Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Please click here to read TDmonthly´s Toy Expert review of this product.

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

What is It?
The Dinosaur Habitat is a set of four dinosaurs: Stegosaurus; Triceratops; Tyrannosaurus Rex; Brachiosaurus. The set includes two plastic boulders, two plastic plants, a natural environment playmate, and a backdrop so kids can set up a dinosaur environment anywhere.

What We Thought
Playing with dinosaurs never goes out of style. The Dinosaur Habitat is timeless fun that will even bring back good times for adults. As children set up the habitat, they learn about the natural environment and history of the preshistoric age.

Why They´ll Want It
What little kid hasn´t played with dinosaurs? Although it´s educational, the Dinosaur Habitat encourages an imaginative play-style that is fun for all. The detailed dinosaur figures can take the child back to a world of raw adventure and survival of the fittest beasts.

Back to top

What Is It?
Dunecraft (ToyDirectory, ToyShow) brings together the wonders of horticulture and the ancient age of dinosaurs to curious young minds. The Amazing Dinosaur Plant is a 250-million-year-old species that can hibernate for up to fifty years, reviving every time it is given water. The plant resembles a dead ball of foliage until immersion in water, when it transforms into an evergreen plant within hours. If it dries out, the plant will return to its dried state.

What We Thought
The kit, which contains a plant, display bowl and real volcanic stones, is an educational winner, astounding kids as well as adults.

Why They’ll Want It
The kit brings scientific wonder from the Jurassic age out of the books and into your living room. And best of all, it’s a renewable resource that will enchant children again and again.

--Jeremy Loudenback

Back to top

What Is It?
Learn Through Music is an interactive educational toy that teaches—both in English and Spanish—words for barnyard animals (with moos and oinks), find-it games, sing-alongs (with a karaoke-style mic included!) and lots more. The toy has touch-screen features, as well as large buttons a toddler can push to advance to the next game.

What We Thought
We all remember learning our ABCs by singing them, and this toy works on the same principle: rhythm and melody help kids retain what they’ve learned. Learn Through Music is simple to operate; the touch-screen and toddler-friendly buttons make it a toy even the youngest child will be able to play with on his or her own. Familiar characters such as Blues Clues, Sesame Street, Barney and Dora the Explorer boost the appeal. And imagine how powerful a toddler will feel when he hears his voice projected through the built-in microphone!

Why They’ll Want I
What parent wouldn’t want a toy that’s fun, educational and—perhaps most importantly—durable? Learn Through Music is all three. And the price isn’t bad either.

-- Tim Connolly

Back to top

What Is It?
Powertouch is an interactive system that teaches reading, numbers, shapes, colors and more. Kids touch words, pictures and numbers to hear pronunciations, spellings, phonetics, play counting games or follow along as the story is read aloud. Each Powertouch comes with two books.

What We Thought
The “finger-touch” system is truly cool. Even holding a finger slightly over the picture or word will activate a response, and the auto-page detection makes sure you always get the right responses for the page you’re looking at. Powertouch is simple to set up and operate; kids can put the books in themselves and start reading along (There’s also a headphone jack to allow others to concentrate.). A row of menu tabs at the top of each page allows parents or kids to choose “story,” “words,” “phonics,” “find,” “spelling,” “music” or “surprise” for each page. My only criticism is that the pages of the books might be somewhat slim for little fingers to turn. (Note to budding DJs: the finger-touch response is sensitive enough to allow for scratching effects. Try the letter “P”: P-P-P-Party!)

Why They’ll Want It
This toy can be shared by parent and child together, as well as letting kids practice reading and counting on their own with familiar characters such as the Sesame Street gang, Blues Clues, Dora the Explorer and lots more. It’s an interactive toy that rewards intelligence rather than competitiveness and aggression—and it’s fun.

-- Tim Connolly

Back to top

What is It?
The Precious Impressions (ToyDirectory) Memory Hands Kit allows families to create a life-sized replica of one or two hands cast in dental-quality plaster.

What We Thought
Precious Impressions has made this kit practically foolproof. The end result is a lasting reminder of a moment captured in time.

Why They’ll Want It
The sentimental nature of Memory Hands will appeal to both parents and grandparents alike. Its keepsake value far outweighs the reasonable price.

--Andrew Windchanz

Back to top

What is It?
Rainbow Color Cones gives children the chance to build their own ice cream cone without the mess. This educational toy comes with two cones and eight scoops of ice cream with the name of its color underneath.

What We Thought
This toy is a fun and creative way for children to learn color identification and practice their motor skills by building a delicious-looking treat. They will also build some arm strength since some of the pieces are difficult to separate once locked into each other.

Why They’ll Want It
Kids love ice cream. Parents love toys that teach as well as entertain. Rainbow Color Cones make everyone happy.

--Nancy Tan

Back to top

What is It?
Pizza Fun Fraction lets children learn fractions by playing seven fun-filled pizza games requiring players to estimate, match, multiply and manipulate numbers to beat their opponents.

What We Thought
What kid doesn’t love pizza? The game makes learning fractions enjoyable by disguising the math lessons with this favorite food.

Why They’ll Want It
This game is a non-intimidating way for kids to learn fractions—that rare part of mathematics that ordinary people actually use.

--Nancy Tan

Back to top

What is It?
Learn a Craft: Needlepoint comes with a needle, wool yarn, cotton thread, a seven-count plastic canvas and easy instructions that allow beginners to make cute and fuzzy designs.

What We Thought
This kit gives kids who aren’t ready to start on a quilt the chance to create a small piece of needlepoint art while learning concentration, patience and creativity.

Why They’ll Want It
Needlepoint is an enduring American craft, and this kit is an affordable introduction to the art.

--Nancy Tan

Back to top

What Is It?
Pencil Works is a color-by-number product that allows children to experiment with mixing colors by following the numbers on the guide chart provided. The kit comes with a set of 12 coloring pencils, pencil sharpener and pre-marked picture.

What We Thought
Through the easy-to-follow chart, little artists can achieve a professional-looking result while learning about color interaction.

Why They’ll Want It
Dimensions (ToyDirectory, ToyShow)takes the guesswork out of discerning what to draw and allows children to focus on coloring itself.

--Nancy Tan

Back to top

What is It?
Paint Works gives children eight different colors to brush into precise numbered zones to create the picture provided.

What We Thought
The convenient packaging allows children to experiment with mixing different colors for certain areas of painting, and the aquatic life composition is dynamic and kid-friendly.

Why They’ll Want It
Creatively minded kids will be drawn to Paint Works’ compositions for the chance to create a professional-looking painting.

--Nancy Tan

Back to top

What is It?
Glass Art comes with four different colors, a glass template, eye droplet and materials to create a beautiful wind chime. Parents must provide aluminum foil, paper towels, cotton swabs, a cup of water, straight pins and toothpicks.

What We Thought
Glass Art makes a craft project accessible to even the youngest artist. Children can create a piece of real artwork, while learning patience, concentration and precision.

Why They’ll Want It
Glass Art will not only entertain kids, it will give their parents a piece of childhood to be cherished for years to come.

--Nancy Tan

Back to top

What is It?
The My First Real Watch set, created in collaboration with the French Ministry of Education, features an animated watch with pictograms, another more traditional watch adorned with the cartoony character, “Tim,” and a glossy picture book and playing cards. Both watches are water-resistant and boast a one-year warranty and hypoallergenic bracelets.

What We Thought
Maybe if I’d had this set in kindergarten it wouldn’t have taken me ten minutes to answer when the teacher asked, “What time is it?” This toy is a fun and engaging way to introduce preschoolers to telling time.

Why They’ll Want It
Parents of kids who need to be weaned off digital time-tellers will enjoy the simple card game and pictogram watch: both keep kids´ attention while teaching basic daily routines. (The included book offers a narrative review of school, play and lunch times.) Kids can wear the pictogram watch or the standard face version and learn which hour goes with what activity.

--Kris Dukes

Back to top

What is It?
The Phonics Activity Set By Learning Resources (ToyDirectory) was developed by educators to help kids group rhyming words, play with vowels and recognize spelling patterns.

What We Thought
Parents looking for a tactile and fun way to engage post-alphabet-block kids in learning the foundations for reading will enjoy this set. Sophisticated, but straightforward and easy to understand, the Phonics Activity Set supplements any formal reading program.

Why They’ll Want It
This kit creates and encourages budding wordsmiths. The carrying case looks just like a high school binder. Unzip it to reveal a well-organized safe place for Reading Rods, activity cards, stand and a dry-erase board. The included "Dear Parent" pamphlet reads like a letter from the perfect teacher.

--Kris Dukes

Back to top

What is It?
Evan-Moor´s (ToyDirectory, ToyShow) four activity books: Teaching Young Children (ages 1-6) and Never-Bored Kid Book (books for ages 4-5, 6-7, 8-9).

What We Thought
Teaching Young Children is the play manual I wish I’d had in my babysitting days, especially with its rundown on profiles of 1-6 year-olds. Never-Bored Kid Books are deliciously colorful and cool with cut-out quasi-origami projects.

Why They’ll Want It
Day-care providers, teachers and parents will be happy with Teaching Young Children´s pages of educational and fun activities: everything from “how to throw a parachute party” to “learning fractions with food.” Never-Bored Kid Books are more straightforward activity books filled with crafts projects, mazes, dot-to-dots and riddles.

--Kris Dukes

Back to top

What is It?
The package says it´s fast-paced, word-building fun for the family. Don´t cringe; it really is. Snap together different words with Reading Rods (those color-coded, interlocking manipulatives designed to teach phonics and literacy) until a timer goes off. Instructions give tips on how to tailor the game to various age and skill levels.

What We Thought
Another Reading Rods educational set, this game is more toy than tool. Unlike the Phonics Activity sets, which have a definite academic—though fun—feel, Word for Word is brain-flexing sport.

Why They’ll Want It
Teachers, parents and students will appreciate the challenging, competitive, but light fun of Word for Word. Owners of other Reading Rods sets will think this set is the icing on the cake.

--Kris Dukes

Back to top

What is It?
Sorting Shapes Cupcakes comes with a plastic cupcake tray and six durable plastic cupcakes. The set is designed to teach children shape recognition, fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination by getting them to figure out which cupcake top fits into which bottom.

What We Thought
Kids love cupcakes, and this game is a straightforward and fun way for preschoolers to use this familiar treat to learn shapes. And it made me hungry.

Who Would Like It
Any preschool-age child.

--Tim Connolly

Back to top

What is It?
Counting Cookies comes with a plastic cookie jar and ten plastic cookies, each with 1-10 M&M-colored chips on one side, and the numerical value on the other.

What We Thought
This game is a simple and fun way to introduce preschoolers to numbers, using a treat every kid will recognize.

Who Would Like It
Any preschool-age child.

--Tim Connolly

Back to top

What is It?
Measuring Monkeys teaches kids how to use a ruler by moving plastic monkeys up and down a tree-shaped game-post. Kids spin the wheel to determine how far up or down the tree to move and then place their monkey at the appropriate measurement with a banana-shaped peg.

What We Thought
The game teaches kids the American (non-metric) measuring system while meeting the litmus test of all educational toys: creating enough fun that kids hardly notice they’re learning something.

Who Would Like It
Any kindergarten or grade school kid who needs a fun introduction to fractions.

--Tim Connolly

Back to top