September 2009 Notable Toys — All

That Way is a game designed for children to learn the concept of North, South, East, and West.  The game features a colorful car that you move (by rolling the dice) through the wacky city where you encounter detours that tells you what direction you must travel. You may want to travel north to accomplish your goal of reaching downtown first, but the directional card says you must go in a different direction. This creates chaos and fun for the players as they are never sure where they’ll travel next.

The sleeves give kids a fun place to aim their coughs and sneezes at while learning the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics recommended habit of coughing and sneezing into your elbow or shirt sleeve and the sleeves protect their clothes or arm from getting "gunky". Package includes 25 disposable sleeves.

The sleeves give kids a fun place to aim their coughs and sneezes at while learning the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics recommended habit of coughing and sneezing into your elbow or shirt sleeve and the sleeves protect their clothes or arm from getting "gunky". Package includes 10 disposable sleeves.

These solar-powered, remote-controlled vehicles measure about 2.5" in length and and are powered for 30 minutes of playtime when the micro solar panel in the roof is exposed to direct sunlight. The vehicles can also be charged from the controller. Car and SUV styles are available, and the racers can pop wheelies. Launch date: August 2009.

"World of Colors" introduces children to colors through fun, interactive stories and activities where Comfyland characters go on fascinating adventures. While helping Jumpy find his lost bone, children can learn how to name colors, compare objects, and match colors to specific objects. Children learn through fun, interactive stories and activities that make play an enriching and inspiring experience. The Level 4 software was designed to help kids learn color recognition, object identification, spatial orientation, problem solving and comparison skills. Content was developed exclusively for use with the Comfy Easy PC.

This preschool toy is a safe, programmable TV remote control that children can use to find their favorite TV shows and channels quickly and easily. The iMote is designed to provide independence for kids and peace of mind for parents. A parent selects five safe TV channels that have their child's favorite TV shows, and access to all other TV channels is blocked. The iMote comes with 100+ colorful stickers, including the logos of popular TV channels (i.e., Nickelodeon, Disney, PBS, Cartoon Network)  to make it easy to customize for each child. "The iMote is the only remote control on the market that has been tested to pass all toy safety tests, so that when young children put it into their mouths there is no danger of lead poisoning; and parents don’t have to worry about their children watching programming that they may not feel is suitable for their children," Ron Cantor, president of Comfy, Inc., told TDmonthly. "Children develop a great sense of pride, confidence and self esteem in knowing that they have their own personal TV remote control that allows them to operate their TVs, just like Mom and Dad can."

Peanut is part of a line of five AniMagic pets, which are soft, lap-size animals that move their heads, necks, ears and eyes, make whimpering sounds when petted, and each make their signature baby animal noise — bark or meow, for example. Peanut barks in appreciation when given his special bone, and even wags his tail. Launch date: July 2009.

This set of four 8" melamine plates features a different robot on each against a bright, patterned background. The plates are dishwasher safe and coordinate with the company's robot juice cup and bowl set for kids.

This bright side bag is made to drape over the shoulder and across the body. It features a soft, furry exterior and shiny satin interior and straps.

This 3" designer mini speaker has a lot of attitude. Featuring artwork by Jeremiah Ketner, it hosts a built-in hi-fi amplifier, internal rechargeable battery and can play for four to eight hours. It comes with an audio cable, a USB charging cable and a keyring clip for attachment to bags or other accessories. Headphonies can work with MP3 players, portable DVD players, computers and most mobile devices. Launch date: August 2009.

Fashion-savvy Ashley wears a pair of leggings under her favorite jean mini skirt. As with all Ty Girlz, she comes with a code that allows online access to a virtual playworld. She also has a little comb to keep her locks in shape.

Look & Learn baby dolls feature contrasting colors and patterns, and sound to encourage exploration and early development. Their designed is based on research showing that next to mom and dad, babies love to look at high-contrast images like black on white patterns, especially faces. Each doll also comes on a “hang and hold” ring for play on the go. Launch date: September 1, 2009.

After rolling the special dice and flipping the timer, players race to list words containing the three letters shown on the dice. Only words listed by a single player score points, so players are rewarded for their speed and creative thinking. This game is adjustable for different skill levels and ideal for varied group sizes. Launch date: April 2009.

It's never too early to start bringing up the smartest baby in the whole world. So thinks the expectant Mrs. Brains, who reads to the baby inside her tummy every night and plays music and language tapes to her baby during the day. Soon enough, Mr. and Mrs. Brains have their very own Baby Brains. He reads the paper, fixes the family car, and works as a doctor in the local hospital. Now even the space program is calling on him. Is there anything Baby Brains can't do? Candlewick Storybook Animation packages include a full-color hardcover picture book, a dual-disk DVD/CD with full animated story and two audio read-along versions of the text — one with page-turn prompts, and a full-color poster, plus a sheet of reusable stickers. Launch date: September 2008.

TDmonthly Review:

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Some days you wake up and you just gotta wokka. Wokka what? Wokka-wokka! It’s about movement. It’s about dance. It’s about shimmy-shakin’, be-boppin’, and more. It’s about gathering friends and joining the party. The creative team behind "My Father the Dog" returns with a call-and-response for preschoolers, an exuberant invitation to be part of the fun — and show your stuff. It features jazzy rhythms, silly rhymes and welcoming images that aim to entice little readers. Launch date: August 2009.

This fun-filled bilingual DVD is designed to help toddlers and preschoolers grasp the Spanish Language. Spanish and English words, both written and spoken for each video clip and an accompanying Spanish phrase, allow a preschooler to pick words with ease. The clips and music are designed to keep a child's interest while teaching common Spanish words and phrases. The DVD covers the fundamentals, including colors, numbers and words, using beautiful images and classical music. Launch date: October 2008.

Galloping Minds Numbers, Shapes and Colors Flash Cards offer a way to teach and reinforce numbers, counting, shapes and color recognition for preschoolers. The flash cards have photographs and illustrations that offer an exciting and interactive way to acquire preschool skills. Each Flash Card is post-card size, has excellent quality photography, and is laminated to prevent damage from little fingers. Launch date: June 2009.

“The puffy shirt,” “Crab Bisque,” “Hello, Newman." Fans who recognize any of these phrases are ready for Pressman Toy’s latest trivia game based on the hit sitcom "Seinfeld." Players join the show’s quirky characters and their misadventures with more than 600 trivia questions and lots of surprises along the way. Players race around the board to visit Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer, and go to Monk's Diner to guess the quote. The first person to get soup from you-know-who wins. Launch date: August 2009.

This Rummikub set for preschoolers is designed with shapes that help children self-correct their moves. The game helps children develop number and color recognition skills, teaches players how to build sets of consecutive numbers, and fosters logical reasoning as they learn the basics of Rummikub. It features three levels of game play. Launch date: August 2009.

Printies™ Design Studio kits and refill packs are created as affordable at-home activity kits that allow children to take their online design creations offline like never before. Using their home PCs, inkjet printers and special patent-pending Printies™ fabric sheets, children can bring their online designs to life as soft, 3-D, collectible stuffed toys. It’s simple: they design online at MyPrinties.com, print on both sides of Printies fabric sheets with any inkjet printer, tear along the perforated shape and pop out the Printies design, stuff it, and put it on display. Launch date: Fall 2009.

Pack & Stack is designed to be a fast and funny, wild and crazy game about moving stuff on all sorts of odd trucks. Every interactive turn is a new adventure, where all the players discover new loads, grab new trucks, and then gamble on their planning and packing skills. Launch date: June 4, 2009.

This kit contains everything needle to make two cute stuffed owls, right down to the stuffing, scissors and needle. The owl pattern is printed onto unbleached cotton fabric, making it easy to cut out and simple to sew together the owls. The box is printed on the inside to cut it out and recycle it into glasses for your owl. Launch date: January 2, 2009.

Marko the Pencil and his friend Bailey take learners on a journey to Marko's Super Science Station where it's easy and fun to grasp science concepts and boost test scores. This DVD covers photosynthesis, plant parts, the butterfly lifecycle, plant and animal cells, food chains, food webs and more. It meets the National Science Education Standards. Launch date: June 2009.

The Black Heritage Gamebook is an educational gamebook with games that span subjects across curriculum — math, reading, history, writing and more. These games can be played for speed or at a child’s individual pace. Launch date: January 3, 2003.