February 2011 Notable Toys — Plush

Gridiron Fanatic screams “Touchdown!” and “Boooo!” on command with the press of a button on his foot. Gridiron Fanatic is also packed with several offensive and defensive sound effects and phrases (“Tackle somebody!  Anybody!” and “Bears have an amazing sense of smell, and I smell a TOUCHDOWN!”), activated with a pat on his paws. Launch date: Fall 2011.

This ghostly marshmallow plays the main theme from the movie “Ghostbusters” when you press his tummy. Choose between happy or sad.

Mickey is decked-out in rock star gear. Kids can listen to him play a concert, or they can learn to play along with him. He sings, dances, and performs three classic rock songs. Launch date: September 13, 2011.

Kids can feed cookies to this plush Cookie Monster and watch as he counts out loud and happily gobbles them up. Retrieve the cookies from his backpack to start the fun all over again. Count N' Crunch Cookie Monster also likes to be tickled - press his foot repeatedly to make him giggle and squirm. Includes 3 cookies; requires four 'AA' batteries, included.

Dressed in a concert style tee, Elmo takes the stage singing and making music. Elmo comes with his very own microphone and two instruments, a tambourine and a drum set. Preschoolers can choose which instrument Elmo plays, and he recognizes which one he is given. Kids can also play along on Elmo's instruments. Elmo also interacts with other Let's Rock instruments (each sold separately); he knows when kids are playing the instruments, and plays along. The Let's Rock Elmo toy sings six songs. Requires six 'AA' batteries, included.

These puppies zoom around on the floor, and know to turn around when they reach a wall. They make cute noises, too. Slightly larger than the Zhu Zhu Hamsters, a variety of play sets are available for the Zhu Zhu Puppies.

This line of Plush and collectible toys corresponds to the incredibly popular MoshiMonsters.com. Many of the products can be used along with the website. Launch date: Fall 2011.

These soft, plush animal banks carefully guard jingly treasures in their tummies. Available in Dogs, Pigs, and Frogs, these banks move and play their respective animal sounds when coins are added. Animated Animal Banks also aid in teaching and encouraging children to save their money.
Awards: The 2011 National Parenting Center "Seal of Approval"

TagTurtle is approximately 8 inches long and 5.5 inches wide. His shell is rimmed with a double layer of soft looped tags – they’re uniquely integrated into the design of the toys. Children will love to manipulate the tags.

The Wonderworld Rapping Kangaroo Sound Producing Push Toy makes a rapping-snappin­g sound and bobs its head up and down when it is pushed. The handle and wheels are wooden and the rapping giraffe is plush.
— The Rapping Kangaroo is a best seller in the wooden toys category for Gwen Bowden, manager of Doodlehopper for Kids in Springfield, Va.

These mystical puppets are of their own unique design. Each mythical creature features vibrant colors and whimsical details. Three new puppets: Trip Triceratops, Peter Pteranodon, Dave Dimetrodon.  Launch date: January 2011.

This wildlife animal puppet comes with a hangtag that describes its unique characteristics. Reminiscent of his true wildlife counterpart, made of soft fabrics and highly detailed wildlife designs. Launch date: January 2011.

Every animal in this collection is a soft, girly pink. The Pinkimals collection features three cute plush animals: Flora the Poodle, Posy the Pig and Blossom the Unicorn. Launch date: January 2011.

These soft toys not only are chunky- they are adorable and very huggable. They are made of high quality plush fabric. Animals include a Cheetah, Zebra, and a Hippo. Launch date: January 2011.

This soft monster is less scary, more silly. Also comes in orange and green; a matching child's costume is available for each monster. Launch date: January 2011.

This classic character is a plush animal that turns into a pillow and blanket. Perfect to cuddle up with while reading Norman Bridwell's classic books to your little one. Launch date: June 2011.

Celestial Buddies, an original line of educational plush characters, is inspired by planets and other celestial bodies. Each plush planetary pal is designed to capture the unique variations of the actual object it represents through fabric, color, size and shape. "Celestial Buddies is a unique, innovative plush toy series not replicated in today’s market. While most Solar System toys are for school children interested in science, Celestial Buddies has a much wider age appeal from babies all the way up to adults," Jessica Silbert, owner and president of Celestial Buddies, told TDmonthly.

Kimochis are small pillows with a feeling (happy, sad, silly, brave) printed on one side and a corresponding facial expression on the other. Each Kimochis plush character comes with a set of three feelings and a how-to Kimochis Feel Guide. The characters — Clover, Cat, Huggtopus, Cloud, Bella Rose, Bug and Lovey Dove — have a special pocket where kids can store their "Kimochis" or feelings. Using the characters and their Kimochis, kids can get in touch with their emotions through puppetry and play. “Getting back to the basics by playing and communicating with Kimochis™ is a simple, yet powerful way to teach children how to: be aware of feelings, choose how to communicate in emotional moments, and redo mistakes. Children will be drawn to the fun, adorable, accessible characters. Parents will be drawn to the high-quality craftsmanship and the valuable educational content," Susan Schroeder, director of marketing and communications for Plushy Feely Corp., told TDmonthly.
Awards: 2009 Creative Child Magazine Seal of Excellence; Best Vacation Products by Dr. Toy; Kaboose.com's Top 13 Amazing Toys for Preschoolers; TDmonthly Top Toy Award, June 2011
— Why it won: The latest line of Kimochis are cuter than ever and just as good at helping children articulate some of their more troubling emotions. Bella Rose is pretty and soft and works just as well as a traditional stuffed animal as she does as a teaching tool.

Kimochis are small pillows with a feeling (happy, sad, silly, brave) printed on one side and a corresponding facial expression on the other. Each Kimochis plush character comes with a set of three feelings and a how-to Kimochis Feel Guide. The characters — Clover, Cat, Huggtopus, Cloud, Bella Rose, Bug and Lovey Dove — have a special pocket where kids can store their "Kimochis" or feelings. Using the characters and their Kimochis, kids can get in touch with their emotions through puppetry and play. “Getting back to the basics by playing and communicating with Kimochis™ is a simple, yet powerful way to teach children how to: be aware of feelings, choose how to communicate in emotional moments, and redo mistakes. Children will be drawn to the fun, adorable, accessible characters. Parents will be drawn to the high-quality craftsmanship and the valuable educational content," Susan Schroeder, director of marketing and communications for Plushy Feely Corp., told TDmonthly. —  Awards: 2009 Creative Child Magazine Seal of Excellence, Best Vacation Products by Dr. Toy, and Kaboose.com's Top 13 Amazing Toys for Preschoolers.

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.

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.

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.