June 2012 Notable Toys — General Toys

These classic pull string tops are made of wood and painted with multicolored stripes. $24 for bucket of 12. Launch date: 2012.

Play with your favorite SpongeBob Squarepants™ characters in this 3in1 activity book. The activities include Magic Pen® Painting, Invisible Ink and Sticker Puzzles. The Special Pen reveals the invisibly printed pictures. The Special Pen also produces a rainbow of colors instantly. Unscramble the stickers to create a surprise picture. Each book includes 24 pages of fun, a special pen and 2 jumbled sticker puzzles.

Play and learn with your favorite Dora the Explorer™ characters. The activities include Magic Pen® Painting, Invisible Ink and Sticker Puzzles. The Special Pen reveals the invisibly printed pictures. The Special Pen also produces a rainbow of colors instantly. Unscramble the stickers to create a surprise picture.
Book 1: Each book includes 24 pages of fun and a special pen.
Book 2: Each book includes 24 pages of fun, a special pen and 2 jumbled sticker puzzles.

The Original Big Wheel Racer has a large 16” front wheel, a three-position “Grow with Me Seat” and sturdy plastic construction. Today’s kids can continue the tradition of Big Wheeling that previous generations grew up riding on, too.

This remote control helicoptecan be flown using an iPhone or Android app and includes a built-in camera that beams live feeds to the mobile device. "Spy" videos can also be recorded and uploaded to social networking sites.

A part of the company’s recently expanded "spy line," this role play toy includes a video camera operated by a remote control that enables kids to view their subjects from 250 feet away.

The multiple, award-winning 126-piece Superstructs™ Big Builder set provides everything you need to build detailed, hard working, construction vehicles. Build a working forklift, dump truck, crane, or utility truck with the enclosed step-by-step plans. And once you have mastered these, you can take them apart and use your imagination to build other great creations!

Each Crazy Cube comes with its own unique combination of shooter, marble and accessories to enhance game play. Every Crazy Cube comes with its own matching marble brain and collector card. Adding to the fun, the collector card doubles as a blocking wall or shooting target when combined with its included post.

Mini-collectible seashells that contain little "pets." The seashells are part of a larger universe of "play" that includes mermaid dolls and play sets. Fun for kids to collect, display, and trade with friends.

High-bounce Anti-Gravity Balls feature new Star Wars caricatures.

SqwowFish Collector Bank can be decorated with any soft ‘n squishy SqwishLand toys and helps kids save their pennies.

The Speed Stacks Competitor includes choice of any cup color, a Gen3 StackMat (Timer and Mat), the StackFast DVD and our Black Gear Bag for holding everything. peed Stacks® are specially designed high-tech Sport Stacking cups endorsed by the World Sport Stacking Association (WSSA) for competition. Speed Stacks are the only products approved for use in WSSA sanctioned events and each cup carries the official WSSA seal of approval.

A gentle alternative to rough-and-tumble playtime with fun-loving creatures that are not only specially designed, but also destined to "bounce back". Plush Cover, Machine Washable & Interchangeable. Charitable Donation to Wildlife Alliance. Stands 36" Tall When Inflated. Biodegradable, Free from BPA, Made in USA. Launch date: June 2012.

This line of retro stunt-show toys includes cars of three different colors. They can jump, do wheelies, and the driver figures come out to play. There's a human cannon ball for the play figures that can really be shot, and there are parachutes as well.

To begin, one card is randomly drawn from those not given to players. This is placed in the middle of the table, date-side up and is the starting point of a chronological line which will slowly be built by players. The first player then chooses one of their cards. If the player thinks that the invention on their card came before that of the initial card, the player places their card to the left of the initial card. The player's card is then turned date-side up. If the player was right, it remains on the table. Otherwise, the card is discarded and a new one must be drawn to replace it. Play proceeds clockwise. The more cards which are correctly played, the harder it is to correctly place new ones.
— In a February 2014 survey, Julie Steinbach, owner of Rainbow Toys in Falmouth, Maine, told TDmonthly that Timeline from Asmodee was a best-selling game at their store.
— David Stelzer, owner of Shananigans in Baltimore, Md., told TDmonthly in an October 2014 survey that Timeline was his store's best-selling tween item.
— In a February 2015 survey, two out of 11 retailers told TDmonthly that Timeline was their best-selling game.

Feeling the sand and moving it to expose the colors underneath stimulates the senses of young children. As their coordination improves, they will find new ways to manipulate the sand. Wooden sandbox comes with 3 tools and a clear acrylic bottom. Use the art on either side of the reversible lid, or your own art to create colorful pictures. Sandbox measures 16' x 12' x 2.75'.
Awards: 2012 Dr. Toy Best Classic Toys

Kids can build and create their own optical prism. Kit contains: cardboard tubes, plastic mirror pieces, assorted beads, rhinestones, adhesive paper, foil confetti pieces, craft glue and instructions.

Using Bernoulli’s principle Fascinations has engineered a way to float a disc in the air over 18 inches high. Of course at that height it can become difficult to balance any object on a cushion of air but that’s where all the fun begins. How long can it stay in the air and how long can it fly? It’s cooler than magic because it’s real science at work.

A reproduction of the original 1968 Fisher Price toy, this camera includes 3 interchangeable picture disks that are advanced by pressing the "shutter" button. Other features include a take along strap for the aspiring photographer on the go and a rotating flash cube.

Itzabots are robot shaped ceramic planters that kids can customize with any of the included mix and match stickers. Create and recreate new companion as many times as kids like. When kids fill the planter with water and give it a little light, their itzabot will begin to sprout a thick head of grass "hair" within 5-7 days. The hair will continue to grow for 2 months with continued watering and styling. Available in three styles/sticker kits: Monster, Girl, and Robot.

This easy-to-assemble, sturdy wooden play table is ideal for trains, dollhouses, arts & crafts projects, blocks, puzzles and more. It also features a double-sided play board and jumbo-sized drawer for convenient storage.
— In a May 2012 survey, Andy Ricks, owner of My Imagination Station in Hattiesburg, Miss., told TDmonthly that they sell one of these items each month, "but much more around the holidays."

Build 30 Amazing Erector Models. Designs include Dune buggy, lawn mower, crane, speedboat, tractor, forklift, motorcycle with rider. Kids can make their own masterpiece with a 6 Volt Motor (Requires 4 AA batteries not included). Set has 352 Parts and includes instructions and illustrations for 18 models.
— Joe Berardoni Jr., owner of Puns Toys in Bryn Mawr, Pa., told TDmonthly that Erector sets are one of their top selling hobby items.

This 85-piece set contains 72 easy-to-handle building blocks in a variety of brightly colored, interlocking geometric shapes, 8 wheels to construct buildings and vehicles with and 5 figurines. A convenient handled carrying case stores all the blocks neatly away when not in use.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval
— Mary Porter Green, owner of Curiostiy Zone in Ashburn, Va.,  told TDmonthly in a May 2015 survey that this was a best-selling construction toy at their store.

Put this glow-boratory to the test with 20 experiments that will help you answer questions like, what makes a glowing ball bounce and, what does fake snow have in common with spaghetti? View the experiments with a hand-held black light, build a lava lamp, and create glowing alien blood. Test out projects that teach about these 9 principles of science: fluorescence, phosphorescence, chemiluminescence, bioluminescence, polymers, non-Newtonian fluids, carbon dioxide reactions, crystal formation, and nucleation. This kit includes: a handheld black-light activator, 4 glow sticks, mix-n-measure scoop, fluorescent ink, beaker, mixing cup, 3 creature molds, 2 test tubes and stand, funnel, bouncy ball mold, glow-in-the-dark powder, bouncy ball polymer, jelly balls polymer, fake snow polymer, star stickers, and a 24-page Lab Book.