May 2010 Notable Toys — Educational

The Story Starter is designed for shared use with young children and their caregivers. A child twists the rings in order to create one of several thousand combinations of story introductions. The caregiver can continue to tell a story from the introduction, or encourage the child to use his or her imagination and continue the story himself or herself.

Alphabet Matcher challenges children to choose a letter and find the five corresponding images that begin with that letter. For example, select the letter “F” and find Fish, Foot, Frog, Flower and Flag. An answer guide is included. Alphabet Matcher engages skills ranging from logic to spelling. It contains three extra sets of rings, covering 24 letters and 120 images.
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010; 2011 PAL (Play Advances Language) Award.

The insect inventory in this charming set of lacing cards includes a pink butterfly, buzzing honeybee, spotted ladybug, darting dragonfly and a green grasshopper at rest. Little fingers will love lacing around each creature, making the pictures pop. Launch date: 2010.

Wildlife illustrations grace this puzzle. Kids can learn the names of animals like hedgehog, hippopotamus, fox and others. It is illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. Launch date: January 2010.

The Friendliest Bugs Lacing Cards enhance hand-eye coordination and sharpen fine motor skills. The heavy duty cards have faux silk laces. Roisin Ross of eeBoo told TDmonthly, "Laces will not unravel!"

Kids can learn geography, countries, states, capitols and industries with these giant 18" x 27" puzzles made from thick, sturdy board with a beautiful finish. Roisin Ross of eeBoo told TDmonthly, "Beautiful illustration with vibrant colors set these apart from the standard puzzle maps for kids."

Mudpuppy 42-piece puzzles measure 16" square when assembled. The pieces are packed in a sturdy, 5" cube box with a colorful rope handle and are CE and ASTM tested to ensure safety. The puzzle's greyboard is made of 90-percent recycled paper, and the packaging is 70-percent recycled paper and printed with non-toxic, soy-based inks. Mudpuppy Press Public Relations Assistant Shanya Lewis told TDmonthly, "With themes like robots, princesses, cars, animals and classic characters like The Very Hungry Caterpillar and the Rainbow Fish, Mudpuppy 42-piece Puzzles make great gifts!"
— Kristin Dolle, manager of Playthings Toy Shoppe in Louisville, Ky., said that puzzles from MudPuppy were a best-seller in the category.

Counting Animals 3-Piece Puzzles are constructed from 90-percent recycled greyboard and designed to develop basic math skills. There are 10 three-piece puzzles and each puzzle shows a group of friends for young children to count, from one to 10. Roisin Ross of eeBoo told TDmonthly this product features "beautiful artwork by Kevin Hawkes."

This game is part of eeBoo’s eco-friendly board games series and is designed to develop patience and number skills. Each player works his way around the solar system (game board) and collects one element from each of the planets to complete a space lab. Children can learn counting, judgment, cooperative play and taking turns, as well as strategy, planning ahead and how to win a race. Along with learning the names of the planets, their gases and the solar system, the game includes additional facts about each planet.

Puzzles are a great quiet-time activity to hone fine-motor skills and spatial perception. eeBoo’s versions of this classic format are made of extra sturdy 90-percent recycled board and printed with non-toxic inks. Roisin Ross of eeBoo told TDmonthly, "eeboo's tray puzzles are made using recycled board, have a vintage look and are multicultural."

Math-o-matic is a fun puzzle card game that teaches numbers and math concepts. Children can learn numbers (from 1-20) and their spelling in English and Spanish. Kids can play the self-checking math game using numbers and symbols to learn number sequencing, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

This reversible alphabet puzzle has English letters on one side and Spanish letters on the other side. Color-coded puzzles makes it easy for the child to complete the floor puzzle and learn the English/Spanish alphabet.

This colorful and informative puzzle is designed to help develop an early appreciation for geography. It icludes illustrations of all 50 U.S. states, 32 Mexican states and other North American countries, allowing kids to learn country and state names in both English and Spanish. The puzzle has 48 large, easy to grasp pieces and measures over 6' square when fully assembled. Durable, extra-thick pieces store easily in the reusable box. Ilango Sankaralingam, president of Smart Play, told TDmonthly, "All Ingenio products are bilingual. In addition, this map puzzle covers the entire North American region and has colorful illustrations of all countries in this region."

Junior paleontologists will delight in the engaging text and cool illustrations of Viewfinder: Fossils. Featuring a unique removable magnifier, readers can take a close-up look at extraordinary photos and eye-popping digital illustrations of the fossils of the Velociraptor, Sauropod and more. Interactive elements include flaps to lift, slider panels and comparative exercises. Silver Dolphin Publicist Julie Serra told TDmonthly, "Kids will explore like never before in this fascinating fossil book!"

"Look Who's Signing Part 2 K-Z" jumps right in where Part 1 left off. The DVD continues to teach children the art of signing by introducing new vocabulary and using the second half of the alphabet. Express Yourself Baby DVDs are based on communication and self-expression. Jennifer Magee, Chief Creative Officer at Express Yourself Baby! LLC, told TDmonthly, "Children get the head start they deserve in communication by learning a second language, American Sign Language. Both parents and children will communicate with one another and have fun all at the same time!"

"Look Who's Signing" is based on communication and self-expression, and includes 26 basic signs in American Sign Language, the alphabet, classical music and more. The basic signs on Express Yourself Baby DVDS relate to early language development, everyday objects and actions that are familiar to babies and children. This interactive DVD gives parents, caregivers and teachers a tool for not only communicating with their children but also educating them and having fun all at the same time. Jennifer Magee, Chief Creative Officer of Express Yourself Baby! LLC, told TDmonthly, "Our products are created with other families in mind. They not only teach a second language but are educational and entertaining for both children and adults!"

The Adventures of Tommy the Tomato Playing Cards is an extension of the alphabet book for children. It is a memory, "go fish" and trivia game all in one. The games are designed to teach children literacy though the alphabet as well as the benefits of nutrition while being interactive.

This is a game of collaboration, learning and discussion full of strategy, with each player making an important contribution. Set in 1895, players are a group of peaceful Christian villagers in Russia who drive wagons through the countryside, visiting homes to collect firewood and weapons for the building of ploughshares in the village center, all while avoiding confiscation and imprisonment by the Tsar's patrolling soldiers. The game includes a 17" x 17" board, special playing cards, movers, dice, collection chart, wagons, and rules for regular and advanced games.

“The Money Savvy Kids Club” children’s book series are co-written by financial literacy expert Susan Beacham and bestselling author Lynnette Khalfani-Cox. Through four funny and engaging stories in these smart and creative illustrated picture books, a group of childhood friends learn that there are actually four things you can do with money: Save, Spend, Donate or Invest. Money Savvy Generation Director of Operations and Marketing Melinda Voelcker told TDmonthly, "These books address the challenging topic of money choices, but in a fun and age-appropriate manner that kids can understand and that parents can use to help begin a conversation about money with their kids. Topics include: how to earn money, saving for a goal, what is a donation and how you can donate, what home foreclosure means and compound interest."

The Money Savvy Kids @Home Kit is a starting point to teach a child how to get smart about money. Included is the award-winning Money Savvy Pig, Cow or Football bank, Parent Handbook, eight-chapter CD-ROM (100+ images) with four sing-along songs, Student Workbook, 22-page Coloring & Activity book, and a Money Poem poster. The lessons explore the history of money, where money comes from, the importance of earning money and the four basic money choices: Save, Spend, Donate and Invest.

The Feelings Storybook is a sensitive and heartfelt book for children of all ages that can act as an assessment tool for emotional growth. This book is interactive and contains 32 pages with full-color illustrations. It is ideal for the developing reader and features a 22-minute companion CD narrated by the author/psychologist, Dr. Alexandra Delis-Abrams.

Messages consists of three games for those who love playing with words and ideas. Players must express their cleverness, creativity and sense of humor by using symbol tokens to form picture phrases and sentences, known as rebuses. Players pool their ideas to make rebuses to fill the board, red spots add challenges, and each game played is a different experience. The package includes a 7.75" x 7.5" board, 100 symbol tokens, a glossary of suggested meanings, rules and a storage bag.

The adventure scenarios in this game are the actual journeys of such explorers as Marco Polo, Nansen, Scott, Drake and Cook. Players pick a journey, make preparations, assemble crews and venture forth together, each handling different aspects of the expedition. The package includes an 18" x 22" world map board, dice, a land and sea log of adventures, money, crew cards and assorted charts. Jim Deacove, president of Family Pastimes, told TDmonthly this product is "an educational eye-opener about the life of explorers — a good family and classroom game."

The award-winning ABC Feelings Activity/Flash Card set contains 26 cards with full-color illustrations and a feeling word for each letter. Each card has a line drawing on the back, a definition of the feeling, a story and interesting activities relating to that feeling. With six activities per card, this set is ideal for preschool age and up, in home or classroom, group or one on one. Instructions are included in the easy to use carrying package. Vice President of ABC Feelings Gene Abrams told TDmonthly, "These 7.5" x 8.75" cards are interactive and multicultural, fun and easy to use, resulting in enhanced communication and understanding of feelings."