July 2010 Notable Toys — Books

In A Game of Thrones: The Board Game, three to five players take on the roles of the great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros as they vie for control of the Iron Throne through the use of diplomacy and warfare. Based on the best-selling "A Song of Ice and Fire" series of fantasy novels by George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones is an epic board game in which it will take more than military might to win. Through strategic planning, slick diplomacy, and clever card play, players must spread their influence over Westeros to finally claim the Iron Throne.

In A Heart Pumping Adventure, Merrin wonders about her father's eating habits and the condition of his heart. Suddenly, Merrin and Pearl find themselves riding on a red, pillowy donut-shaped boat, floating through his bloodstream. This book includes 23 pages of educational activities, 44 color stickers and an audio story CD.
— “It is, to be honest, one of the most interesting and engaging human body learning tools I’ve come across in a very long time,” declared Robin Rivers of Our Good Earth.  Exploring the set with her daughter, Robin was surprised at “how much she took to the story, the lessons (eat healthy to have a healthy body) and the educational content that at times was a bit beyond her 5-year-old level.”
— The reviewer at One Zillion Books listened to the CD with her kids and noticed “that there were a couple of vocabulary- and concept-heavy moments, but overall the fun mood carried throughout the 15+ minute audio story.” She rated the set eight out of ten because “The story and characters were easy to relate to and led well into the activity book focusing of human anatomy and healthy living” while remaining “neither dull nor scary.”

In Battle with the Bugs, the girls find themselves in their cousin Max’s body, witnessing firsthand the immune system in action. This book includes 23 pages of educational activities, 44 color stickers and an audio story CD.

In The Lucky Escape, Merrin and Pearl are magically catapulted into their baby brother’s digestive system to help him extract a penny he swallowed. This book includes 23 pages of educational activities, 44 color stickers and an audio story CD.

Compiled by distinguished conflict historian Dana Lombardy (Streets of Stralingrad), the Tide of Iron: Designer Series is a hardcover collection of 20 scenarios crafted by today's most famous wargame designers. Using the mechanics of the Tide of Iron base game, these design masters have crafted the first volume in one of the most exciting collections of wargaming history. A copy of Tide of Iron is required to play. Rick Nauertz, sales associate for Fantasy Flight Games, told TDmonthly, "The Tide of Iron: Designer Series is an incredible addition to the Tide of Iron base game, offering a whole new level of depth and historical context for players to enjoy." Features: Scenarios vary from short, fast-play skirmishes to massive tactical battles. Historical backgrounds and anecdotes for each scenario written by the scenario designer. Several scenarios incorporate the North Africa Days of the Fox Expansion. One epic scenario which requires two copies of Tide of Iron for a massive, multiplayer experience.

How Do You Read to A Rabbit? is a fun picture book that looks into one child's attempts at reading a book to thirteen different animals; from alligators, to bats, to kangaroos. Each animal poses a different challenge, but all ends well as we see the child finds someone to read to — his parents.

With over half a million copies in print, Mortimer is one of Robert Munsch’s most popular and beloved books. The story of a little boy who refuses to go to sleep has always resonated with young children—and the adults who read to them. Now available as a board book, this modern classic retains the original story and its humor, but with revised text and in a child-friendly format appropriate for preschoolers.

ABC’s Around the World was developed to be used as the foundation for a child becoming multilingual. The interactive wheel enhances the learning experience. Children, especially pre-literate children, both hear the word and “read” the “picture” at the same time.

Each box set includes a huggable, earth-friendly organic cotton animal stuffed with recycled soda bottles, along with a storybook featuring the 3" plush character. These sets are available in Little Polar Bear, Little Gorilla and Little Elephant versions.

The gentle concepts of this book aim to inspire children to love the natural world. Animals Everywhere is designed to teach children about animal habitats from snowy mountains to dusty deserts.

The gentle concepts of this book aim to inspire children to love the natural world. Little Helpers shows kids that small actions taken each day can make a big difference in helping the Earth.
Awards:  2010 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal.

Ten chunky books can be stacked or stored to turn even a few minutes into a learning lesson. Concepts include colors, shapes, rhymes, opposites and more. The book tower is available in Little Animal or Little Learning versions.

This book comes with three ready-to-design tiaras, and a stencil for making countless more, along with a treasure trove of sparkly pieces for decorating them. The kit comes with 21 jewels, 100 sequins in various shapes and sizes, 16 pompoms, 36 gel stickers, stencils and a glue stick.

This book comes with two tear-resistant paper puppies — a Chihuahua and a Yorkshire terrier. Their punch-out wardrobes include winter and summer outfits, rain gear and even a bikini. Unlike regular paper-doll duds, these clothes stay securely in place and look just as stylish from the back as they do from the front. Also included are accessories like food bowls, bones, a fluffy purple tutu and a convertible doggie carrier.

The Superhero Starter kit holds all the basics needed to launch little heroes. Provided are a red cape, masks, wrist shields and three pages of snazzy stickers so kids can accessorize their newly super selves.

This book is a celebration of the information that has been overlooked by the typical textbook. A creative map for each state makes flipping through the pages like taking a virtual road trip. Also included are goofy games, quizzes, puzzles and other diversions.

This prompted journal is filled with doodly artwork growing out of the corners and creeping up the edges of the pages like a wild vine of inspiration. There are also tons of activities, including “doodle-starters” — faintly printed guidelines of shapes and patterns. Clever journal prompts and drawing ideas mean there is never a struggle thinking of what to doodle. A custom-designed gel pen is included.

Kids can find out what the future holds with these fortune tellers. The book includes 24 fortune tellers and eight sticker sheets, and features a colorful lenticular flip cover. "Not only are our activity books fun and hip, they are produced with the lenticular technology. The front covers flip from one colorful image to another," Iscream Prepress Manager Leslie Montalbano told TDmonthly.

This 96-page activity book lets kids create lists that are all about them. "Not only are our activity books fun and hip, they are produced with the lenticular technology. Our covers flip from one colorful image to another," Leslie Montalbano, Iscream prepress manager, told TDmonthly.

Life goes from Hollywood to Michigan to Mars when Lisa and her family take in her grandmother who has dementia. The Weavers quickly discover the “comicals” of Nora Jo bring a whole new realm of “crazy” to their copasetic abode. And the question becomes, how high a price can they pay for this traumatic change? "As Nora Jo Fades Away is a great read with an even grander cause: to create action and awareness," Lisa Goldman, Five Star Publications office coordinator, told TDmonthly.
Awards: 2010 Paris Book Festival Romance Award First Place

Life is never boring back at the pond once Iggy, Radic, Cabby and Roc get together. Readers can join them for a humorous yet serious look at nature. "'Green Pieces: Green From the Pond Up' is a delightful read for any age group. Grown-ups will be reminded of what they were told by their parents — to respect nature — and young readers will learn, through the eyes of the four main characters, why it’s important to respect nature," Lisa Goldman, Five Star Publications office coordinator, told TDmonthly. 

THIS PRODUCT IS NO LONGER PUBLISHED BY FIVE STAR PUBLICATIONS as of 8/18/2010.

The Klutz Glossy Bands book kit lets kids make their very own durable rubbery jewelry. The kit includes four tubes of non-toxic, acrylic gel. Kids can follow the instructions to squeeze and swirl the gel into beautiful patterns that turn into one-of-a-kind bracelets.
— Deal Seeking Mom Tara Kuczykowski declared, “If your child is into the Silly Bandz craze, he or she is sure to love making Glossy Bands!”
— Jennifer of 5 Minutes for Mom reported that her 11-year-old daughter “loved this kit, and it’s something she could do on her own, without help or hovering from me.” Jennifer liked that the Klutz Glossy Bands book “provided enough instruction to get her started, and enough leeway for her creativity to grow and her to try new things on her own.”
— Jo-Lynne of Musings of a Housewife gave the book to her daughter, who spent several days making bracelets. Her daughter’s love for the kit led Jo-Lynne to call the Glossy Bands Book “the perfect birthday gift for your craft-obsessed little girl.”

Straw, sticks and bricks are just the beginning in Steven Guarnaccia’s imaginative reinterpretation of the fairy tale classic. “The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale” transforms the pigs into representations of architects Phillip Johnson, Frank Gehry and Frank Lloyd Wright, complete with iconic houses that mirror those designed by the famous architects. The architecture may be different, but the wolf still huffs and puffs in this delightful adventure in modern design.
— The Kansas City Star’s Stacy Downs calls the tale “a squealing lesson in architecture.” The architectural twist made the book fascinating for Stacy, too, as she read it to her toddler sons.
— John Hill of A Weekly Dose of Architecture enjoyed the “landscape of modernism within the familiar story.” He also praised the learning potential of the story, explaining, “As the parent of a two-year-old girl I can see the myriad educational opportunities, from matching images to word association and even creating stories within the story.”

Full-color photos combine with clearly labeled instructions, trivia and a compelling story to make this 48-page Brickmaster kit ideal for LEGO fans. Young builders can build fantastic models of undersea craft from LEGO's Atlantis line or come up with distinctive Atlantis creations of their own. LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Brick configuration and the Minifigure are trademarks of the LEGO Group.