Boo Elephant and Petals Pony. Each of the collections include a rattle, soft toy, and floppy pillow. The Dots Giraffe Soft Toy is 12'' high. All of the Baby Pizzazz items exceed safety standards and are machine washable.

This album is full of elephants and tigers and rain and cuckoos and babies and flies and centipedes and googly eyes and acoustic guitars and pianos and clear, funny stories inside the super lovely songs. Launch Date: 2010
— “Caspar Babypants has been huge. I don't know where he's from, but his stuff is extremely popular and parents say that it doesn't drive them crazy to listen to it,” said Valla Wagner, co-owner of Teaching Toys & Books in Tacoma, Wash.
— Owner Joan Hewitt of Wind Up Here in Olympia, Wash., sells “probably 12+ a month… We got to have him live in the store!”

The Rattlesnake is very distinctive in its native environment, and now as a puppet. Designed with the signature diamond back in browns of the desert, this rattler stretches out to 36 inches, has a movable mouth and a rattle in its tail.

Holland Lop Rabbit is a 17-inch bundle of cuddly joy. Made with fabrics that are more than just soft, they are snuggable.

Folkmanis’ Cottontail Rabbit is 15 inches and super soft. It sits alert with ears perked; front paws and mouth are movable on this life-like rabbit.

Folkmanis’ Lion has been redesigned and is ready to roar. Always king of the jungle, this 16-inch beast has a soft-and-fluffy mane and stoic pose.

Eastern Chipmunk has cute chubby cheeks, a movable mouth and arms, and sits 7-inches high. Its recognizable racing stripe and long, fluffy tail add to its adorable character.

The Gray Wolf is 22-inches long and has feathery plush fabric in gray, brown and white. Big ears and pointy snout give the Wolf its character and charm while the movable mouth will give a voice – or howl – to it.

Each kit includes: a plush puppet body, felt to cut-out body parts, non-toxic glue, fabric puppet parts, instructions, animal facts, and puppet show ideas. The package converts to a puppet stage and the inside of the packaging is a ready-to-color stage scene, so there is no packaging waste. Children can “Simply Cut, Glue, Color, Play,” says Elaine Kollias, marketing director at Folkmanis. Consumer will need to provide their own scissors and crayons.  The Kits come in three varieties: Bunny, Cat and Frog.

Baby Michael Jackson includes smash hits such as Beat It, Billie Jean, Thriller and Man In The Mirror. Baby Blanket Music features familiar baby sounds like vibraphones and music boxes paired with a full medley of richer, more classical instruments including strings, woodwinds, pianos, harps and soft percussion.  Together, these instrumental arrangements create gentle textures that are calming and enjoyable to ears of any age.

Among the popular Madonna tunes that can be found on Baby Madonna are Holiday, Material Girl, Vogue and Like A Prayer. Baby Blanket Music features familiar baby sounds like vibraphones and music boxes paired with a full medley of richer, more classical instruments including strings, woodwinds, pianos, harps and soft percussion.  Together, these instrumental arrangements create gentle textures that are calming to ears of any age.

This colorful line of giftwrap from Disegno is made of eco-friendly Kraftpaper (sustainable PEFC/FSC cultivation) and is CO2 neutral. The creative design features children playing, a castle, a volcano, princesses and knights, and more. This design is available as counter-roll wrapping paper, paper shopping bags, gift bags,  and gift certificates. Once a child opens their gift, the wrap can be used as a border in their room, hung as a poster, or laminated onto cardboard and cut into puzzle pieces.

In its licensing deal with Wolverine World Wide, Inc., the company behind Hush Puppies and other innovative footwear, apparel and accessory brands, Aurora will launch and distribute worldwide the Hush Puppies plush animal line. featuring a small (5"), medium (10") and large (18") Hush Puppies basset hound. There are also portable 3.5” 'clip-ons'  for those who want to take their Hush Puppies pup on the go.

Making up Aurora's first series of exclusive soft figurines based on the Luche Libre phenomenon are the "top" six contenders wrestling to become champion. Kids will be entertained and inspired by the comic book "hangtag" attached to each plush toy. Each character is eight inches. Aurora expects to release "Series 2" featuring even more Luche Libre characters later in the year.

Aurora's 14 all-new 12.5-inch sassy Mood Monkeys allow tweens and teens to express who they really are. The 14 styles include Book Worm, Catty, Soo Silly, Bad Hair Day, Chatterbox, Boy Crazy, Sweet Tooth, Ray of Sunshine, Oops Clumsy, I Love Shopping, Giggly, Sleepyhead, Party Girl and Spa Girl.

From flower girl to firefighter, Aurora has released nine new "dress up" outfits that fit all of Aurora's five inch YooHoo & Friends. Each dress up set comes in clear packaging that includes two accessories. Retailers can combine the dress up packaging (fits slatwalls) with existing YooHoo & Friends displays. The "Blast to the Past" set includes three YooHoo & Friends "hippies.” Available separately are the "Go Green" set with two flower girls and a princess butterfly; and a third set that includes doctor, firefighter and police officer. Each 5-inch YooHoo & Friends animal (w/ sound) is available separately for $6.
— "They are all over the board, but I've sold about 100 of the various things," Barbara Fineblum, Owner of Barston's Child's Play in Baltimore, Md., said about YooHoos to TDmonthly when surveyed in late Spring 2011.

2011 marks the 30th Anniversary for plush toy and gift manufacturer Aurora World Inc. To celebrate, Aurora is offering a limited edition 30th Anniversary Bear plush toy. Limited the 1,200 pieces, the bear is made of Moda Acrylic plush. “30th Anniversary” is embroidered on its right paw pad. Mr. H.Y. Noh's (Aurora's Founder) signature and number (i.e.: 1/ 1200) is embroidered on the left foot.

Mary Meyer adds new ring rattles and WubbaNub™ pacifiers to its popular Sweet Chocolate Collection in 2011. The baby pink and baby blue plush animals are designed with delicious chocolate accents. The 5inch Sweet Chocolate Puppy Ring Rattles are available in pink and chocolate and blue and chocolate colors. A Giraffe version is also availabe.

This 7" Ella Bella Bank has a firm plastic bank inside and is covered with fuzzy pink plush.  Embroidered features are baby safe.

This 10-inch pull-down toy is designed for car seats and strollers. Pull the sturdy feet down and a baby can watch Ella Bella wiggle and jiggle as her feet go back up. 

This sweet, 5-inch rattle features Ella Bella's signature modern patterns and pink plush.

Modern floral patterns, a soft color pallet, and fuzzy pink are the hallmarks of Ella Bella. Ell Bella, an adorable elephant, is the star of this new baby boutique collection especially designed for baby girls. The collection, designed by Mary Meyer toy designers in Townshend, Vermont, includes seven nursery items designed to decorate a nursery with a soft, nurturing color pallet. The 8-inch Ella Bella Wind-Up Musical plush toy plays “Brahams' Lullaby.”

Story Speller is a beginning storytelling game that everyone can play. Fill a storyboard with the favorite story element cards, choose a hero or heroine, and learn to tell and spell storybook tales. The story element card categories include: Friends and Foes, Locations, Treasures, Objects and Obstacles, Vehicles, and Actions. Will an asteroid hit Earth causing tarantulas to run wild? Will the Pirate go diving in the moonlight to find the hidden egg? Each story is different and encourages children to develop their imaginations and creativity as well as sequential thinking and language skills. Launch date: February 2011.

Milly is a pink kitten that can be dressed up in cute outfits and carried in a scented cat carrier.