Tag Archives: toyportfolio.com

Pick of the Day: Schylling's Color Roller

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colorrollerWhen this push toy first came into the office this summer we were really thrilled. Finding fun toys that are right on target for toddlers is one of toughest tasks we have each year.  Much like the Blue Chip Corn Popper from Fisher-Price, the Color Roller doesn’t require batteries to make something happen. It makes a clicking noise when it’s pushed (one of our testers that lives in an apartment thought the noise was annoying after a while…so you do have judge your tolerance for “toy” noise). When you look at the roller part of the toy when it’s not in motion you can see many smaller cylinders of  blue, yellow, and red–but when you push the roller – amazingly the colors of the rainbow appear. High marks to this elegantly designed toy.

I recently took the Color Roller on the Today Show and one of the little sister that came to the green room with her big brother and sister loved pushing the toy. Always fun to see kids enjoy our picks–but here’s the thing I really loved. The older boys (5-7) started pushing the toy all over the place and then they started using the roller in their dramatic play. Not sure why boys (without making sweeping generalizations here) can find a way to turn almost any toy into combative accessories. Having grown up with two boys, having two sons of my own, and having observing so many kids over the years …there is a difference in the way they approach the play experience.

At $20, this is a really well-priced  choice  that encourages active play for toddlers who have tons of energy and will be pleased that they can make something happen.
For other top picks of the season for toddlers, visit toyportfolio.com.

Pick of the Day: Tonka Li l Gas Pump

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tonkagasListen up automakers—look what Tonka is suggesting! On the back of this gas pump is a plastic diagram of how you make ethanol. All energy proposals aside, the Tonka Li l Gas Pump ($19.99) is a great prop for pretend play. Comes with a shape sorter, a credit card, and three big chunky buttons to push (to select your preferred fuel choice). Works well with Hasbro’s new Tonka Scoot N Scoop 3 in 1 Ride On…but really you can use it with any ride on.

toyportfolio.com on TODAY SHOW tomorrow

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So I’m getting ready for tomorrow’s segment on hot trends in toyland. It may be outside which always gives the segment a different feel than being inside with kids playing on the cozy rug.

One of the biggest trends we’ve been watching all year — prices of toys going up 10-15%. Most manufacturers point to the multi-layered safety testing they’re required to do (very expensive) and just the general increase in production costs (largely due to fuel prices) as the main sources of the price hikes.

The good news – always looking for that silver lining…is that with the economy so weak and with inventories that have to be moved–you’ll find toy prices slashed.

Pick of the Day: Connectagons

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725215h A wonderfully pleasing construction set you’ll want to put them on your coffee table (and play with the set yourself). The set comes in a wooden box and includes 240 wooden discs (1-3/4″ in diameter) that each have eight notches on them–making them a really fun open-ended construction set to use. The circles come in a variety of colors–they’re just fun to hold and build with. They came late, but we’re adding Connectagons to our Platinum Award winners for 2009. At $24.98, it’s also a good value. Offered exclusively by HearthSong.

Pick of the Day: Edushape Rollipop Starter Set

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41dd7yon5fl_sl500_aa280_I’m often asked about the best toys for each age group. Without question one of our all time favorite toys for two year olds is the Rollipop. If you’ve spent any time with toddlers, you know they love to do the same thing over and over again. This ball drop provides a great opportunity to have that opportunity. You can talk about the colors of the balls as they drop them down–but you can also sit back and enjoy watching them making something happen. It’s very pleasing. There are also bigger sets…but this beginning tower is a good place to start. We prefer the slow pace of this set to competing ball runs that have balls pop up or out. The magic of making something happen is engaging all by itself!

Pick of the Day: Bright Beginnings Jiggle Brights

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jigglebrightsIf you’re looking for a first huggable at a great price, check out the new Bright Beginnings Jiggle Brights from Russ Berrie. With a suggested retail of $10, you really can’t do better. They’re made with soft Velour in a bright engaging pattern and have all stitched features – making them a perfect choice for older babies and toddlers. Very sweet.

Gender Specific Building Sets: Calling all Girls!

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51v06ftdzel_sl500_aa280_In the past you know we haven’t been too enthusiastic about gender specific building sets. In a perfect world girls and boys would be given gender free sets to explore and play with right from the start. Unfortunately, there is still a gender divide in construction toys. That said, we really like the new Pinklets- The Fairy Garden by Supertstructs (Waba Fun $39.95). Somehow the fairy theme is not as troubling as the construction sets of the 90s that focused on building malls and nurseries. I know I’ve written about this before but it is a subject close to my heart. The research indicates that kids that work with blocks and construction sets develop so many valuable skills: fine motor, problem solving, spatial relationships, visual discrimination, ability to work in sequence…you get the idea.

The moral: It is really important that boys and girls have opportunities to use both open-ended construction sets as well as model building where they are asked to follow directions. So if a pink building set makes this type of play more engaging for your child–go for it.

Pick of the Day: Fisher-Price Shake n Go Flyers

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41rqr4cpqgl_sl500_aa280_I can’t even believe I missed these last year when they first came out since I am HUGE fan of the Shake n Go cars. These flyers are so much fun! To make them go, you shake the launcher (that also makes a lot of noise and light up)…and then you press the trigger. These things really do take off. Marked 3-7, but seriously these are really fun to use no matter how old you are. 3 and 4 year olds will need a lot of help getting the plane on the launcher but 5s and up will get it quickly and love it. If you have a 4 year old working on counting, the Shake n Go Cars ($14.99) are the best things going. Kids have to count to ten while they shake the car–and then the car takes off. When we tested them, we had the best time because the kids we tried them with were so excited that they kept skipping numerals. With the flyers, the more you shake the launcher, the further the plane will fly…how cool is that!? They retail for about $14.99.

Pick of the Day: K'nex Motorized Madness Ball Machine

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For the ADVANCED builder, this Rube Goldberg inspired ball run is really amazing. Having watched one of our most trusted teen builders work on this project for over a month, this is not for a beginner. In fact, on several occasions I kept assuring our builder 51af2ausmel_ss400_2Daniel that he could throw in the towel–but he remained committed to getting it done. While he thought the directions could have used some clarity (and he ended up with some extra pieces), we were all delighted that he finished. The over-sized plastic balls (comes with five) travel up the 4 foot machine on a conveyor belt–and then they take one of two paths down…one is down a circular path of ramps and the other is on two swiveling ball catchers (our favorite part!). The suggested retail is $119–comes with over 2,000 pieces.

If you have younger kids at home, you’ll want to protect your builder’s project by putting this in a room that’s safe. We had one close encounter with a visiting toddler tester who though he should be able to climb on the structure….luckily his mother reacted quickly!

(As with any construction toy, the key for beginners is to start with smaller sets so that your child builds her sense of confidence before going to the next level. Here’ s a perfect example of less being more.) For all of our top-rated construction sets, please visit www.toyportfolio.com.