new
What’s
Assemble First, Then Play With BooKid Toys USA’s line of Action Toys, kids ages 3 to 8 will have as much fun assembling their toys as they will playing with them. There are 12 different sets to choose from, with each set containing 40 to 70 pieces that snap together. With the Train in the Farm set kids can build up their farm and train track and watch the battery-operated train chug around the track while playing music and flashing lights. Each BooKid Toys set helps improve kids’ fine motor and communication skills.
A New Pet for Kids Moose Toys gives kids fun, sweet, and interactive pet birds, without the mess and the responsibility of real ones. With Little Live Pets Birds, kids can choose from Polly, Charlie, Cheeky, and more, and watch these toy birds come to life and behave like real pets. As kids pet the bird on its head and back, it chirps and tweets more than 30 different sounds, melodies, and tunes to popular nursery rhymes. In addition, a unique chatter back recording feature lets kids speak to their pet bird and hear it repeat their words back to them.
Stay Connected with Toymail Toymail combines an app with a toy to allow kids, friends, and family members to communicate messages in a unique way. Once a message is recorded—either in a quirky or normal voice—it’s then delivered to the Wi-Fi-enabled Mailman that plays the message aloud. Kids can then send their replies back through the toy, making a two-way conversation. The Mailmen are available in a variety of characters, including Snort (pig), Milksop (bear), Fairfax (fox), Rochester (Raccoon), and Buck (Buck).
Craft Like a Fashionista Gemz, from Arch Tags, is a craft kit that allows minifashionistas to decorate their own wearable pairs of glitter jelly ballerina flats. Girls can stick on plastic spikes, pearls, gems, stickers, and rhinestones, or squeeze on a cool design using an included tube of glitter glue. With an endless amount of ways to customize the shoes, every girl gets to create a trendy, original look. Shoe colors available include black, clear, pink, and purple, and each pair is comfortable and flexible. Recommended for kids ages 4 and up, Gemz is an easyto-do craft that doesn’t leave a big mess.
Douglas Co. Plays Dress-Up Douglas Co. adds new Fly-Away Dresses and Fanciful Fabric Wings and Masks to its Dreamy Dress-Up line, designed in Europe by NaoPoa. Kids ages 3 to 8 can choose from different styles of handmade dresses, including Fairies (available in pink, blue, green, and rainbow) and butterflies (including Monarch Orange and Monarch Pink butterflies, as well as purple and yellow butterflies). The wings (sold separately) are available in girl- and non-gender specific styles that include a bat, a dragon, a firebird, a woodpecker, a parrot, and more. In addition, kids can pair the Fly-Away Dresses and Fanciful Fabric Wings with the Fanciful Fabric Masks, which are available in 18 different designs that appeal to both boys and girls.
38 • THE TOY BOOK
JULY/AUGUST 2014