January 2013 Notable Toys — Interactive

Romo is a revolutionary mobile robotic platform that uses your smartphone as its brain. When connected to any iOS device, Romo becomes a friendly robotic avatar that wanders around your home or school. Romo is the first personal robot built for everyone. He's small but sturdy, fast, and his behaviors evolve the more you use him. At Romotive, we believe everyone - whether you're 7 or 70 - should have a robot that loves you with every cog in his heart. Romo's simple to use drag and drop programming language lets even kids with no computer science experience create and share new behaviors and personalities for their robot. Romo teaches kids about science, technology, engineering, and math in a super fun, intuitive way - by given them their own personal robot pet to program. Launch date: January 2013.

Introducing an "appsolutely" new way to enjoy story time. This sturdy case (that looks just like baby’s favorite book) will protect any iPhone® 3GS, 4 & 4S or iPod touch® 4G from dribbles, drool, teething and sticky little fingers. Baby will love unlocking never-ending content at the turn of a page – just open and close the case cover to advance app content. Through FREE interactive story apps, with adorable animations and audio prompts, baby will be introduced to classic stories, nursery rhymes, book handling skills and early literacy. (Device not included.)

The perfect addition to any Halloween party, Vampy Vince sings a Halloween song and dances along to the music (well, his arms and head move to the beat). With a cool black/red/gray outfit and a classic vampire haircut Vince is ready to party this Halloween. Just press the button on his left foot to start the action. Vince comes with 3 AA replaceable batteries.
— In a Winter 2012 survey Teresa Derry, owner of Annie's Toy Chest in Cocoa, Fla., told TDmonthly that Gund monsters were one of her Halloween bestsellers.

This giant and cuddly plush dog measures 42 inches long and features 9 interactive functions. Ruffoo comes with his own bone that kids can "feed" him. Innovative KidooPets show kids how to nurture while having fun. These quality plush toys are designed in France and made with only the finest materials. Launch date: 2013.

This giant and cuddly plush horse measures 42 inches long and features 9 interactive functions. GALOO comes with a saddle and a carrot to feed him. Innovative KidooPets show kids how to nurture while having fun. These quality plush toys are designed in France and made with only the finest materials. Launch date: 2013.

Laser Maze is an innovative new game that integrates the use of laser beams into a mind-challenging logic game. 60 challenges flex strategic thinking muscles and ignite the light both on the grid and in players' minds.

Where to buy:
NORTH EAST

Touch Magic™ is a new product line from LeapFrog that brings intuitive touch technology to preschool toys for the first time. It combines fun, learning, and creativity. Touch Magic learning toys utilize capacitive touch technology that recognizes every tap, touch, and swipe to bring each product to life. This new collection of interactive toys includes four products that help develop core learning skills, and encourage exploration and discovery. The Touch Magic Rockin’ Guitar brings musical fun and develops preschool skills with every little touch. It fits kids’ development, engages their creativity, and builds their confidence as they learn ABCs and many new words through educational songs. Kids can choose to play solo without a backup, play along with a band, or select an electric or acoustic guitar to accompany songs including Rockin’ Robin, Itsy Bitsy Spider, If You’re Happy and You Know It, and Pop Goes the Weasel.
Awards: 2012 Dr.Toy Best Picks

TDmonthly recommends looking at Schoenhut for similar, high-quality musical toys and instruments.

Are you ready to be flashed? Everyone hears the question and thinks it’s soooo easy, but once the random 2-second flasher gets going, you could be caught off guard or even left speechless. You gotta be ready for surprise turns and stolen answers in this frantically fast, fantastically fun game! Contents: Flasher, 588 questions on 98 cards, 2 blank cards, rules. Includes: 3 AAA replaceable batteries.

This 9.5" durable play tablet features 20 colorful light-up images and 40 fun sounds and phrases that activate when children press the arrow buttons. Children will have their very own learning pad to play with, and they’ll have fun pretending to be like mommy and daddy with their tablets. Pushing each button will activate two different sounds, including phrases and sound effects. For instance, they might reveal the sound of a choo-choo train or hear the phrase, "Balls are round!" For ages 12 months and up.

Time to dust off the FURBISH dictionary because FURBY is back and ready to take the world by storm. Kids had better be prepared because FURBY has A MIND OF ITS OWN. Feed it, speak to it, tickle it, play music for it, and shake, tilt or turn your FURBY upside down. But be warned - how kids treat their FURBY will shape its personality.Kids can also download a free app to help them translate FURBISH, as well as virtually feed their FURBY and other interactive features. App is optional and works with iPad, iPod touch and iPhone with iOS 4.2 or later. Launch date: 2012.

Little touches. Big learning. All aboard for nonstop number fun and early vocabulary with farm friends. Touch numbers 1-20 to hear their names and count along. Fun games reinforce the learning. Sing along to fun songs and build your own version of "Old MacDonald" with 10 friendly farm characters. Explore 20 vocabulary words for food and animals and get practice associating a set of objects with a number. Parents can connect to the online LeapFrog Learning Path for customized learning insights and ideas to expand the learning.

M3 wows his audience with 360 spins and his signature one-handed handstand, the Windmill M3 has 8 original tracks to share with kids, including the catchy beats: M-to-the-I Remix and Who's Da Mouse Master Moves Mickey has over 15 dance moves to groove along to the music. Encourages energetic movement and learning through 4 action-packed dance lessons Squeeze Mickey's nose to switch songs and moves and to activate interactive dances. Launch date: 2012.
— As of 11/26/2012 this product had 4.8 out of 5 stars from 30 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: High quality; well-designed; dances are entertaining. Cons: Motor noise is loud; does not work well on soft surfaces.

Kids will meet friendly animals in their home environments: farm, pond, forest and yard. Each book introduces readers to other animals that the main character meets along the way. The pages are filled with sounds, lively text and beautiful illustrations.

With their amusing movements and realistic sounds, the lively animals in this series will easily keep kids engaged. Books also include riddles to solve and fun information about adorable animals that live on the farm, in the forest, in the pond, and at the zoo.

This series is great for little readers who love to build and repair things. Sam is not only a skillful builder, but also a good teacher. In these books he shows kids how to repair a car or build something special. Each book include the sounds of tools, amusing melodies, and colorful pictures.

This exciting series introduces kids to the wonders and dangers of many worlds: underwater, forest, jungle, savanna, and the land of dinosaurs. 3D pictures and realistic sounds bring to life the atmosphere of nature in all its wildness. Detailed pull-out cards provide lots of information about each creature.

Classic fairy tales given a modern twist with pop-up pictures and magical sounds! These books unlock the enchantment of the past and keep children eager for the next turn of events as they read one page after another. They'll want to read these classic stories over and over again.

Kids love to get into the act, and this charades game is made especially to put youngsters in the spotlight. In this game, every player gets in the act on every turn, so it's ideal for home or school play. And there is no reading required, so little ones can play without help from Mommy or teacher. Encourage creativity and communication skills while having active fun. It's a game the whole family can play and enjoy. National Parenting Publications Award and Early Childhood News 100 Best Picks.

Give children their own durable touch-screen tablet with VTech's InnoTab 2 Learning App Tablet. This multi-functional tablet for children ages 3 - 9 includes a photo/video camera, a 5-inch touch screen, 2 GB of onboard memory, an SD card slot for expandable memory, and media players for MP3s, photos, and videos. The InnoTab 2 comes with an art studio, coloring app, one e-book, two motion sensor games, and 2 free downloads from the Learning Lodge Navigator. Additional songs, games, e-books, and videos are available for purchase online on VTech's Learning Lodge Navigator.

FURBY is back and it has A MIND OF ITS OWN. Feed it, speak to it, tickle it, play music for it and shake, tilt or turn the FURBY upside down. It even interacts with other FURBYs (sold separately). But be warned - how the FURBY is treated will shape its personality. Who the FURBY becomes may surprise it's owner. For additional interactive fun, kids can download an optional free FURBY app that works with iPad, iPod touch and iPhone with iOS 4.2 or later for virtual feeding, accessing the FURBISH-English dictionary and the FURBISH translator. (Not all functions of the app work with older devices).

FURBY is back and it has A MIND OF ITS OWN. Feed it, speak to it, tickle it, play music for it and shake, tilt or turn the FURBY upside down. It even interacts with other FURBYs (sold separately). But be warned - how the FURBY is treated will shape its personality. Who the FURBY becomes may surprise it's owner. For additional interactive fun, kids can download an optional free FURBY app that works with iPad, iPod touch and iPhone with iOS 4.2 or later for virtual feeding, accessing the FURBISH-English dictionary and the FURBISH translator. (Not all functions of the app work with older devices).

Elmo loves a sidesplitting, rolling-on-the-floor gigglefest. And preschoolers will too with LOL Elmo. He laughs up a storm, tells jokes, and comes with a Dorothy fishbowl squeaker toy for even more silly fun. The more Elmo laughs, the more he rolls and shakes. To see Elmo giggle, press either of his feet or tickle his tummy. To hear Elmo tell a silly joke, just press and hold either foot for 3 seconds. Each time his foot is pressed, he'll tell another joke. To activate Elmo using Dorothy's fishbowl squeaker, hold it approximately 6 inches from his tummy, then give it a squeeze.

The Hot Dots pen works with dozens of Hot Dots card sets, providing instantaneous visual and audio feedback. Simply press the pen to choose an answer on any Hot Dots or Hot Dots Jr. card for an immediate response—cool, kid-friendly phrases for correct answers and gentle redirection for incorrect responses.

Developed especially for kids, Lexibook® Junior Tablet combine educational, multimedia and interactive activities, empowering children to play and learn using their very own tablet.  The double injection molded plastic casing is solidly constructed to hold up to kids at play -- even in the hands of its youngest users.  The easy-to-use interface can be intuitively navigated by all ages. The scrolling menu makes it easy for kids to access a treasure trove of apps, games, music, videos, cartoons and books. Launch date: October 2012.