February 2010 Notable Toys — Award Winners

Silly Sam Broom is part of hands-on line of Silly Sam & Friends talking role-play toys. Kids sweep and move the bristles or press the nose to hear one of six random speech and sound effects. Awards: American Baby Toy of the Year, Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products. Launch date: 2002.

Joined by a host of family and friends including Arlo Guthrie, Pete and Tao Rodriguez Seeger, singer-songwriter Sarah Lee Guthrie presents thoughtful yet playful recordings of traditional songs and new compositions. The album includes three songs featuring lyrics by Woody Guthrie never before put to music and eight songs written by Sarah Lee and family. Awards: 2009 Dr. Toy ("Best Picks" Award) and 2009 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio (“PLATINUM” Award). Launch date: October 27, 2009.

The Starter Kit includes the following: a signed Think Green! book with an environmental message, a reusable children's shopping bag, a reusable napkin to color, and a Kids Think Big bracelet made from reclaimed climbing rope. It can be all wrapped with a colorful piece of 100-percent PCW wrapping paper. Awards: Moonbeam Children's Book Award 2009, Creative Child 2009 Preferred Choice Award, Garden Club of America’s 2009 Club Conservation Award. Launch date: 2010.

This portable, all natural bottle warmer provides for multiple feedings on an airplane or just while running errands. It provide a tepid temperature that increases the nutritional value of breast milk or infant formula. It also offers slow, natural warmth that increases tryptophan, which naturally produce relaxation and sleep. It can also be used with sippy cups. Awards: 2010 National Parenting Center; 2010 Mom's Best Award. Launch date: September 19, 2009.

Inspired by babies who like to tug on jewelry, Teething Bling is patent-pending teething jewelry that looks like real gemstone but is actually soft and flexible because it's made from the same material as most teething toys. The pendants and bangles are designed to look great on the adult wearer but are safe for curious babies to handle and chew. They contain no harmful chemicals and are CSPIA compliant and CE marking approved.

The award-winning, patented Golfer’s Footprint® Swing Trainer is designed to help golfers learn ball control. Recommended by top PGA, LPGA, and Natural Golf® instructors, the Golf Swing Trainer takes golfers back to the fundamentals — simply point and shoot. "The Golfer’s Footprint® works with all your clubs from driver to wedges and is an excellent trainer for focusing your chipping game around the green. You can even use the trainer in the bunker to master those difficult sand shots. The trainer is designed to fit in your golf bag, so no matter where you go, you have a professional golf lesson with you. Simply point and swing and you’re on the path to a better golf game and lower scores. The trainer is available in left- and right-handed models," Marshall Townsend, President, Golfer's Footprint, told TDmonthly. Awards: iparenting Media Outstanding Products of 2007. Launch date: June 2001.

The Torch Fire Truck lets children get a detailed look inside to see how it works. The Torch Fire Truck comes with an illustrated Howie Work’s adventure hardcover storybook that takes them through how each of the major parts work in real life. By pushing a simple, three-digit combination of buttons on the vehicle or the included Worx Storybook Transmitter, an infrared signal is sent to the Torch Fire Truck revealing a working engine, emergency lights, fire hose, and much more. Launch date: July 2011.
Awards: 2011 Creative Child Toy of the Year

If kids can play business, they can learn business. Kids will have fun earning money in their neighborhoods and communities while starting their very first business with this unique mobile business stand. The business stand comes with wheels, dry/erase magnetic banner areas, built-in locking money tray, literature storage tray, solar-powered built-in calculator, hooks, keys, magnets, and dry erase marker set. Launch date: November 2011.
Awards: 2011 Dr.Toy Best Classic Toys; 2011 NAPPA Gold Award; 2011 Oppenheim Award

The Tessell play mat was designed to develop kids' creativity, space perception and shaping ability by giving them the option to assemble whatever shape they want from soft colorful piece segments of the soft play mat. Tessellation has been adopted as part of mathematical curriculum in the United States since the 1960s. It has been applied in mathematical education in many countries in the world because it enables kids to develop mathematical thinking and creativity in the most natural way while they move, rotate and turn over the basic shapes of triangle, square and hexagon. "It's two products in one. The puzzle mats changes to a rocking chair while it enhances learning skills," Jennie Nam, PR, Tessell, told TDmonthly. Awards: 2008 & 2009 Kind + Jugend Innovation toys. Launch date: 2010.

This bilingual puzzle game is designed to help players learn the alphabet and spell three-letter words. It has bright colored letters and picture cards to captivate a child’s attention, and it grows with the child by starting with the alphabet and continuing on to spelling simple words. Children can play a self-checking spelling game and learn to spell three-letter words in both English and Spanish. It includes 22 spelling cards and 68 letters. "Ingenio is the first educational bilingual toy brand committed to bilingual learning. All Ingenio products are bilingual — product, packaging and website. This line offers parents a great opportunity to teach a second language to their child at an early age," Ilango Sankaralingam, president of Smart Play, LLC, told TDmonthly. Award: Dr. Toy's Best Vacation Products 2009. Launch date: September 2009.

Conceived by child literacy expert Dr. Brij Kothari, BookBox Series stories are designed for child entertainment while simultaneously improving reading skills. Using scientifically tested same language subtitling (SLS), children are assisted in the improvement of listening comprehension and reading and foreign language skills — while watching fascinating “Stories from Around the World” that bring cultural and educational values to children. The "Animal Stories" DVD features three stories: Based on an ancient Indian fable, "Four Friends" is about animal friends that work together to outwit a hunter and protect each other. "The Turtle’s Flute" is about a turtle that is a gifted flutist. When the turtle played her flute, everyone danced. One day, she is trapped by a greedy man. How will she escape? "Zippy the Zebra" is about a zebra that is bugged by a hide full of fleas. No amount of tail swishing or tree trunk scratching would give him any relief. Finally a pair of birds help him out by making a meal of his unwelcome guests. "This DVD helps children to read in English, Spanish, Chinese, French, German or Italian. With three ways to use the program - Read to me, Let me read and Let me listen plus you can print the PDF of the book from a computer," Selina Yoon, President, Master Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: October 6, 2009. Awards: Kids First, Dr. Toy's 100 Best Products, Dr. Toy's 10 Best Audio/Video.

Award-winning children’s recording artists Danny Adlerman, Kevin Kammeraad, and Yosi, have joined efforts to create what is sure to be the most innovative winter holiday album of 2009. Danny, Kevin, and Yosi have been inspiring kids and families for more than a decade with both music and books. Through their friendship, an idea was born to create a CD that captures both winter holiday originals and inventive remakes of traditional favorites. The humor, love, joy, and excitement of the season shine through in this exceptional, all-ages, family CD. "This album is a collaborative collection of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Songs all cohesively brought together by three award winning recording artists in one all ages, family CD," Kevin Kammeraad, The Kids at Our House artist, remarked to TDmonthly. Awards include Dr. Toy's 10 Best Audio/Video Tape/CDs 2009 and The National Parenting Center’s 2010 Seal of Approval. Launch date: October 15, 2009.

In the award-winning game ItzaBitza, drawings truly come to life. Kids help their Sketchy by using Living Ink — a drawing recognition system — to draw one-of-a kind interactive objects that form the centerpiece of the game's action. They can draw a house and watch the character shrink to fit in the door, or draw flames and watch the rocket ship kids drew blast off. Since the environment is created through each player's personal drawings, the possibilities are endless. Awards: Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products 2009; Creative Child Game of the Year Award; Parents’ Choice Gold Medal Award; Editor’s Choice and Gold Award from The Children’s Technology Review; 5-star review from USA Today; The Toy Man Seal of Approval, eco-Recognition Seal, Award of Excellence and eChoice Award; an Editor’s Choice Game Award from the Computer Times; and a “Best Tech for Kids” mention in BusinessWeek. Launch date: November 2008.

"Up Down & All Around" is a creative movement/exercise DVD for people of all ages and abilities. The DVD provides resources to develop gross motor skills, spatial awareness, strength and balance. It’s designed to be easy to follow, easy to do, and encourage adult-child interactions. "It was designed specifically to be utilized by educators and parents to do with their students and children. ... each of the eight sections of the DVD begin with bulleted objectives. There is also a detailed movement guide ... [that] explains how to do each section of the program in depth, what kinesthetic skills are being addressed, as well as offers fun variations to the exercises. This is a comprehensive program that will help schools and communities meet the National Physical Education Standards as well combat the obesity epidemic," Stacey Pepper Schwartz, founder of Leaping Legs Creative Movement Programs, told TDmonthly. The DVD was awarded Dr. Toy’s 10 Best Active Products 2009 and Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children’s Products 2009. Launch date: December 21, 2008.

Created by Dr. Jen, a pediatrician with two sets of twins, the U-Play Mat is a "U" shaped floor mat with 15 clear pockets, 240 theme-based card decks, a tote bag and an instruction manual. Children ages 1 to 4 can work on language and communication development engaging with the caregiver in 10 exercises per card deck. The child sits inside the U, which is designed to promote physical acvitity, social skills and enhancement of language development. The U-Play Mat is a "pediatrician-invented, low-tech, interactive, unique educational toy for language development," Dr. Jennifer Canter, CEO of Play This Way Every Day, told TDmonthly. This product was named one of Dr. Toy's Top 10 Active Products 2009. Launch date: September 30, 2009.

This multi-purpose, light-weight hip carrier is designed to give parents choices — baby can face inward or outward and ride on either hip. It converts to a portable high chair restraint and can be used in shopping carts for additional safety. It includes color-coded clips and an instructional DVD to make securing baby a breeze, and free leg warmers are included. It was "developed for use when first front carrier or sling gets uncomfortable at 5-7 months of age. [It] can be used right up to 2+ years or 37lbs," Cyndy Mundy, CEO of Snazzy Baby, told TDmonthly. Launch date: October 2009.
Awards: iParenting Media Award for Outstanding Product for Gear and Equipment 2009; Creative Child Magazine Top Choice of the Year Award

These 18" soft-cloth rag dolls are American made and come with admission to an Internet cartoon eSchool where kids learn as they play fun educational games (grades Pre-K through 6th). The dolls and their clothes are washable, and there are 26 different characters and multiple outfits. The dolls are "made in [the] USA and not sold in mass-market retail stores," Greg Goodenbury, VP of GRANZA, Inc., told TDmonthly. Adorable Kinders have received the following awards: NAPPA 2009 Children’s Products Gold Award; Dr. Toy's 2009 100 Best Children’s Products Award; Dr. Toy's 2009 10 Best Toys Award; Toy Man Seal of Approval; Toy Man Award of Excellence; Toy Man Eco-Recognition Award; and Toy Man eChoice Award. Launch date: 2009.

Created to offer an easy solution as it turns an ordinary chair into a temporary high chair restraint system, this product attaches to most chairs, including patio furniture. The non-slip bottom grips onto firm surfaces, preventing baby from slipping. It can also be used in shopping carts to keep baby safe. It simply rolls up into its own attached bag, making it a truly portable item. The product received an iParenting Media Award for Outstanding Product in 2009. Launch date: September 2007.

Endorsed by Medical Professionals, Snazzy Baby Knee Pads are made to high safety standards. Medical-quality Neoprene and non-slip traction beads help babies can learn to crawl and walk without injuries like bruising, cuts, scraped knees and rug burn. Worn inside or outside, they can be used for commando crawling, crawling, toddling, walking, bike riding and playground activities. They are designed to also offer Vital safe protection to special needs children. The knee pads are "ergonomically designed to safely give greater flexibility and movement over a long timeframe of use," Cyndy Mundy, CEO of Snazzy Baby, told TDmonthly. This product received an iParenting Media Award for Safety in 2006. Launch date: September 2006.