July 2009 Notable Toys — Books

This 40-page hardcover explores "wonderfully weird" parts of the human body, such as skin sells that shed and holes in the head, while also covering facts about the appendix, wiggling ears and fingernail growth. Launch date: 2009.

The 12-book series unlocks the virtual world quests of the Jacabee Code that mirror the stories. With knowledge you gain opportunities so each book has clues inside that give the child an advantage online. The first book will feature Sacagawea in her historic role leading Lewis and Clark across the Louisiana Purchase. Available in summer 2009.

This Personal Journal serves as a chronicle of the player's unique adventure in the Jacabee Code MMO Game. It is the only place you can see the secrets behind the glyphs. The Jacabee Code is part of a larger “story” that will be revealed in good time. When you take part in the quest to crack the code you have the exclusive ability to write your very own book starring Abby, Dooley, Baldy and YOU!

With this special diary, kids write with invisible ink markers and then shine the UV mini-light on the page to read what they’ve written. Each set comes with a locking 240-page diary with two keys, a mini UV-light and two invisible ink pens in a 6.5” x 7” x 1.5” magnetic-closure keepsake box. Varieties include Fairy, Castle, Princess Pea, Dragon, Baby Deer, Firebird, Degas and Merlin. “A perfect gift, the My Invisible Diary sets combine the secret elements of invisible ink with a personal diary and a special keepsake box decorated with beautiful artwork,” Elizabeth Carpenter of Mazeology told TDmonthly. Launch date: September 1, 2007.

This 120-page activity book includes mazes, word games, puzzles, stickers and more for on-the-go fun.
— “[TRIPtivity] is going to be a big hit because it’s less expensive than the other ones,” Valla Wagner, co-owner of Teaching Toys & Books in Tacoma, Wash., told TDmonthly when discussing the Klutz line in March 2009.
— Six of 64 retailers named products by Klutz as best-selling travel toys in spring 2009.

Curious about what is hidden in invisible ink? So is Curious George. Help him discover the hidden world. The Special Pen reveals the invisibly printed pictures. Then match your stickers to the appropriate spot. Each book includes 24 pages of fun, a special pen and stickers.
— Kim Haynes, co-owner of Lollipop Toy Store in Dawsonville, Ga., told TDmonthly in spring 2009 that her store sells about $300 a month of the Magic Pen books, “if I can keep it in stock.”
— Four of 64 retailers named products from Lee Publications when discussing best-selling travel toys in March 2009.

In this word game activity book, kids fill in the blanks about their own family members on topics such as “Family Ghost Stories” and “Famous Ancestors.”
— Barbara Paeth Haas, owner of The Durango Kid in Durango, Colo., said in spring 2009 that Mad Libs sell so well she can’t keep them in stock.
— “A lot of people choose things like Mad Libs for travel specifically because they're very compact and they're entertaining for a while, and they just seem to be one of those perennially popular items,” Gini Wingard-Phillips, owner of Math ‘n’ Stuff in Seattle, told TDmonthly in March 2009.

Designed to give children ideas for creative filming while using the home video camera, this book includes a slate to mark takes, outlines gimmicks and gags, and provides step-by-step instructions on cool techniques, such as staging disappearances or fight scenes (where no one gets hurt). The guide is authored by John Cassidy and Nicholas Berger.
— “It's the Klutz that sells best,” said Patti Tepper-Rasmussen, owner of Learning Tree Toys in Oklahoma City, Okla., during an April 2009 survey of best-selling playsets and activity kits. 
— “Klutz is probably still my No. 1 seller. They have lots going on,” Pat Jensen, owner of Northwind Kites in Anchorage, Alaska, told TDmonthly. 
— “I sell a huge amount of Klutz books,” said Amy Barrett, owner of Lasso the Moon Wonderful Toys in Helena, Mont., in spring 2009.

The Seahorse is one of nature's most startling creations. The Ancients thought these creatures pulled the chariots of Neptune. We have reduced it to an endangered species. This book explores the science and the mythology, the biology and behavior, the beauty and mystery of this unique dazzling fish.

Based on the new Spitzer Hall of Human Origins in the American Museum of Natural History which opens in February 2007, The Book of The Genome takes the young reader to the cutting edge of science, exploring and examining the tools by which we study our origins, some of the milestones in human origins, human movement across the Planet and the beginnings of being human through language, music, art and tools.

Explore the Mona Lisa's smile, Titian's noises, Duccio's artistic omelet, a Jackson Pollock splash, a king's portrait, an entire battle, saints and sinners, knights and peasants, motorcars and animals; and paintings on every conceivable surface walls, wood panels, cloth, glass, metal, bark, and leather. Follow Mickey and his friends through this most magical of worlds as they show us how to look at, understand, and enjoy the works of the greatest artist.

Amazing Jellies presents an entertaining and authoritative look into the little-known world of what we commonly, but incorrectly, have known as jellyfish. Jellies are among the most beautiful and unusual animals on earth. They are found in all the oceans of the world and even in some freshwater lakes and rivers.

They come in all sizes, from 3mm to 12 feet across and 100 feet long. They are 95 percent water, with a little bit of prote in, oil, and salt. Jellies have lived on the earth for millions of years, and their fossils have been found in rocks 650 million years old. They have no brain, no liver, no kidneys, no heart, no lungs, or gills. They do not need blood, have no eyes, nose or tongue. They can be lethal and are nearly always beautiful.

Disappearing Giants: The North Atlantic Right Whale was our first collaboration with The New England Aquarium, and with the same depth and clarity, Amazing Jellies provides the reader with a thorough understanding of jellies andtheir role in the ocean. The book takes advantage of the most recent research into jellies, with a chapter based on a special exhibit at the New England Aquarium also titled "Amazing Jellies." Beautiful color photographs accompany a clearly written and wide-ranging text.