I’ll admit it, I preferred Pierre

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Stephanie

This morning’s news that Maurice Sendak has passed away feels like another little part of my childhood has fallen away. But not in the way you might think. I was terrified of Where the Wild Things Are. I was so scared that I made my parents promise that the book would leave our house. How could they guarantee that the wild things wouldn’t come to visit us? Much to the chagrin of my first grade teacher, Mrs. Bernstein, I told all of my friends at the Book Fair that they should not buy that book!

I was quite surprised as an adult to find our copy of Where the Wild Things Are tucked away in the back of my Dad’s closet. My 6-year old self felt the sting of the moment. A literary fib on their part?

On the other hand, I LOVED The Nutshell Library. Holding that little box in my hands is one of my first memories of connecting with books. How could they make such little books with such deliciously fun stories? Pierre was my guy. I don’t think my folks ever pointed out that the author was the same person who wrote Where The Wild Things Are – in fear that this little gem would end up in the back of the closet!!

Behind the scenes at the Today Show

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Stephanie

We arrived to find an extremely busy and crowded green room. The boy band, The Wanted, was there getting ready. I was told that Colton from American Idol was also there. Rosie was upstairs getting ready for The Professionals segment. (Hey, I’m a former lawyer-doesn’t that count?) And yes, there was the 40 pound cat – that was unfortunately sharing the curtained off area where our toy testers were gathered. Only problem, I’m super allergic. So I stayed clear of the cat– who was really, really big!

Our testers started arriving. We had many today including twins (I got to hold Grace throughout most of the segment), sisters, brothers and best friends…all testers for the toyportfolio.

Today's Ann Curry with some of toy testers before our segment.

We headed upstairs to the studio for a “tease”–the part where they say “and coming up”….and you see the guest. We were waiting in the hallway outside of the studio when Ann Curry came by and was really wonderful with the kids. I’m not sure they really took in all that she was saying to them–but it was great advice about being proud of who you are, standing tall. After she left we played some games to make the time fly. Remember how hard waiting was when you were 9?

When we got into the studio, the older kids got busy with the science kit we brought from Kiwicrate.com and the building sets we had from Lego, Magformers, and LaserPegs.

Savannah Guthrie and Grace take a look at the games we brought along!

Many of our older toddlers and preschoolers found the Little Tikes Garden Discovery Center very interesting–each climbed in at one point! Leaving the babies on the outside. One of the babies got away–and found her way under the science toys. I looked down while Savannah was asking me a question and lo and behold there was baby Grace with a piece of paper in her mouth. I removed the paper and scooped her up– and thankfully she was happy doing the rest of the segment with us! It was the first time I did a segment with Savannah– two former lawyers having fun with toys! She was great and handled the controlled chaos with good humor! I’m also happy I had on my relatively high Jimmy Choo shoes.

After the segment, there’s always a mad dash to get out of the studio quickly! Here are two of our happy testers right after we were done.

To read our reviews and ratings, visit, www.toyportfolio.com

Lego tester Dante and his mom Jill

Brianna really loved the wooden mower from Manhattan Toy.

Spring showers bring…Spring Toys!

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Stephanie

Seems like we’re getting all of “spring showers” today! New York City is chilly and wet. Happy that our segment tomorrow on the Today Show will be indoors! We have so many great new toys to share and there will be lots of kids on the set with me. To get a sneak peek, read our article here on some of new favorite toys for spring 2012. The focus tomorrow will be on active toys for older babies and toddlers, construction toys (for both girls and boys), games and science toys!

LEGO FRIENDS – Friends or Big Love?

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Stephanie

LEGO FRIENDS Olivia's House

There’s been a lot of controversy about the new LEGO FRIENDS line. And we’ll be writing a lot more about that soon. So far, we have gotten nothing but positive reviews for both the building aspect and the pretend play potential of these sets. (We have however stayed away from the more gender-stereotyped sets such as the hair salon.) You can read our review by clicking here.

But I did need to share the following….

I was very interested to note how our girl builders became quickly invested in the names of each of the friends. They quickly knew their names and which sets included which figures. With the exception of maybe the Harry Potter or Star Wars LEGO sets, I’ve never really had this kind of conversation about the regular LEGO figures.

Then I got confused. The man with the beard? Who could that be? Why was this bearded play figure living with two female figures in Olivia’s House? My toy testers just assumed he was a boy and that they were all just friends. After all the line is called LEGO FRIENDS. That made a certain amount of sense.

So maybe this was LEGO’s version of NBC’s hit comedy Friends? Was the bearded guy meant to be Ross? Chandler? I can’t really remember that any of them had a beard. Anyway…then I thought maybe this is like HBO’s BIG LOVE. I mean the two female figures look as grown up as the bearded man.

I called the folks at LEGO…and in case you were wondering, here’s the relationships of the figures in Olivia’s house.

The guy with the beard is Peter. He is Olivia’s FATHER. The other female figure in the house is actually Peter’s wife, and Olivia’s mother, Anna.

I don’t know about you, but I feel much better now.

Hail to President Barbie

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Stephanie

I was just reading posts about how most four year old girls are obsessed with being princesses. The Disney machine is back at work, pulling in another generation into the fairy tale of being swept away by love that conveniently also comes with a castle and jewels. I’m all for pretend play…but this incredibly gender specific PINK scenario makes me pause.

So, here’s a sentence I never thought I would write… Barbie has come to our rescue. That’s right, this morning, Mattel announced that Barbie will be running for president this year. Is she wearing huge hair and a Legally Blonde inspired Chanel suit, you betcha. But at least she’s running.

London toys…

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Stephanie

Probably an occupational habit, but I usually find myself in toy departments whenever I travel. Always hoping I may see something new or different. Here are two that caught my attention…

And while these aren’t toys, I also really love the way the British do Easter candy!!

Barbie versions of William and Kate from their Wedding Day

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Stephanie

Funny, that I’m actually in London this morning to write about the launch of the Barbie William and Kate dolls. The young couple (doll version that is) arrived in our New York City office a few weeks ago–but mums the word until April 4th. So here I am, only blocks away from the palace to preview the dolls!

Etch A Sketch more like Smith-Corona and VHS

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Stephanie

One of the most challenging toys of my childhood took center stage yesterday with a gaff by one of Mitt Romney’s advisors.

I used to marvel at my older brother’s ability to really draw things with Etch A Sketch. He could make those curves work for him. I was pretty good at….boxes.

The New York Times today tried to spin the Etch A Sketch moment in to one of second chances.

Even as someone who played with the Etch A Sketch in the backseat of our car (long before there were Gameboys and DVD players), I can’t see this characterization as anything but a stretch.

The Etch A Sketch is not a toy that has kept up with the times. Over the last two decades of covering toys, I’ve visited the showroom in hopes that there would be some radical new innovation that would give this beloved toy a true second chance. There have been mini versions, glow-in-the-dark frames (sadly, the actual drawing part never glowed) and glitter versions….but no big breakthrough. My kids were willing to play with the keychain version I carried for years…but with all of the high tech hand held toys to play with, the little red frame just didn’t do it.

From the Tom Selleck school of facial hair

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Stephanie

And thus concludes my look at facial hair in toyland (for today).

Barbie’s Ken was a true trendsetter with the facial hair