September 2012 Notable Toys — Preschool

Inspire younger minds with this great LEGO Duplo Bricks & More Brick Box - Pink (4623). Designed especially for young girls, this cute starter set features rabbits, carrots, flowers and an assortment of basic LEGO DUPLO bricks in both pink and classic DUPLO colors. Comes in a sturdy LEGO brick storage box and includes an inspirational idea booklet.

The perfect foundation for creative LEGO® DUPLO® play. Kids can start all of their LEGO® DUPLO® creations on the right foundation with 3 brightly colored Building Plates in different sizes.

In the land of Blue Clouds, anything can happen. The clear and beautiful voice of children’s music favorite Elizabeth Mitchell weaves musical landscapes that “seem like a patchwork of memories we’ve always shared,” writes Caldecott Award – winning author Brian Selznick in the liner notes. The dreamlike illustrations of legendary artist Remy Charlip illuminate the magical narratives of these timeless songs. Mitchell’s extended family band, You Are My Flower, including daughter Storey and husband Daniel Littleton, embrace us with sound in a celebration of family, imagination and love. 16 tracks, 39 minutes, 32 page booklet. Launch date: October 2012.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval

Little ones will love Brilli the Imagination Ball, an educational toy from VTech. There are 5 different modes of play, including games with counting, natural sounds, rhymes and silly sounds. The firm surface provides an easy grip for small hands, and the included motion sensor offers a wide variety of feedback responses for each game played.

Kids can follow Chippey’s adventures with Taylor McTuttle and his family in this special board book edition of An Elf’s Story™. With eight press-and-play holiday sounds, this interactive, 20-page book is perfect for preschoolers who will love the vivid illustration and easy-to-follow version of the Christmas special that features Chippey, Snowflake, Wordsworth, Zart, and of course, Santa Claus.

For early and emerging readers, this edition of An Elf’s Story™ is a re-telling of the Christmas story featuring the McTuttle family and Chippey, a pixie scout elf sent by Santa from the North Pole. Join Chippey, Snowflake, Wordsworth, and Zart in this heartwarming Christmas tale about believing in the magic of all things Christmas.

This brand new An Elf’s Story ™ 50 page coloring book features scenes from the holiday special, including characters like Chippey, Snowflake, Wordsworth, Zart, Santa Claus, and the entire McTuttle clan. Also includes stickers.

It's time for a checkup with everyone's favorite doctor. With the Disney Doc McStuffins Time For Your Check Up Doll kids can use Doc McStuffins magical check up tools to make Lambie talk. Check Lambie's heart, ears and temperature. Doc also talks and sings the "time for Your Check-Up" song. Doc McStuffins is an American animated television series produced by Brown Bag Films, which premiered on March 23, 2012 on Disney Channel and Disney Junior. The series is about a six-year-old girl, Dottie "Doc" McStuffins, who can "fix" toys, with a little help from her stuffed animal friends, Stuffy, Hallie, Lambie and Chilly. During ending credits, Doc gives advice to viewers about staying healthy. Launch date: 2012.

The Playskool Rocktivity Walk 'N Roll Rider will surprise and delight babies with more than 15 rockin' tunes and fun sounds. It converts easily from walker to ride-on, and makes music with every step and scoot. Babies will jam along as it plays tunes parents already know and love like "I Like to Move It," "Walk Like an Egyptian," "Life Is a Highway" and "Ticket to Ride." Encourages kids to be active. Dashboard has beeping horn, revving engine key and a Giraffalaff character with fun phrases. Launch date: 2012.

This playful set includes a Princess with a detachable purple skirt, a white pegasus with wings that rotate to simulate flight, a mirrored vanity, and plenty of other accessories. In total there are 74 pieces.

These magnetic flower pieces can be assembled into beautiful blooms. Compatible with other SmartMax building sets.

This castle features a grand staircase and a lot of rooms. The tower has a secret hiding place, and inside the castle there is a revolving dance floor. Includes a jewelry box, tiara, bracelet and ring for the child. Dimensions: 29.5"x 28"x 26" (L x W x H).
— Grafton Stine, owner of Toys on the Square in Hummelstown, Pa., told TDmonthly in a June 2013 survey that Playmobil dollhouses and furnishings are their best-selling furniture item.

Now children can musically discover the mysteries and wonders of the Universe with Beth Nielsen Champan's new CD, The Mighty Sky. As rich and varied as the galaxy she sings about - and just as exciting to explore - The Might Sky blends accurate science, creative astronomy-based lyrics and the striking songwriting that Beth is famous for. Launch date: October 9, 2012.

CHOCOLALALA is a collection of original, bilingual songs from award-winning musician Mister G. Inspired by his concert tours throughout Latin America, the album spans a wide range of musical styles from bossa nova to ska, funk to folk, rap to pop. With captivating Latin rhythms and melodies, the songs appeal to parents as much as their children. Catchy and educational, the songs teach about counting, colors and nature, and celebrate the joys of eating chocolate, dancing and riding on the school bus with friends. CHOCOLALALA was produced, engineered and mixed by Mister G (Ben Gundersheimer). The album features world-class musicians, the voices of bilingual families, and performances by Mister G's former elementary school students. In addition to writing and singing the songs, Mister G played acoustic and electric guitars, banjo, tres and percussion. Launch date: September 10, 2012.

The Tinkertoy® Transit Building Set is designed to encourage young builders to play and learn. Builders ages 3+ can create a train, garage, bridge and more or accelerate their imagination with other ideas. The colorful guide provides a variety of ideas for all building skill levels. The Tinkertoy® Transit set includes 150 durable, plastic pieces including spools, straight rods, bendable rods, wheels, eyes, two buildable figures and more. Comes in a durable box with lid for easy storage and portability.

The Tinkertoy® Animals Building Set is designed to encourage young builders to play and learn. Builders ages 3+ can create a fish, turtle, mouse and other familiar creatures or let their imagination go wild to make their own creations. The colorful guide provides a variety of ideas for all building skill levels. The newly redesigned Tinkertoy® pieces snap together and stay together for long-lasting play. The Tinkertoy® Animals set includes 78 durable, plastic pieces including spools, straight rods, bendable rods, eyes, ears, a buildable figure and more. Comes in a durable box with lid for easy storage and portability.

For the first time ever, piece together Jan Brett's beautiful illustrations at home. This 36 piece floor puzzle makes a great holiday gift for children aged 3+. Read along with Jan Brett's wonderful story book "Gingerbread Baby" while the children piece together this beautiful puzzle. Made in the USA. Launch date: September 2012.

For the first time ever, piece together Jan Brett's beautiful illustrations at home. This 24 piece floor puzzle makes a great holiday gift for children aged 3+. Read along with Jan Brett's story book "The Mitten" while the children piece together this beautiful puzzle. Made in the USA. Launch date: September 2012.

Gibout Blocks are each hand-made with the most luxurious minky fabric available, and all sides are textured to stimulate a child's senses. These plush toy blocks are great for building, stacking, making forts, climbing on, making furniture, and whatever else a young mind can imagine. Until baby is old enough to stack and play with them, these work as nursery decor. With their soft interior and exterior, these blocks are safe for any age and will grow with  children as he/she finds new ways to play with them.
Awards: 2012 Dr. Toy 100 Best Toys

The Shape Sorter Bus is a soft, squishy colorful vehicle for little ones to hug, hold, and play with, plus it has an extra bonus of a shape-sorting game built into the sides. Six friendly faces pull out of the sides of the bus, all in different colors and shapes. Rubbabu toys are made of soft, squishy rubber foam, which is organic, hypo-allergenic, and completely biodegradable.
Awards: 2013 TDmonthly Seal of Approval, 2012 Dr. Toy 100 Best Toys

Each wooden magnet shows a stylized fruit or vegetable as illustrated by Jen Skelley: lemon, peach, radish, lime, kiwi, potato, garlic, mushroom, asparagus, blueberry, pineapple, raspberry, celery, strawberry, peapod, chili pepper, watermelon, orange, broccoli, pear, eggplant, avocado, grapefruit, cantelope, grapes, bananas, bell pepper, pumpkin, carrots, apple, corn, cherry, and tomato. Make your own green market on the refrigerator or any metal surface. The full magnetic backing will hold the letter firmly in position. Magnetic pieces are made of 80% recycled wood. Package contains 85% recycled paper and is printed with nontoxic inks.
Awards: 2012 Dr. Toy 100 Best Toys

Little imaginations will soar with this adorable bookcase. The FUNctional design revolves for easy access and includes a vintage airplane motif with a control tower storage compartment and two shelves (12" and 10") to keep favorite storybooks up and off of the floor. The bookcase coordinates with our Fly Boy Airplane Rocker (RAB00038) Assembled dimensions: 13" L x 13" W x 37" H. Launch date: September 2012.

Kids will be amazed as they watch their puzzle come alive with the Puzzle Double! Discover It! Floor Puzzle Bugs. Taking the concept of a traditional puzzle to a new level, this Discover It! puzzle includes five fun, 3-D lenticular stickers. When kids finish piecing together the beautiful 30-piece, talk about puzzles, they simply add the stickers to their matching place in the scene and watch the puzzle come to life and move and change. Additionally, after assembling the puzzle kids can turn it over for a fun coloring activity (crayons not included). Puzzle Doubles! Discover It! puzzles will provide children multi-dimensional ways to discover and learn! Puzzle measure 24" X 18". Ages 3+ years. Launch date: 2012.

All aboard the Animal Express Train to learn about animal shapes and colors. Animal Express Train has three play modes- Learn the Color and Animal Shapes, and Find It! that are played by simply inserting the plastic animal shapes into their proper slots. Mode three allows children to control the train by using the infrared remote control to move the train forward and backward. While the train chugs along it plays melodies, the wheels move and the nose blinks. The animal shape pieces can be stored in the handy storage compartment inside the train. Animal Express Train also has an automatic shut-off feature that preserves the battery life of the required three "AA" batteries for the main unit (included) and two "AA" batteries for the remote(not included). Launch date: 2012.