Each year there are certain concepts that just seem to be in the air at toy fair. This year we are already seeing certain themes emerging for 2011.
Banana Splits, Taxis and Toilets…
From Learning Resources
Banana Split from Earlyears (International Playthings)
Step 2's New Taxi Ride In
Viking Toys Taxi (from International Playthings)
All wood...from Maxim
Even the new Disney Princess Castle comes with a royal throne
Faux Wooden Toilet Seat from Calico Critters
Calico Critters Hedghogs- Amazing!
Even though I absolutely shunned my own colonial dollhouse (sorry Mom)…I really have always loved the Calico Critters (International Playthings) and their houses over the years. The collections always feature what look like storybook animal families and miniature settings that fit them. I am absolutely obsessed with the Hedgehog family (see pic). This year they have a new Country Tree House that has lots of levels and features. Read our complete review.
Calico Critters Country Tree House
International Plaything's Calico Critters
Hard not to smile, right? Calico Critters from International Playthings, stay tuned.
We had another big day at Javits today. I went in a dress (since I thought I was doing tv) and carrying tv shoes (there’s no way you can do Javits in tv shoes!)
We started at LEGO…always one of our favorites stops, visited with STEP 2 to see lots of fun new outdoor toys, International Playthings (super cute new toys from Calico Critters), Spin Master (lots of flying toys) and at Creativity for Kids we met the inventor of Shrinky Dinks!
My iPhone died right as we got to Spin Master–which was too bad since there were lots of fun things to tape there. Oh well. I did bring my charger–but alas the one that plugs into my computer, not an outlet. Pretty lame on my part. Below is a picture of Kate from International Playthings trying to find an adaptor so that we can charge my phone using the crank radio from their Ecotronics link. Unfortunately there wasn’t one that worked with my phone, but I was really so grateful to Kate for the effort!
Kate from International Playthings
Green toys used to mean a recycling truck here or there…or a paper maker, but now there are many toys that are either manufactured with a green mandate or promote a positive green message to kids. The biggest trend are dolls made from organic materials–not all created equal in our book. Green shouldn’t have to mean scratchy or boring in design or color. Happily we received many that found the right blend of green and whimsy! The other big category — trucks…many made of recycled materials – were a real draw to our testers. Then there are the throw back toys–my personal favorite, the wind-up FM Radio.
Here’s the list of our Top Green Toys for 2009. Complete reviews on our our site, www.toyportfolio.com. Click on the toy name to read our rating/review.
Trucks
Playmobil Recycling Truck (Playmobil)
PushAlong Hybrid Car (ImagiPLAY)
Building Toys
Plan Toys Build ‘n Spin (Plan Toys)
Dolls and Dollhouse
Plan Toys Green Dollhouse (Plan Toys)
Other Green Toys of Interest
Crayola Crayon Maker (Crayola)
While we usually like lists of five or a dozen, we realized today’s list of 13 Top Games Under $20 was meant to be! Happy Friday the 13th. Read our reviews at www.toyportfolio.com.
The games included are:
Richard Scarry’s Busytown Eye Found It Game (I Can Do That Games)
Rainbow Race (International Playthings)
Scrabble Slam Card Game (Parker Brothers)
Appletters (Bananagrams)
Yamslam (Blue Orange Games)
Pairs in Pears (Bananagrams)
eeBoo Fairytale Game (eeBoo)
Ring-0 Flamingo (Gamewright)
Uno Moo! (Mattel)
Too Many Monkeys (Gamewright)
I Spy Flip 5 Games (Briarpatch)
Dr. Seuss Super Stretch ABC Game (I Can Do That Games)
Curious George Discovery Beach Game (I Can Do That Games)
Here are six great games to think about for the holidays. The complete reviews of these award winners are on our site, www.toyportfolio.com
Active Fun Games
Dr. Seuss Super Stretchy ABC Game (I Can Do That Games)
Boochie (Gamewright)
Pure silly fun
Feeding Frenzy (International Playthings)
Ring-0 Flamingo (Gamewright)
Concepts and Strategy Games
eeBoo Color Dominoes (eeBoo)
Double Shutter (Blue Orange)
Sassy Crib & Floor Mirror
With budgets tight, it’s important to bring home things that really count – and there is no reason to break the bank! Here are some of our top picks for 2009 — all under $20. Read the full reviews on our site.
Sassy Crib & Floor Mirror (Sassy)
Infantino Wall Mounted Mobile Mirror (Step 2)
Stack ‘n Surprise Blocks Blockity-Pop Caterpillar (Fisher-Price)
Baby Deglingos Dog, Rabbit, Hedgehog or Cow (All New Materials)
Satin Ears Bear Security Cozy (North American Bear Co.)
Infantino Spiral Spin Top (Step 2)
Kids Preferred Nutbrown Hare or Peter Rabbit Hand Puppet (Kids Preferred)
Bright Starts Bees & Blooms Balls (Kids II)
Earlyears Zippy Zoomer (International Playthings)
Leapfrog Counting Candles (Leapfrog)
I’m always looking for toys that work in the dark. Maybe because when I was little we would go to FAO in NYC and then on the way home in the car, my brothers and I were always disappointed that we couldn’t enjoy our new toys in the backseat.
As a professional toy reviewer, I’m also amazed by the number of toys that say they’ll work in the dark, but don’t.
So that brings me to the wonderfully novel and silly Ecotronic Mr. Robot Head from International Playthings. First, it’s red–an attribute that always does well here. We love red…so this deliciously red cube already had us smiling. CRANK up the back (no batteries required–hence the name Ecotronics) and then touch the stylus to the top….
Crank Up the action on Mr. Robot Head
Watch our video with the lights on.
Read our full review at toyportfolio.com. 
Go toyportfolio.com! testers and readers….the company is planning a special 10th annivesary of the game for 2010…and will take into account the omissions and errors pointed out by our readers! To read the earlier post click here.
