We just received a new collection from Mary Meyer called Earthmates. The little Organic Little Sprouts Club here is just 5″ tall, he’s made with organic cotton . There is also a small orange cat and sweet green dog. The tag reads “They are all made without the use of any harmful pesticides, or toxic chemicals or dyes.” What your child will love about them is that they are very sweet and soft. Done in a soft Velour with stitched features, these are safe for infants and toddlers. If you’re looking for something bigger, there’s this 12″ friend Big Bear- he’s not as huggable as the smaller animals–but he is very cheery.
So many organic plush lines we’ve received this year arrived looking very washed out and sad. This line is green and happily does not sacrifice on play value and overall product appeal.
Crayola’s Crayon Maker (a former Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award winner) is making a come back. It’s smaller than the original unit which seems fine and best yet, the dome is now clear so that you can watch the crayons melt. Not sure why this process was hidden before behind blue plastic. With all the talk of repurposing products, I love the idea that old crayons that would normally be thrown out become brand new crayons your kids will enjoy using. We’re looking forward to testing the new version.
We LOVE this new collection of huggables from Hosung NY. They are just right (and safe) for toddlers – velour bodies with stitched features- and are really very sweet looking. There are three different collections – all produced a round of oohs and ahhs as we went through the box. There is the Long Leg Collection (sans clothes) – they retail for $14.99. The ones in the photo are the Tiny Love Collection and are a very reasonable $9.99. The Tiny Tots Collections are smaller animals (fistfuls really) that have a sense of humor and joy about them. Best yet, the entire line is made from 100% non-toxic cotton. The coloring is from minerals and soy done with the company calls a “low eco-impact” dye process. Unlike many “natural” collections we’ve seen, they are very vivid and don’t have that “ok, it doesn’t look great, but it’s very green and pc”. Each are something you’d be happy sharing with the toddlers in your life….hooray! We’re giving the entire collection an 
This cheerful looking Bumble Bee looks promising to us and at a suggested retail of $39.99 it’s a well-priced active toy for older toddlers and preschoolers. One of our pet peeves at the moment is that most ride on/ride ins don’t really steer. Kids have to literally pick up their ride on and change directions. With four caster wheels, this one should respond well. Stay tuned….
Maybe because it’s refreshingly not 10 degrees outside, but just the image of this saucer makes me think that Spring is really going to come….eventually. We’ve requested samples to try with our testers. The Ecosaucer from 
Move over baby boomers, the iconic Fisher-Price Little People are turning 50 this year. The Little People Farm that seems like it’s been around forever, first hit the shelves in 1968…and the School House arrived in 1971.
Here’s a link to the piece we did with 