August 2009 Notable Toys — Educational

Kids's imaginations can splash into an underwater world where scuba divers explore the colorful creatures of the coral reef or venture out into open water and find magnificent giant mammals and fish. This play board and 28 felt pieces create a place to explore the depths of the sea. Launch date: 2009.

With this imaginative kit, kids can set a scene in which the characters fly a kite in the cool salty air, build art sculptures of sand, or go snorkeling and discover the world under the sea. A beach oasis is a playground paradise for this boy and girl. It includes more than 20 colorful felt pieces. Launch date: 2009.

Deep in the rainforest camouflaged againt dense vegetation hide unique animals. A tapir slumbers by the sleepy three-toed sloth, while toucans and monkeys sing in the trees. A lavish play board provides a dense cover for more than 20 felt animals. Launch date: 2009.

Each card is an opportunity to explore, explain and express oneself on subjects from serious to silly and everything in between — leisure suits to lava lamps and pet rocks to a favorite rock group on 8-track tape. Launch date: March 2009.

Friends and family can talk about the decade that changed the world, exploring topics from the heavy to the groovy, whether influenced by the Establishment or the anti-everything movement. Launch date: March 2009.

Valley girls and video games, Ronald Reagan and Rubik’s Cube, Flashdance and the fall of the Berlin Wall. TableTopics ‘80s edition has it all covered. The era of big business and even bigger hair can inspire fun conversation with friends and family. "The content and quality of our questions is unsurpassed by any competitive product, but if we had to pick on thing that is iconic about TableTopics, it is our beautiful cube. It's very upscale, permanent, timeless," Sheryl Brunell, vice president of TableTopics, told TDmonthly. "Our founder and owner, Cristy Clarke, wanted to create a product that people would use in their homes everyday and was beautiful enough to stay out on the dinner table, on the coffee table, on the dining room table all the time." Launch date: March 2009.

Designed to provide a thoughtful and imaginative play experience, this game features a princess who needs to be rescued from a mean guard and fierce dog. Players go through fields, woods, mountains and villages in search of things magical and practical that are needed to free the Princess. Participants share and help each other remember where special things are hidden, and together think their way past the obstacles. The games includes a 12" x 12" board, die, movers, night cards, good grief cards and special things.

The goal of this game is to help everyone from Mom and Dad to Granny and Grandpa have a great day and not get caught by The Blues. Players can pass on a hug, make others laugh with goofy faces, tell someone what they like about them, dance, sing, share a joke, and more. Feel-Good Cards have lots of things to do to chase away The Blues, but players must be careful, as The Blues can sneak up very quickly. Participants can personalize the game's supplies by adding various books and music of their own. Suggestions are included. The games includes a 12" x 12" board, feel-good cards, a neighborhood card, people movers, the blues and dice.

My Baby Can Talk – Exploring Signs introduces babies to twenty-four words and signs to encourage them to explore and begin to communicate about the wonders of the world around them. This playful exploration presents baby’s expanding world in a fun and fascinating way – offering words and signs for colors, foods, nature and play. This charming board book can be used to support the words and signs presented in the My Baby Can Talk – Exploring Signs DVD or introduce this book separately for hours of educational enjoyment.

My Baby Can Talk – Sharing Signs takes babies and their parents on an inspiring discovery of twenty-four words and signs that babies and parents love to share – including apple, bath, ball, diaper, elephant, flower, help, please, share, sleep and thank you! This charming board book can be used to support the words and signs presented in the My Baby Can Talk – Sharing Signs DVD or introduce this book separately for hours of educational enjoyment.

The My Baby Can Talk – First Signs Board Book invites babies and parents to come on an engaging and interactive journey to discover the first twenty-four signs and words that are most loved by babies – including eat, drink, milk, more, book, go and favorite animals! This charming board book can be used to support the words and signs presented in the My Baby Can Talk – First Signs DVD or introduce this book separately for hours of educational enjoyment.

A complete early language development book series recommended by pediatricians, trusted by parents and loved by babies. Crying is one way that babies can communicate – offer your baby another. These delightful board books are the perfect compliment to the My Baby Can Talk Award Winning DVD series or offer these books separately for hours of educational enjoyment with your little one. Jump start communication today before your baby can speak!

Each page comes alive with the word, a vibrant real world image and a delightful poem for you to share with your baby. You will also find an illustration of the sign and a formal sign description for you to learn and offer to your little one.

The My Baby Can Talk™ board book series includes three books that teach babies and parents to communicate at an early age, reducing frustration and creating a special bond that is so important for healthy child development. My Baby Can Talk teaches babies and parents American Sign Language (ASL) in a format that delights the senses while tapping into a baby’s natural language abilities.

Babies are able to communicate at a much earlier age than they are able to speak. Research has shown that babies who use sign language tend to speak sooner with larger vocabularies, show an increase in IQ scores and engage in more sophisticated play.

Inspiring early language development – from simple gestures to first spoken words!

Kids 18 months and older can use these wooden stacking blocks to learn colors, numbers and letters and more! Launch date: Early 2009.

Little learners play in a grown-up way with Text and Learn. The pretend browser and play text messages with Scout the dog lead to real-life skills as children explore letters and QWERTY keyboarding in fun on-the-go games. Launch date: 2009.

We developed this game at the urging of teachers who, while praising the content of our popular TerraCarta USA playing cards, wanted a product more suitable for classroom use. The result is the States of the Union game. The maps are much larger so that kids and grandparents will have an easier time reading place names. The playing card pips have been removed, and we have added rules for two fun, fast-paced quiz games.

Learn the States! Playing the States of the Union game can foster a new curiosity about our country among children of all ages. Great for Travel! Contents include cards of all fifty states plus the District of Columbia in superb detail – state flags, mountains, rivers, national parks, historic sites and a fold-out map of the United States. The full deck also makes a fascinating set of flash cards. Can you name the “Grand Canyon State”?

As with all of our products, we have followed the successful model of dynamic packaging design, educational value, and a commitment to the concept of helping kids develop a good mental map of the world through game play.

Each card in this geography themed deck sports a detailed custom map of one of the fifty states. The cards deliver facts about the states, including flags, important cities and towns, rivers, lakes, mountain peaks, national parks, historic sites, and other fun features. All of this information is displayed on the delicately shaded relief maps that are the heart of TerraCarta. The District of Columbia and U.S. territories are included in the playing card coverage. A two-sided map and playing card index, an informational key card, and a wild card that shows the entire United States in striking global perspective fill out the complete deck of 55 cards. With a full set of traditional suits and ranks, TerraCarta can replace standard playing cards for popular games, such as gin rummy, hearts, and crazy eights. It can also be used as a set of quiz and flash cards.

P’kolino’s Puzzle Stacker increases the play value of the classic stacker by adding the benefits of puzzles. This 6 ring stacking toy helps develop a baby’s hand-eye coordination and recognition of sizes and colors. The puzzle fine-tunes motor skills and teaches spatial logic through joining the interconnecting pieces, resulting in doubling its developmental value within a single toy. Also available in a 10 ring version. Launch date: June 2009.