TDmonthly Goes Inside … Puzzle Zoo, Part II

Horace is the 1904 Steiff bear of Priscilla Longfellow Thorpe — the granddaughter of 19th century poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Horace was well traveled and rubbed shoulders with some truly famous people of the early 20th century. He even "shook paws" with his namesake, Theodore Roosevelt! Steiff has reproduced Horace as he appears in turn-of-the-century family photographs. His velvet paw pads are an exact reproduction of those that were patched over by a nanny in the 1920s with material from an old velvet cape. Horace is mohair and comes with a book that tells his life story in words and pictures. A North American Limited Edition of 1,500 pieces, it's "new" for 2006. He comes with an embroidered bag and stands 60 cm high.

Each hand-painted Kooky Klicker features a distintive personality and fun design. The 5" characters have rubbery strands of hair and a metal clip.

The kid-friendly, 3D-puzzle globe is composed of curved pieces that fit together perfectly to form a solid, smooth ball without any need for glue. The 96-piece puzzle measures 5” in diameter when assembled.
— Ravensburger's puzzle balls are selling well for David Hesel, owner of The Toy Shop in Concord., Mass. "We just got a 5' one, which we just put into our window," he said in March 2008, adding that the store has sold 100 puzzle balls since January.
— Nancy Bloomberg, owner of La Toys Etcetera in Cedarhurst, N.Y., was impressed with Ravensburger puzzles at Toy Fair 2008 and recently bought “individual pieces in a new buying program,” she told TDmonthly. “Our area is heavily populated with orthodox Jews so it's important to have non-electronic toys; a focus on games, building and puzzles is generally very strong.”
— Three of 32 retailers said in October 2008 they anticipate the Puzzleball to be one of the best-selling toys for the holidays. “Puzzles are a great niche for us,” said Michele and Ken Gietz of Where’d You Get That!? in Williamstown, Mass., when discussing their best sellers in fall 2008. Ravensburger is among the various brands of puzzles their store stocks for both children and adults.

The decorative brush gift set includes a brush and brush stand. The brush features a colorful relief sculpture of a cheerleader on the backside, while the stand reads “love 2 cheer.” The Juleez Funky Folks Gift Sets line also includes Perfect Day Daisy, Pretty Princess and On My Toes.