May 2010 Notable Toys — Preschool

Kids will love this see-through bubble umbrella decorated with the brightest scenes from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Umbrella measures 26 inches and sports a bright green handle. Launch date: Spring 2010

Beautiful illustrations from Eric Carle’s popular book adorn the front of this lunch bag with Butterfly taking center stage. The handle and zipper were designed for small hands to easily open and close. Launch date: Spring 2010

Who’s very hungry? It’s not just The Caterpillar that needs a healthy snack. Pack nutritious meals in this sweet lunch bag for preschool, car rides or a trip to the park. Launch date: Spring 2010

Complete with an illustrated guidebook, this developmental kit comes with 10 multi-sensory games and craft activities to let preschoolers practice early cutting and fine motor skills.

Although it’s always fun to go shopping with mommy or daddy, because of HABA’s new shopping cart there’s no need to leave home. Sleek and sturdy design, double-wheels and fabric basket make for hours of pretend shopping play. Groceries sold separately.

A nice addition to story time to engage and encourage children to participate in the Humpty Dumpty story. Chimes are inside to enhance the story. Doll measures 7" x 6". Machine washable, dryable. Bricks sold separately.

Fun and fully-motorized vehicle toy plays over 40 phrases and sounds. When you lift his dump bed, press his bumper or press his top and he drives when you call him. Vehicle comes with storybook. Bumper moves and dump bed wiggles. 2010 TOTY Award Winner.

Red Rover by MATTEL will have preschoolers laughing, running, and thinking as they try to help the titular pup. The game includes 12 bones, featuring shapes, numbers, letters, and colors, to be hidden around the room. Red Rover requests certain bones, and it is up to kids to rush around the room to find the proper bones. Preschoolers flex their bodies and minds as they rush to feed Red Rover before the other players. Launch date: July 2010.

Girls can create their own Tea Party with this preschool kit that has larger tiles. "These kits use a shape and color matching system, and large tiles, to make sure any preschooler can achieve great results!" Damien Crocker, U.S. Specialty Sales Manager, The Orb Factory Limited, told TDmonthly. Launch date: March 15, 2010.

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.

Building Thinking Skills Beginning is designed to provide fun, highly effective and engaging reasoning activities to improve the vocabulary, pre-reading, pre-writing, math, logic, spatial, and auditory processing skills of preschoolers. It teaches children to use organized analysis instead of guesswork to solve problems as it develops critical thinking skills necessary for success in reading, math, writing, and science. The book uses colorful, easy-to-understand activities, sequenced in small steps, many gamelike, and solvable in a short period. "Our thinking approach makes learning fun, motivating and effective. Empowering the mind through critical thinking is one of the best ways to prepare for life's journey," Nile Duppstadt, VP, The Critical Thinking Co., told TDmonthly. Awards: 2009 Teacher's Choice Award for the Family, Learning® Magazine, 2010 Best Products iParenting Media Award, Book category. Launch date: February 5, 2009.

This pad of 38 placemats gives kids and parents games, activities and puzzles to improve manners and social skills. Placemats can be removed for use.

Children can change the bathwater to vibrant colors using these all-natural dye packs that won't stain the tub. They are preservative and chemical free. Each pack contains two blue and one red.

Bugs are pretty common to find around the house, so the children should be able to quickly identify the ladybug, caterpillar and dragonfly. Children can decorate the bugs with colored tissue paper, black sticky dots and colored pom-poms to bring them to life.

Sometimes preparing for the party is almost as fun as having the party itself. Preschool children can wrap this present with ribbon, decorate the cupcakes with sprinkles and glue glitter to the party hats. This activity pack gets everyone into a festive mood.

Children can create colorful butterflies with all the different, tactile and colorful materials found in this kit.

Beach and ocean life is the theme in this activity set. Includes a seahorse, fish, and sandcastle as well as sand.

Dogs come in all shapes and sizes: big, small, fuzzy and hairy. Children can take the crinkly paper, the soft snow, and the fuzzy brown yarn to create their own furry friend.

Snakes, alligators, and turtles are very different, yet all in the same family. Use the various materials to create a visual distinction among them.

Written and illustrated by Ed Young, this book is about a boy who discovers an egg and presents it to chickens. When an eaglet hatches, the boy and the chickens work to help it fly, and it's eventually able to soar into beautiful skies. Launch date: April 2009.

Spirited little Lulu is determined to wear her soft, comfy pajamas to school, but is crushed when a day out in the PJs makes them barely recognizable. Launch date: 2009.

This construction toy designed for little hands allows children to explore their imagination with freeform creations and unlimited possibilities. The three shapes (rectangle, square and octagon) have several slots that lock together to build three-dimensional structures in multiple ways that are simple, challenging and fun. "Locktagons is an excellent introduction into building and is a great way to develop imagination, stimulate logic, develop spatial reasoning skills, and encourage creativity. The magic of these toys is unlocked with a child’s imagination. An activity guide is also included that will give parents suggestions on educational ways to build and interact with their child," Jessica Wineke, Public Relations Coordinator, Patch Products, told TDmonthly. Launch date: March 2010.

Sneaky Puzzles are full of surprise. Kids put together a colorful under-the-sea scene with funny fish and their silly friends. Then, they can see all the letters of the alphabet and numbers 0–9 hidden in the picture, and wear the included 3D glasses to see the fish and their friends in a whole different way. "Children will be astonished as they watch the sea creatures swim towards them and parents will love the educational value," Jessica Wineke, Public Relations Coordinator, Patch Products Inc., told TDmonthly. Launch date: March 2010.
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

Designed specifically for kitchen helpers, Curious Chef® has created a user friendly and functional line designed especially for children. One of each of the small, medium and large nylon knives is designed to let kids safely slice, dice, chop, and cut right next to an adult. The knives have serrated cutting edges to ensure clean cuts, and blunted tips for the child's safety. Launch date: 2010.