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Only The Best Earn
PET Seal of Approval
Reviews by Tim Boxer
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 Sunshine
Symphony
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| Jumbo
Music Block
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| Music
Blocks Maestro
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| Folkmanis
Puppets
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| KidzMouse
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| Feelin’
Good
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| Talking
Picture Frame
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| Loaded
Questions
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| Centennial
of American Toy Fair
 HE
vast array of toys and games at the Toy Center on Fifth Avenue and at
the Javits Center was stupendous. This being the centennial of the
great American International Toy Fair, the new offerings on display
for buyers and merchants from around the globe were truly spectacular.
Outstanding were new products
from Peg-Perego (especially their wonderful electric cars for kids),
neurosmith, Mattell, Fisher Price. We found several items especially
attractive and sent them to members of our 15Minutes Product
Evaluation Team (PET) for testing.
Eva has more fun with
Sunshine Symphony than
Johnathan does. |
Sunshine
Symphony from
neurosmith, a company that makes “smart toys for developing minds,”
was judged delightful by Johnathan, our paramount PET technician. This
was Johnathan’s first musical experience (aside from grandpa, with
my limited repertoire of lullabies).
With this cuddly open-ended
plush toy, infants from birth and up can learn to touch and create
sound – and have fun. This touch activation process teaches cause
and effect.
Sunshine Symphony puts
classical music at Johnathan’s fingertips. With touching or
pinching, this smart toy breaks out in snippets of four classical
compositions including Mozart’s Piano Sonata in C Major, Tchaikovsky’s
The Nutcracker, Handel’s Water Music and Prokofiev’s Peter and the
Wolf.
The corresponding light show
is an added bonus for baby’s attention. Buy it for $39.99 at www.neurosmith.com.
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Johnathan learns geometric design
with Jumbo Music Block. |
Jumbo
Music Block will
inspire and delight infants and toddlers from six months to three
years, as Johnathan will happily attest. Each side of this giant cube
features a different geometric flap.
Flip
the flap and you set off the music. The different shapes play various
sing-along songs. Nice way to inspire and delight infants about
geometric shapes. The toe-tapping music will get the kid dancing and
turning, thus developing gross motor skills.
With zippers, snaps, buttons,
secret pockets and surprise activities, the child will explore, learn
and have fun.
The Jumbo Music Block, which
requires four C batteries, is available at toy stores for $59.99 and
at www.neurosmith.com.
Additional music cartridges cost from $9.99 to $19.99.
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| Music
Blocks Maestro helps
the toddler and pre-school child, two years and up, make music while
playing with blocks. Mix and match five brightly colored blocks,
giving you a million possible compositions.
Comes
with a Mozart cartridge. Four C batteries required. Additional music
cartridges are available from $9.99 to $19.99. Priced at $59.99 at www.neurosmith.com.
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Devora loves the watering can
as much as her nephew. |
Rabbit
in Watering Can Puppet
is one of the numerous creations from Folkmanis, the world’s leading
puppet maker. Folkmanis
brought imagination to life with the debut of 22 amazing new items at
the Toy Fair. This is a new line of playful enchanting figures for
children of all ages.
Three adorable baby products
new to the market are the Huggable Sleepy Kitty and Sleepy Frog as
travel companions for little ones, and My First 1-2-3 Puppets Book.
Johnathan
got the Rabbit in Watering Can to try out. All he could do was watch
as his aunt, Devora, manipulated the rabbit for her own amusement. A
good time was had by both.
The rabbit is priced at $24.
You can see all the puppets at www.folkmanis.com.
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 KidzMouse
is a
computer mouse fashioned especially for little hands. This baby clicks
for kids. It is a half-sized computer mouse, which features a
squeezable head for easier clicking by young children.
New
child-friendly mice were introduced at Toy Fair, modeled after Sesame
Street (Elmo and Cookie Monster) and Nickelodeon characters.
KidzMouse works the way a
child’s hand works. The child clicks with a squeeze rather than a
tap. You don’t need special software. Just plug the mouse into the
PC and the kid is ready to compute.
KidzMouse comes in a variety
of different styles. See them all at www.KidzMouse.com.
Priced from $23 to $29.
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 Feelin’
Good
is the first
release in a series of family-oriented entertainment from Laughing
Pizza Productions. This integrated package includes a 12-song CD, a
30-minute video and an interactive DVD. The combine entertainment with
inspirational messages. On the video, each song is introduced by
interviews of kids talking about things that interest them. Suitable
for children from 4 to 9, that underserved gap between Barney and
Britney, according to the singing/songwriting husband/wife team of
Billy Schlosser and Lisa Michaelis.
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 See
Yourself Talk
Talking Picture
Frame
from
RadioShack does just that: it displays two 3”x5” or two 4”x6”
photos that talk! Your snapshots really come to life with this photo
frame. All you do is add a personal message of 10 seconds on a
computer chip.
You can hear the message
again and again at the touch of a button. It makes a great gift to
your loved ones. Perfect for any birthday and Mother’s Day.
Available at $24.99 at
RadioShack stores and online at www.radioshack.com.
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| Loaded
Questions, an
exciting board game for 3-6 players, aged teen to adult, will test
them on how well they know each other. Play with your boyfriend or
girlfriend and you’ll have fun discovering their true feelings. Box
contains game board, die, answer pad, question cards, 6 pencils and 6
game pieces. A separate Re-Loaded Questions Booster Pack offers
updated questions reflecting new events and issues. Among the reasons
to buy it, according to entrepreneur Eric Poses, is that it will
revolutionize your social calendar, it’s odor free, the blue box
goes well with any outfit, and it’s the perfect answer to “What
should we do now?”
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