TDmonthly's November Staff Picks

This eco-friendly, design-driven burp cloth is biodegradeable, compostable, disposable, hygienic, sanitary and organic. It is made of organically grown bagasse, the fibrous residue left over after the sugar can has been crushed and the sugar extracted. Simply modern in design, symmetrical in shape, and contoured to be "saddled" on either shoulder, drool has a tab that allows the cloth to remain in place without the use of adhesives or straps. Embossed with the words "drool" and a design that resembles tiny bubbles, it will be offered for sale in its natural state — a slight off-white color called bare — or with simple printed designs to complement an adult wardrobe. Launch date: September 13, 2009.

This whimsical giraffe has a poseable neck for playtime fun. It is made from naturally sustainable rubberwood and organic cotton fabric. "Our toys educate children, encourage them to use their imaginations, and provide knowledge to help make eco-conscious decisions," Michael Daner, president of I Love My Planet Toys, told TDmonthly. Launch date: October 7, 2009.

BuckleyTurtle has four buckles and a more complex configuration than other BuckleyBoos. He has a fully removable shell with a secret pocket in back to hide special treasures. "BuckleyBoos are a totally unique and fun way for toddlers to master essential developmental tasks," Emily Ross, CEO of BuckleyBoo LLC, told TDmonthly. Launch date: September 2009.

This clinically tested and 98-percent accurate product is created to listen to the cry of a baby and tell the caregiver what baby is communicating — specifically, when baby is annoyed, hungry, bored, stressed or sleepy. The WhyCry Mini is designed to stimulate baby’s development, improve parental bonding, and create healthy emotional response patterns. "There is no other product like this available in the world. The WhyCry Mini listens to the five instinctive cries all babies use to communicate hunger, stress, boredom, sleepiness and annoyance," James Valle, CEO of Serene Baby Products, Inc., told TDmonthly. "The debut of this product coincides with an ever-increasing body of neuro-biological research that affirms the importance of correctly diagnosing infants’ needs to foster healthy development in the first months of life." Launch date: September 9, 2009.

The Pura Kiki line is a modern and eco-friendly stainless steel infant and toddler bottle line. Kiki is 100-percent BPA-free and 100-percent toxin free. The bottles are crafted from food-service stainless steel and also feature stainless lids/collars in addition to wide-neck food-service-grade cross-cut silicone nipples. Kiki is also compatible with sip spouts and wide-mouth silicone nipples from virtually all leading manufacturers. The Kiki line is backed by a lifetime warranty. "All bottles in the Kiki line work seamlessly with Pura nipples and spouts as well as those from most leading vendors," Jenifer Moore, vice president of Pura Stainless, told TDmonthly. Launch date: September 13, 2009. (photo does not represent Starter Set)

The Alphabotz Superphonic Decoder Cards jumpstart beginning reading skills by building lasting associations between sounds and the letters that represent them. The cards include a variety of games and activities that are designed to promote vital early literacy skills such as phonemic awareness and are geared toward children of various skill levels, making this product both an educational tool and a toy. "The ALPHABOTZ personify sounds in the English language. They help children visualize and build lasting associations between sounds and the letters that represent them. The letter/letter team on a character's chest and the icon on its head serve as constant visual reinforcements for the sound that is represented by that character," Nicole Sigsby, principal of Ideopolis LLC, told TDmonthly. Awards: 2009 Creative Child Magazine Preferred Choice Award in the Educational Products Category; iParenting Media; Mom's Choice; Tillywig Brain Child; and Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products 2009; 2009 Family Choice Award; 2010 The Toy Man Seal of Approval, Award of Excellence and Editors Choice Award. Launch date: July 2009.
— "Just when you thought it was not possible, here is another fresh approach to letter recognition.  Developed by an educator, Alphabots are for children at all developmental levels.  Use the 46 robot character cards in one of 12 fun letter and sound games to improve phonemic awareness. I love Alphabotz!" Jennifer Shuman, of 1SmartNoodle, told TDmonthly at Toy Fair 2010.

This soft 15" plush is cream, taupe and chocolate-brown with black accents. Patches comes with a sweet smile, adoring eyes, and a comfy place to sleep, and holds a plush, white, bone-shaped rattle for baby. The trim and inner lining is chocolate-brown satin, and a plush tail is attached to the Lovie's lower back. The border design includes embroidered paw prints and a small taupe appliqué with paw prints and a pink bone. Patches comes in a dog house with a red roof, puppy paw prints all around, his tail poking out the back, a sign on the front that says, “Patches” Plush Puppy Lovie, a bone-shaped handle on the roof, and a poem around the base that reads ,“This puppy needs a loving home, A place to play and call his own, With a child to hold him close and tight, One to comfort throughout the night! The dog house gift box measures 8” H x 4 ½“ W x 9 ½” D (including Patches’ face and front paws peeking from the dog house).

The Vermont Teddy Bear Company's Take Along Teddies feature a fun, flat design that makes them perfect for bedtime, travel or taking along on trips. These flat bears are handmade in Vermont and are unconditionally guaranteed for life. Injured flat bears can be sent to the Bear Hospital and the company will repair or replace them for free. Take Along Teddy is available in Cow Print, Espresso, Snow, Maple, Blue and Pink fur.
Awards: 2010 Creative Child Toy of the Year (Plush Toys for Travel)

This patent-pending kit of nearly 1,000 beads features various colors that each represent a letter, number and space, so that kids can create bracelets and other accessories with their own secret messages to be decoded. The kit includes 20 decoder cards, 15 feet of lacing with closures, labels, and instructions.
Awards: 2010 WTS "What The Stuff" Five Star; A TDmonthly Classics Award for being an all-time favorite toy.

Past videos: Product Demonstration

For crawlers to toddlers, these stylish baby kneepads — made from cotton with silicone pad protection — are designed to keep little ones' knees feeling and looking good. Designed for comfort and ease, they slide right over baby’s knees to protect and keep them scrape-free from hard and irritable surfaces as they crawl and explore their surroundings. The machine-washable pads are one size fits most and come in blue, green, orange and red.

Jukem is a fast game that can be played in 20 minutes or less. The game lasts two times through the deck. No prior knowledge of football is required.
Awards: Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products - 2010

This all-new sentence completion game is the vibrant sequel to the original Thoughts and Feelings, new sentence stems, new illustrations, and new ways to engage children of all ages. This deck compliments and adds to Thoughts and Feelings 1, and is a great way to build a set of therapeutic tools. Thirty five cards are included.

This set of 6 printed file folders features an artful design of an owl over a color stripe background on the folder cover. Set includes folders with 3 tab locations and includes 12 Adhesive Tab Labels.

Rootensils come in an assortment of colors including red, purple, blue, and pink. Comes in a set of two (one spoon and one fork), these simple utensils are great for small hands. Rootensils are dishwasher safe, microwaveable, made of plant-based material, non-toxic, compostable, biodegradable, and are BPA free, Pthalate free, and PVC free.

This set includes a Firefighter T-shirt with toy flashlight. Available in three sizes: small (3-4 yrs), medium (4-5 yrs), and large (5-6 yrs).

This light blue mermaid set features a two-piece swimsuit and mermaid fins.

The Ducky Blankie is part of a collection of five eco-friendly stuffed animals produced in a certified organic plush toy factory in China and made with organic cotton, natural silk, sustainably grown corn. Ducky comes as a 9" plush toy or as this chewable, suckable cuddly blankie. He has knots for gumming, adorable webbed feet and cute peek-a-boo packaging. He measures 14.75 x 12 x 3.75 inches. Launch date: September 2009.

These little paper dolls are based on the Granza Adorable Kinders rag dolls. The dolls come on perforated cards for easy punching out. A variety of clothing is available separately. Kids can develop their fine-motor skills by cutting out the little outfits.

For toddlers ages 12-24 months. Made from soft, bendable, but durable medical grade silicone. Thick handle is easy to hold, while the long neck can easily reach back molars without being a choking hazard. Dishwasher and Freezer safe. Teach healthy oral care habits to your child at the earliest possible age.

These 2" rubber animals have hard plastic eyes that pop out when the character's head is squeezed. The eyes then go back to their normal position. This series includes Holly the Hippo, Mickey the Monkey, Bobby the Bear and Parker the Penguin. Launch date: 2009.

DESIGNSTUDIOPRO is the car design modeling kit created and developed by professional clay modelers and designers working in the automotive design industry. DESIGNSTUDIOPRO will teach you the basics of automotive design sculpture using the same techniques that car design studios all around the world use. Develop modeling skills you cannot get from plastic or wood modeling kits. Design your own 1/10 scale RC car body or personal show car. This product requires adult supervision for children 12 and under. MSRP is $339.99 with inclusion of clay oven components. Watch video

Scented pens available in Gingerbread or Candy Cane flavors. Holiday Snifty Scented Pens are seasonal. International Arrivals will begin shipping September 2010.
— Assorted Snifty pens have been best sellers at The Parent-Teacher Store & Toys Too in Louisville, Ky., for about four months, Owner Kimberly Kopatz told TDmonthly in November 2009.

The Circle Out! game is a game of abstraction and visual memory. Twelve to 16 cards are laid out and players race to find the most circles of the largest size. The “circle” aspect of the game is all abstract. Each card has two features — a top and bottom triangle of different colors. Circles are formed by connecting cards of the same color together: red to red, blue to blue, etc., until the same color connects the chain of cards together at both ends. Bottom Triangles only link to Top Triangles and vice versa. A circle of three linking cards are worth one point, four linked cards are worth two points, and five linked cards are worth three points.

The Mega Metal Dirtbag® is a one of a kind footbag. Not only does this one have miniature steel ball bearings for a filler but each panel of the Mega Metal has a metal stud affixed to it. Talk about Heavy Metal.

The soft-edged triangular shape and jumbo size of these colored pencils naturally place little hands and fingers into the appropriate coloring position. As an added functional bonus, the triangular shape prevents these pencils from constantly rolling off the table onto the floor. Each packaged set has 12 colored pencils.