ASTRA Exhibitors M - S

This kit includes high-quality ceramic magnets and 26 activities designed to develop a solid foundation for more advanced topics in electricity and magnetism, teaching children the fundamental principles of magnetism while they play. It includes how to build an electromagnet, how to flip the poles of an electromagnet, and how an electric motor works, and allows kids to go iron detecting, visualize the lines of force, craft a compass, and levitate and bounce ring magnets. "ScienceWiz Magnetism is the only product of its kind that teaches the concepts of magnetism through hands-on learning and play. Magnets are more fun when you know how they work!" Rachael Norman, sales manager for Norman & Globus Inc., told TDmonthly. This product has received a Creative Child Magazine Award. Launch date: July 1, 2008.

This funny fiend in soft velour has whimsical charm and embroidered accents. Designed by kids for kids, Buster is a keepsake gift with a delightful monster story on the hang tag and a charitable heart. A portion of sales is donated to Global Action for Children, a nonpartisan children's advocacy organization. The soft, security buddy addresses common childhood anxieties of fear and bullies, while helping to promote charitable deeds and raise awareness for less-fortunate children. Launch date: January 15, 2008. Display ideas: Offer a wide range of My Own Monster characters to create an eye-catching, colorful display. Promote sales with a free My Own Monster display sign available upon request with any My Own Monster order.

This miniature version of the original CopterBall uses the same foam wings that allows its larger counterpart to spin slowly down in an unpredictable state of OgoMotion. The ball can be used alone or with the OgoSport SportsDisk.

This long-term intelligence, smart-play toy for ages 9 months and up paves the way for discovery and development of kids. The set includes 12 cubes and eight triangles for stacking. The cubes feature number faces, peek-a-boo and a variety of colors and pictures enabling kids to learn consequence, counting and matching. A puzzle provides practice in logic and eye-hand coordination. “The Block 'N Learn set is a modern spin on a classic smart-play toy. In addition to stacking, the blocks also act as a puzzle that builds eye-hand coordination and logical thinking,” Lauren Grande of Southard Communications told TDmonthly. Launch date: June 2007.

So Small Pets moms and dads can take their tiny, posable progeny to the amusement park for fun. There's a ferris wheel, merry-go-round, and a train set for tiny tots. All of the So Small Pets are posable and can stand on their own. Launch date: February 2009.

Players add or subtract 1, 2 or 3 to the number on the top card of the pile to determine if they have a card that can be played next. It sounds simple, but with everyone playing simultaneously, the options are constantly changing. The first player out of cards wins. The game is for two to four players and offers "quick, easy and fun mental math practice," Leah Osterhaus, VP of marketing for Out of the Box Publishing, told TDmonthly. Awards: Parent's Choice Award 2010. Launch date: July 15, 2009.
Awards: 2009 Major Fun; 2010 Parent's Choice Silver

Hello. My name is Coriander and I'm a fleabitten gray horse. As my name suggests, I am a little spicy. I love adventure and am full of life. I'm an eventer with tremendous stamina and have mastered the three disciplines of dressage, show jumping and cross country. There is no jump too high and I don't spook easily. I look forward to racing through the woods and the challenge of unforeseen obstacles. However, I am just as confident in the dressage arena — channeling my energy into beautiful movements. Coriander is a fully poseable horse with a brushable mane and tail, and comes with a halter, comb and carrot. This 1:9-scale horse's dimensions are 10" w x 10.5" h x 3" d.

The kit consists of 90 reusable stickers that can be arranged and rearranged on three backgrounds: “The Cat in the Hat,” “Green Eggs and Ham” and “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.” The tote makes the entire kit convenient for on-the-go fun anywhere. Launch date: December 2007.
— Pamela Byers, owner of The Ark Toy Company in San Francisco, Calif., told TDmonthly that her store sells “about 60” Peaceable Kingdom sticker totes per month.
— Over 20 different sticker-activity tote themes are available in Peaceable Kingdom Press’s Sticker Activity Tote line, including The Little Farm, Knights & Dragons, At the Ballet and Fire Station.
— Five percent of retailers told TDmonthly that sticker kits are their best-selling arts-and-crafts item.

This durable, practical table for children has modern appeal with clean lines and a bold color. It comes with two chairs and features a sizeable workspace.

From the sustainably-minded Plan Toys company comes a dollhouse built with many of the latest advances in green engineering in mind. The house itself is made out of recycled rubberwood accented with safe vegetable dyes for color. It includes a retractable canopy wall made from organic cotton, a wind turbine, solar panels and recycling bins. The house is available furnished and unfurnished. Launch date: 2009.
— Plan products were named as best sellers at Green Frog Toys in Portland, Ore., in March 2009. “They’re eco-friendly and beautifully designed and made,” Owner Patricia Fiedler told TDmonthly.

This game includes a handheld light that reveals clues to the types of tokens needed to win the game. Launch date: September 2008.

A part of the whimsical Chimp and Zee series of games from Pressman, the Zoo Who game sends children along with a zookeeper to feed the many animals living at the zoo. Each child has a card with different animals on it that they are responsible for feeding, and on their turn they take a food card from the back of the zookeeper's truck. If that food is appropriate for one of their animals, they can fill in that slot on their card. If not, it returns to the table but another player has the opportunity to snap it up if it matches an animal on their card. When a child draws the sandwich card, they lose a turn – an important aspect of the Chimp and Zoo games to help build understanding and patience when things don't always go as planned – but instead of being faced with a villain or punishment, it is simply the zookeeper stopping for his own lunch break. Launch Date: June 2009

Babo is best friends with Wage...and the cookie jar. But once he gets to know you and the kinds of snacks you keep around the house, he will focus mostly on the snacks! Little Ugly Babo is 7" tall and won 2006 Toy of the Year Award, Oppenheim best Toy Award and the 2006 Parent's Choice Approved Award.

This soft, plush bear holds a blanket and comes with a sound box that provides a real recording of the sound inside a mother's womb as well as ocean noises and lullabies designed to comfort babies. The oval sound box can be tucked into the back of the bear or hung from a child's crib. Launch date: February 2009.

This is the official and original version of the Chickenfoot dominoes game. It comes with 55 double 9 professional dominoes with large, jumbo colored dots, a clear plastic centerpiece and black leatherette case is included, too.

This set includes 100 pieces of various colors to make creative construction projects and marble runs. Launch date: July 1, 2009.
— Rebecca Goblish, owner of Picayune Toys in Dunwoody, Ga., told TDmonthly in a May 2013 survey that Q-Ba-Maze is one of her best-selling construction toys.
— Dean Smith, owner of Jazam Toys in Princeton, N.J., told TDmonthly in a May 2015 survey that this was a best-selling construction toy at their store.

Ideal for travel, this on-the-go activity challenges children to draw safari animals from a mere squiggle on the drawing pad. They simply spin the attached spinner to determine the animal and then go to work drawing a gorilla, hippo, buffalo or other animals.

Take your adventure outdoors with our Safari Vehicles, Quad Racers, Mini Jeeps, Motorcycles, Rovers, Trailers, and Vehicle exploration sets.

The set comes with 60 rugged, plastic pieces that kids can snap together easily to form endless poseable creatures, with hinged jaws. Kids can create a dragon, Pegasus, a phoenix, Wyvern, Golden Boar, Capricorn or their own unique creatures. Several extra pieces are included, to make creatures even more poseable. All Zoomorphs sets are interchangeable.

This set comes with bricks and materials to create a miniature version of the Yellow House as portrayed in one of artist Vincent van Gogh's famous paintings.

This portable strategy game is similar to chess or checkers, but with a twist — the magnetic stones with unmarked north and south poles can jump out of their position at any point during the game, giving players a whole new element of challenge. "Jishaku" is the Japanese term for "magnet." The game received a 2008 National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, an iParenting Media Award, a Major Fun Award and a Mr. Dad Seal of Approval. Launch date: June 3, 2008.
— Tutoring Toy in Salt Lake City sells about 20 per month of this game, Buyer Casey Sartain told TDmonthly in fall 2009.

An amazing replica of an unlikely creature! This armored and armadillo-like anteater inhabits the tropical forests in parts of Africa and Asia. Safari Ltd. brings yet another interesting animal to the Incredible Creatures Collection. Replica measures 7.25” H x 3” H. Hand painted, phthalate and lead free. Ages 3+. Includes a 5 language educational hangtag. Safari Ltd. exceeds all safety standards. Safari Ltd's products are 100% guaranteed.
Awards: A TDmonthly Classics Award for being an all-time favorite toy.

Part of the Farm Life series, this Rodeo Bull is ready to buck. He measures 14.3 x 6.9 x 6.8 cm.
— Schleich’s small animal figures are consistent best sellers at Melody’s Choices in Fayetteville, Ark., as reported by Owner Steve Melody in April 2009.

This workbook includes exercises on basic early-math skills, including writing numbers, sequencing, and matching words to numerals for numbers 0 through 10.  The write-in book is illustrated with fun images to interest the child and help them remember what they are learning.
— “We carry a bunch of their workbooks,” Sue Banducci, owner of Games Unlimited in Danville, Calif., told TDmonthly about School Zone.
— “Math in general gets requested a lot,” said Merrick Smith, owner of Piccolo Mondo in Portland, Ore., of her customers’ needs in school supplies.
— Ten percent of the 68 retailers surveyed said in July 2008 that, of their educational products and school supplies, workbooks are the strongest sellers.

When rolled gently, this colorful tin wheel returns to the user. It is available in a variety of designs.
— Schylling products were listed as top sellers at Melody’s Choices in Fayetteville, Ark., by Owner Steve Melody in spring 2009. He likes that the vendor has small toys that sell consistently.

Unzipped, ZipBIn Mini Zoo becomes an animal habitat, complete with zoo animals. When play is done, kids can capture all the toys inside. This mini play set is sized for travel. Launch date: 2009.

djubi™ (pronounced joo-bee) is played with specially designed racquets and a distinctive ball called “the djubi”.  To play, place the rubber loop over the launch hook, pull back and aim.  When the ball is released it flies through the air at varying degrees of speed, distance and height, depending on the launch trajectory. The djubi is then snagged out of the sky in the deep racquet pocket. Playing djubi undoubtedly will take the tried-and-true game of catch to a cool, new level of fun and excitement for all. See video of djubi in action at djubi.com.
— Christine Osborne, owner of Wonder Works in Charleston, S.C., told TDmonthly in March 2010 that her store sells 36 units per month of the djubi.
— In a March 2012 survey, John Taylor, owner of O.P Taylor's in Brevard, N.C., told TDmonthly that the djubi was one of his best selling outdoor toys.