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Our Toy Awards informational page gives information on the award winning toys and the different toy awards including Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Dr. Toy, and Parent's Choice Awards and how they award the different toys and games. This page gives you all the juicy information on the Award Winning Child Educational Toys and Baby Toys. Parents and family members will find this page extremely helpful in what they are searching for. Click Here to see Award Winning Toys.
About
Dr. ToyDr. Toy, Stevanne Auerbach, PhD, has been for many years the nation's leading expert on play, toys, and children's products. With 30 years of direct experience, Dr. Auerbach includes educationally oriented, developmental and skill building products from the best large and small companies in her four annual award programs. Many parents, teachers and toy buyers use Dr. Toy’s guidance in making selections.
Dr. Toy’s Smart Play: How to Raise a Child with a High PQ* (*Play Quotient) by Educational Insights—first edition, St. Martin’s Press, is a unique guide to play and child development. The book is also published internationally. Her book, Toys for a Lifetime (FAO Schwarz/Rizzoli) focuses on classic toys and toys for the future. Her book, The Toy Chest, a classic, covers the evaluation and history of children's products. Dr. Toy has written dozens of articles about play and toys for national and regional magazines and newspapers, has been featured as an expert in articles by others, and has been a featured guest on radio and television programs throughout the country and outside of the USA.
Dr. Toy’s Best Products Programs provide a unique, original, copyrighted review of children’s products. One program, Dr. Toy’s 100 Best Children's Products, was featured in Early Childhood News (1992-93) Family Circle (1986) Parenting Magazine (1987) King Features Syndicate, and every year since 1994 on www.drtoy.com. Dr. Toy's Guide on the Internet is visited by over 80,000 visitors a day. Dr. Toy’s four annual programs include: Best Classic Toys, Best Vacation Products, 100 Best Children’s Products, and Smart Play Products of Excellence.
Dr. Auerbach in 1986 founded and served as its director, the San Francisco International Toy Museum, the world’s first interactive toy museum. More than 50,000 children visited the museum between 1986 and 1990, when the Loma Prieta earthquake forced it to shut its doors. New toys and products, as well as historical collectibles, were a mainstay of this unique "hands on" museum.
Dr. Auerbach, an established speaker, consultant, and author, is trained in child psychology, education, special education, and child development. Dr. Auerbach has a well-earned title, "Dr. Toy", dating to her first assignment with "Creative Playthings" (1968) where she developed its first education marketing program. She approved the first grant for the Children's Television Workshop, "Sesame Street,” when she worked for the Commissioner of Education, where she reviewed reading programs throughout the country. She established the first child care center for the children of federal employees, which has served for the last 30 years as the model for the entire federal government. She planned and developed a national $2.5 million R&D Program in child care for the Office of Economic Opportunity, Office of the President. Before working for the federal government, Dr. Auerbach was a teacher and reading specialist in New York, Maryland, and Washington, DC. She was associated with Arena Stage Living Stage program bringing theatre skills to the classroom.
Dr. Auerbach has been a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the largest professional organization in early childhood education for more than 25 years, and is a regular speaker at its annual conference and other professional and parent organizations. She is a member of ASTRA, ACA, IPA, ITRA, OMEP, TASP, TIA, and WIT.
Dr. Toy makes product selection based on the following criteria:
1) safety
2) innovation
3) design and durability
4) age appropriateness
5) long lasting play value
6) cultural and ethnic diversity
7) good transition from home to school
8) educational value and learning skills
9) creativity
10) improves understanding of the community and the world (socially responsible)
11) good value for price
12) just plain fun!
Dr Toy's 100 Best Children's Product List for 2006:
http://www.drtoy.com/awards/2006_3_list.html
About the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio
The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio was founded in 1989 as the only independent
consumer review of children's media.
Our newsletter is published quarterly and is an ad-free
subscription-based periodical for parents, grandparents, libraries and
childcare providers. How We Select the Best.
We test and review products for children the year-round-only we get to
do what most parents wish they could do before they buy. We open the
toys, run the videos, read the books, play the music, and boot up the
software. We send the best of these products on to our families of
testers for further evaluation.
How we are
different.
Unlike most other groups that rate products, we do not charge entry fees
or accept ads from manufacturers. When consumers see our award seals on
products, they can be assured that they are "award-winning" because they
were selected by a noted expert in child development, children's
literature, and education, and further tested by the most objective
panel of judges-kids.
The real
experts speak - Kids & their Families
To get a meaningful sampling, we deal with families from all walks of
life. We have testers in the city and in the country, in diapers and in
blue jeans, in school clothes and in tutus. They have parents who are
teachers, secretaries, lawyers, doctors, writers, engineers, doormen,
software programmers, editors, psychologists, librarians, engineers,
business people, architects, family therapists, musicians, artists,
nurses, and early childhood educators. In some instances we have tested
products in preschool and after-school settings where we can get
feedback from groups of children.
Since all new products tend to have novelty appeal, we ask our testers
to live with a product for a while before assessing it. Among other
things, we always ask-would you recommend it to others?
About the
Editors
Joanne Oppenheim is one of today's most trusted authorities on child
development and education. She is the author of more than forty books
for and about children including Kids & Play, Buy Me, Buy Me, and the
eight annual editions of the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio.
Stephanie Oppenheim, a former corporate attorney, is the publisher and
co-founder of The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio. She is a leading consumer
authority on children's media and the mother of two.
How we
choose products at the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio
Companies submit products to us all year long. Our editors review the
submissions, weeding out products that are unsafe, unsound or obviously
unworthy.
Promising products are then kid tested by families nationwide. Finally,
these results are considered by the experts as part of the overall
evaluation of the product.
Unlike publications that rely exclusively on the judgment of
kid-testers, our reviews take kid-tester's response to a product as one
of the many factors to be considered, along with educational and play
value, safety, age appropriateness, and other factors.
Why not rely just on kid-testers? What would the results be of
kid-testing in a supermarket? Your basket might be full of heavily
advertised convenience foods and candy and ice cream, but low on
nutritional balance. We want to make sure your basket for play is also
balanced, so our reviews give you the opinion of our editorial staff,
informed by kid-testers.
At the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio we don't take ads or entry fees from
companies we review. Some guides charge companies to list their product:
we don't. Most magazines rely on advertising from the very companies
they review: we never have. We can tell it like it is, because we don't
have to worry about companies pulling their ads. You can trust our kid,
parent, and educator tested picks.
Criteria
we use in evaluating products
What is this product designed to do and how well does it do it? What can
the child do with the product?
Does it invite active doing and thinking or simply passive watching?
Is it safe and well-designed, and can it withstand the unexpected?
Does it "fit" the developmental needs, interests, and typical skills of
the children for whom it was designed? What message does it convey?
Toys as well as books and videos can say a great deal about values
parents are trying to convey. For example, does the product reflect old
sexual stereotypes that limit children's views of themselves and others?
What will a child learn from this product? Is it a "smart" product that
will engage the child's mind or simply a novelty with limited play
value? Is it entertaining? No product makes our list if kids find it
boring, no matter how "good" or "educational" it claims to be.
Is the age label correct? Is the product so easy that it will be boring
or so challenging that it will be frustrating?
What is Parents' Choice?
Established in 1978, Parents’ Choice is the nation's oldest nonprofit
guide to quality children's media and toys.
Who
Founded Parents' Choice - And Why?
While teaching a graduate seminar in children's literature, author and
educator Diana Huss Green pulled together a small discussion group of
parents who felt their rigorous standards for their children's education
were not being fulfilled.
The mandate of the discussion group was clear: create for parents a
non-commercial clearinghouse of supplementary media experiences and
learning products.
Diana Huss Green established Parents’ Choice Foundation on the following
beliefs:
Reading is our children's key to the world's histories, literatures,
arts and sciences.
Accomplishment is essential to self-esteem.
Learning requires discipline.
Our
Mission Continues:
The Foundation's mission is to provide parents with information to
participate wisely in their children's learning outside the classroom.
We continue to adhere to the founding principles because:
Children deserve material to sharpen young minds, not blunt them.
Children learn most easily when they enjoy it.
Knowledge gives parents confidence to teach their children.
And above all, because learning is fun - and we want kids to know it.
Our
Purpose:
The Foundation’s purpose is to search out and recommend products that
help kids grow – imaginatively, physically, morally and mentally—fairly
priced products that are fun, safe and socially sound.
Parents’ Choice reviews books, toys, music, television, software,
videogames, websites, and magazines for children and families of all
achievements and backgrounds.
If you’re looking for a list of “Hot Toys,” you won’t find them here.
Parents’ Choice recommends toys with staying power, books with honesty
and integrity of characters, illustration of elegance and imagination,
music that families can sing together, storytelling that teaches us
lessons from lands and cultures close and far away, magazines that do
not mask editorial content in advertising, television that teaches with
civility and not chaos, and software and videogames that encourage
sharpening skills not leveling landscapes.
What We
Do:
Parents’ Choice Foundation strives to provide parents with reliable
unbiased information about tools to help their children learn, to
explore new challenges, to discuss ideas and to pursue dreams. It’s that
simple. And it’s that complex.
Fortified with information, parents and caregivers of all achievements
and backgrounds can make informed decisions about which new products are
right for their children.
Parents’ Choice®, the Foundation’s online publication, provides parents
with quick study guides including: What Makes a Good Toy?, How to Choose
A Good Video/DVD, and What-Kids-Who-Don’t-Like-To-Read-Like-To-Read™. In
a variety of themed articles, experts offer objectivity, respect,
expertise and yes, a sense of humor. Our unofficial motto: Read More.
Play More. Learn More. defines the website sections.
Parents'
Choice is a Resource
Millions upon millions of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles have
been using Parents’ Choice as a guide to children’s media since 1978.
Many an educator, librarian and storekeeper won’t make decisions about
buying or borrowing children’s media without recommendations from
Parents’ Choice.
Parents’ Choice has long been a resource for journalists. Recently
inquires have weighted heavily in matters of products’ advertising
promises: the soundness, power and credibility of marketing claims and
if educational products are pushing kids too fast, too furiously and too
soon. Others query if we’ve seen a “Back to the Future” trend towards
board games and backyard bug exploration and away form video games. In
2006, Parents’ Choice Foundation will be participating in national panel
discussions about the state of children’s television and the new
powerful tools with which parents can accept or block programming in
their homes.
How We Do
It:
Parents’ Choice approaches its mission with a deep passion and a
remarkable clarity of purpose. Our experts and advisors, join us in the
hard work and determination required to navigate the vast array of
children’s media and toys available in today’s marketplace. With the
generosity of time and spirit, parents, grandparents, librarians,
educators, writers, artists, musicians, performing artists, and yes,
children from across the country participate in the process.
What is
the Parents' Choice Award Program?
The Parents' Choice Awards program honors the best material for
children: books, toys, music and storytelling, magazines, software,
videogames, television and websites.
Parents' Choice Foundation's panels of educators, scientists, performing
artists, librarians, parents and, yes, kids themselves, identify the
very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and
of varied skill and interest levels.
How Long
Has the Parents' Choice Awards program been around?
Parents' Choice Foundation has been reviewing children's media since
1978. Designed to help parents and caregivers of all achievements and
backgrounds make informed decisions about which new products are right
for their children, the Parents' Choice Awards is the nation's oldest
nonprofit program created to recognize quality children's media.
The
Evaluation Process
The multi-tiered evaluation process is as true to its integrity today as
it was when Parents' Choice Foundation was established twenty-eight
years ago. The Parents' Choice Awards Committees evaluation process
offers objectivity, respect, and expertise – and all with a sense of
humor. Learning is fun – and we want kids to know that.
The Parents’ Choice Awards evaluation process is a lengthy and
confidential one. We don’t offer “feedback” to producers or
manufacturers because we don’t work for them. We work for parents,
caregivers, librarians and educators.
Approximately 20% of those items submitted to the Parents’ Choice Awards
program receive a commendation in one of the six award levels: Classic,
Gold, Silver, Recommended, Approved, and Fun Stuff, underscoring the
influential and celebrated achievement of being honored with a
commendation from the Parents’ Choice Awards program.
Products that do receive commendations are posted and stay resident on
our site for as long as the products is produced. We do it as a public
service. You won’t see ads on our site. You may see public service
announcements from national organizations, but you won’t see ads for
commercial products. You won’t get pressured to buy advertising or
promotional packages. If a product does receive a level of commendation,
it is eligible to license the seals. But that is neither a prerequisite
nor condition of award.
What Do
the Committees Look For?
Parents' Choice helps parents make informed decisions. It's as simple as
that. But for the Parents' Choice Awards Committees, the process is
anything but simple. It is multifaceted – and it doesn't happen
overnight. We don't take shortcuts.
The Parents’ Choice Awards committees look for products that entertain
and teach with flair, stimulate imagination and inspire creativity.
Judges are interested in how a product helps a child grow: socially,
intellectually, emotionally, ethically, physically. Products must be
free of bias. Above all, products must not extol violence.
Adhering to rigorous standards, Parents’ Choice honors material that
respects a child’s age, interests and abilities, and adheres to
universal human values. Our jurors and judges offer expertise in and
respect for the subject and the media.
The Parents’ Choice Awards Committees look for products that close the
Generation Gap. We look for material to help parents and kids connect.
We look for products that teach, without being preachy.
The Parents’ Choice Awards program has established the benchmarks of
achievement in children’s media. Placing a product in nomination for a
Parents’ Choice Award in no way guarantees receipt of commendation.
Products are through their paces. Among the considerations of the jurors
and judges: the learning value, the play value, the appeal and the cost.
A product’s originality weighs heavily in the judges’ decisions.
In landscape swelling with products marketed as “educational”, the
Parents’ Choice Awards Committees help identify products our experts
believe live up to the marketing claims. We don’t recognize or commend
those that don’t.
Parents’
Choice Awards are trusted.
By Educators:
Many an educator has said of Parents’ Choice that we set the benchmark
for achievement in children’s media that help kids grow mentally,
morally, and physically.
By Parents:
We provide a service to the millions of parents, grandparents, aunts,
uncles, and caregivers all over this country who are time-pressed and
work-stressed and simply don’t have even a moment to pre-screen every
product they give the kids in their lives. We do that for them.
By Store Owners:
Many an independent toy store and book store base their buying decisions
on Parents’ Choice recommendations. Online retailers large and small
carry Parents’ Choice Award winning products, as do catalogues and
museum shops. Manufacturers, producers, writers and musicians tell us
how significant a Parents’ Choice Award is when making presentations to
buyers.
By the Press:
Parents’ Choice has long been a resource for journalists. Recently
inquires have weighted heavily in matters of products’ advertising
promises: the soundness, power and credibility of marketing claims and
if educational products are pushing kids too fast, too furiously and too
soon. Others query if we’ve seen a “Back to the Future” trend towards
board games and backyard bug exploration and away form video games. In
2006, Parents’ Choice Foundation will be participating in national panel
discussions about the state of children’s television and the new
powerful tools with which parents can accept or block programming in
their homes.
Helping
Others
And what happens to the hundreds of products that are not selected by
the Parents’ Choice Awards Committees? They are donated to a variety or
worthy organizations. Here is a partial list of where the hundreds of
thousands of products have gone.
Award Winning Toys
Oppenheim Toy Awards:
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Toy Name: Lamaze Clap with me Monkey Company: Learning Curve For Age: Infant Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 A purple-and-yellow monkey with geometric patterns and a jolly smile is ready to play and make music with. Squeeze Monkey’s hand and you hear the familiar tune, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands!” Now, clap Monkey’s hands or it stops making music. A playful way to learn about cause and effect.  |
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Toy Name: ActiviTot Developmental Baby Gym Company: Tiny Love For Age: Infant Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 We’ve seen a lot of so-called tummy-time products for infants. This one is a gem. An oversized, pear-shaped mat that pops open, has bright graphics, and is fitted out with disks that toys and arches clamp into. There are toys to hang on the arches for baby to bat at, and a mat that inflates for baby to lie on, tummy-side down. A mirror with music box can also be placed for baby to enjoy her own smiling face. Bigger than anything this company has done before, and our parent testers loved it. Not as portable as the original but still got high marks. Select either Tropic Isle or Sun Garden motif.  |
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Toy Name: Amazing Baby Developmental Blanket Teether Company: Kids Preferred For Age: Infant Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 One of our favorite new toys of the year. Not really a blanket, this is about 12" of flat bear with crinkle body. It has chewy teether hands, easy-to-grab rings on its feet, and interesting patterns on its patchwork body. A variety of textures include plush head, satin foot, and velvety velour back. Likely to get a lot of touching moments. |
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Toy Name: Amazing Baby Sound Balls Company: Kids Preferred For Age: Infant, Toddler Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 Three baseball-sized, brightly patterned fabric balls come packaged together in a see-through tote. A black-and-white ball with colorful swirls crinkles, an orange velour ball with stitched stars jingles, and a multicolored ball with bold patterns chimes. A classic toy for sensory exploration and active play.  |
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Toy Name: NooBoo Symphonic Stacker Company: Manhattan Toy For Age: Infant Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 We tested a lot of fabric stackers this year but most were unforgiving—they didn’t move easily on the post. These pleasingly soft patterned, textured, easy-to-grasp rings (they look almost like flowers) are fun to explore—they also activate “magical” sounds when stacked (although they don’t always work 100% of the time). A good parent/child toy. |
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Toy Name: Toss the Taggies Company: Manhattan Toy For Age: Infant, Toddler Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 A big fabric ball with multiple patterns, ribbon taggies to grab, and a wonderful jingle inside is one of the best toys of the season. It’s covered with soft velour but slightly understuffed to make it easier to grasp. |
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Toy Name: Cosmo Club Company: Mary Meyer For Age: Toddler Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 Select any one of these soft velour animals with stitched features. We especially love the giraffe and the moose. Just right to fill the bill as a first huggable for your toddler. |
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Toy Name: iPlay Zoom Around Garage Company: International Playthings For Age: Toddler Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 Our 21⁄2 year old tester loved the levels of this multilevel garage and the elevator—his mom loved that the set comes with four cars (easier to share that way!) The chunky plastic cars can ride up the elevator and roll down the chutes and ramps with sound effects and flashing lights (not too loud). A fun setting for dramatic play. Cars can be played with separately or linked together with magnetic connectors. They say 1 & up—we’d say more like 18 mos. & up. |
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Toy Name: Lego Duplo Zoo Company: Lego For Age: Toddler Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 The latest in the themed sets in the Duplo line, this comes with a sheet of eyes that you can add to the blocks to create your own animals (of course with a toddler, you’ll need to help with this). Our testers really enjoyed placing the eyes on with help! Parents loved the green storage case. Still top rated, Duplo Thomas Load and Carry Train Set ($29.99 ), easy-to-assemble tracks and environment including train, movable light signal, and cargo tower. 61 pieces. Our older toddler testers “looooved” this set! PLATINUM AWARD ’06. 2 & up. |
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Toy Name: Cuddle Pups Puppets Company: Manhattan Toys For Age: Infant, Toddler Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 You’ll love the feel of these extremely soft velour puppets that are ideal for playing tracking games with your baby. Bring home either the pink Butterfly, blue Monkey, or green Frog. |
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Toy Name: Jumbo Jungle Animals Company: Learning Resources For Age: Toddler, Preschool Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 Perfect props for pretend, a set of five jungle animals—a 13" giraffe, an elephant, a lion, a tiger, and a gorilla. Handsomely finished with realistic colors. Little hands will find lots of ways to use these with and without blocks. 2 & up. Still top rated, Jumbo Farm Animals ($22.95 41⁄2) Seven farm animals, a horse, cow, pig, goat, sheep, goose, and rooster sized proportionately to each other. |
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Toy Name: Kiddy Connects Company: Edushape For Age: Toddler Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 A plastic jar comes loaded with 36 ball-shaped connectors with short arms that fit together in patterns or random shapes. A fun way to develop dexterity, color words, and even beginning counting skills, along with problem solving, as tots figure out how to fit the arms together. 2-1⁄2 & up. |
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Toy Name: Little People Lil' Movers Airplane Company: Figher-Price For Age: Toddler Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 Load the chunky Little People on and off through the top of the jolly looking white plane with licks of blue, red and green. Little People will not fit in the door/ramp, but not to worry; they fit through the open roof. There’s a female pilot and two passengers that bounce up and down as kids push the plane along the floor. Push the pilot down in her seat and the music begins, a short little tune that is not too intrusive. A red handle makes it easier to “fly” the plane in the air. A toddler size prop for pretend. They say 1& up. We’d say more like 18 months & up. |
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Toy Name: Leap Frog 100 Hoops Company: Leap Frog For Age: Preschool, Early School Years Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 Hang this electronic counting hoop on a doorknob, drawer, or chair. Set the counter to count by ones. For older kids, set it to count by 2s, 5s, 10s, or backwards and they are ready to start shooting baskets. Kids can set a goal and the payoff comes with special music. Counts in English or Spanish and, even better, it also has a volume control. 3 & up, up, up. |
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Toy Name: Lego Airport Action Company: Lego For Age: Preschool, Early School Years Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 One of the most satisfying Duplo sets of the year (no matter how old you are). Your preschooler will need a lot of help putting this set together but he will love playing with it! Comes with a plane, airport with tower, and ground crew! Still top rated, last year’s PLATINUM AWARD-winning Fire Station ($29.99 5), which can be built as a tower or horizontally. Past winners include: The Big Farm Set, Bob the Builder, and Dora the Explorer sets. We also highly recommend a big bucket ($19.95) for open-ended creations. 3 & up. |
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Toy Name: Corolle Bebe Do with Moses Basket Company: Corolle For Age: Preschool Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 A very special-looking present that comes with a 14" baby doll in a charming pink fabric-lined carrying basket with quilt, toy bunny, bottle, and baby book! There is an African American Bebe Do version but unfortunately not with the basket. |
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Toy Name: Dive, Dodge 'n Slide Bouncer Company: Hasbro For Age: Preschool, Early School Years Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 The neighborhood that tested this 16' x 7' x 7' bouncer raved. It requires lots of space but delivers a great deal of play value. “Larger kids were able to enjoy it too,” “easy to blow up with built in pump.” Kids have to make their way through the obstacle course and then down one of two red slides. As with any inflatable toy, lots of parental supervision is a must. There are larger inflatables in this line (notably a rock wall that looks like fun, but we are concerned about smaller children climbing and potentially falling awkwardly). Still top rated, last year’s Jump ’n Slide ($200 41⁄2). 3 & up. |
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Toy Name: Fisher-Price Geotrax All About Trains Motorized
Starter Set Company: Hasbro For Age: Preschool, Early School Years Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 A classic 20-piece figure-8 set with 13 pieces of track, motorized engine and trail car, yield sign, crossing sign, gantry with crate, coal loader and crossing gate. Comes with a wonderful live-action DVD (see p. TK for fuller review). A great value! Still top rated, GeoTrax Workin’ Town Railway ($39.99 4) This 30-piece set comes with a bridge, station, and windmill. Our testers found that it is possible for the train to get caught in a loop and fitting the tracks together is more challenging than with wooden tracks, since these only fit right side up. That said, kids liked the many features of this set and the flexibility of extending the system with other settings, such as the GeoTrax Coastal Winds Airport ($24.99 41⁄2). Marked 21⁄2—we’d say it’s a true preschool set. |
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Toy Name: Aeromax Get Real Gear Company: Aeromax For Age: Preschool, Early School Years Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 We were impressed with this company’s themed jumpsuits: new for 2007, an astronaut’s white suit and an amazing helmet ($43.95 5) that comes with audio commands for a “lift off”—really for 4s and up. Past favorites: Jr. Air Force Pilot and Jr. Championship Racer. Come in sizes for kids 3–12. PLATINUM AWARD ’05. They have new gender-specific doctor outfits (not our speed). |
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Toy Name: Alex My Creative Center Company: Alex For Age: Preschool, Early School Years Award: Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award 2007 You’ll need lots of room for this oversized wooden table (49" x 29.5" d) that eclipses their previous Super Art Table ($179 5) in size. Rounded on one end with a storage container, this table comes with a chalk surface and a paper roller/cutter and two long benches. Done in the same cheerful primary “Maisy-like” color scheme as the other tables in the collection. For a smaller round table with same style, consider My First Table. |
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