Judge's Top Pick! 

$99.99; www.wowwee.com; for ages 8 and up. This programmable remote control robot has personality: his blinking eyes, animated eyebrows and humorous banter make him seem more like a pet than a toy. He moves and turns quickly on his three-wheel base and has built-in sensors that avoid obstacles. Kids love to use him as an alarm clock – he runs when the alarm sounds so you have to catch him to turn it off! He also plays interactive games, roams the house autonomously and guards kids’ rooms by sounding an alarm when sibling “intruders” approach. A tilt trigger on the remote makes it exceptionally easy to make Tribot zip around a room.

 

For more fun with robotics, check out:

Best Bang for the Buck Winner! 

$7.99; www.cadaco.com; for ages 4 and up. The traditional card game has taken the shape of an easy-to-play board game with a fishing pond as its focal point and the added danger of a shark. Game play combines the classic elements of collecting cards, querying players and matching colors to combine familiar with imaginative play.

 

Best Bang for the Buck Winner! 

Green Rock Entertainment, $5.99; www.cahootie.com; for ages 7 and up. Kids lift the sturdy flaps of this classic, folded-paper fortune-telling game to predict the future of their friends. Reusable fortune stickers add surprise and laughs galore to each new round of play. Appeals to ’tweens, too. 

Judge's Top Pick! 

I Can Do That! Games, $19.99; www.icandothatgames.com; for ages 8 and up. Dream about what your future holds as you travel through a twisty-turny, Dr. Seuss-inspired world and try to guess which choices players will make for themselves. It’s a whimsical game about possibilities, based on the popular book.

Barbie™ Sleepover Party Pups, KIDdesigns, Inc., $21.99; www.kiddesigns.com; ages 3 and up.

 

A perfect companion for an overnight! This electronic plush pup wakes up with a gentle squeeze to its paw. It yawns, bops to its own music and lets out occasional yaps. It has soft, pet-able fur and seems eager to please with its responsive panting and yelping. When bedtime rolls around, however, squeeze the other paw and listen to your pup’s quiet lullaby. Outfit it for bed using the puppy-sized sleep mask and sleeping bag (included). Once asleep, Party Pup snores the cutest sounds you’ve ever heard! 

Digital Blue, $49.99; www.digiblue.com; for ages 3 and up. This camera is a gem for kids! The rugged rubberized shell withstands rough handling and the simple design and buttons make it easy to use right out of the box (batteries sold separately). The 32MB of memory holds approximately 150 pictures and an automatic flash yields impressive picture quality. A special Magic Wand button allows children to choose a Disney character to appear on the screen along with the subject. The Windows software installs effortlessly.

For more award-winning photography fun, try:

Crayola Digital Camcorder
KidiArt Studio

$39.99; www.idbids.com; for ages 3 and up. Choose among three adorable, 9-inch plush Idbid characters with green feet – each shaped like a cloud, flower or water drop. Each comes with its own storybook and field guide in a cinch backpack to build awareness of air, nature or water issues. Fun daily activities inspire kids to take “iddy biddy” steps toward creating an eco-friendly environment.

For more environmentally conscious fun, check out:

Music For A Green Planet

Uberstix Scavenger Series
How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate
Generation Green
Globe Hugger Diaper Bag

Exago, Goliath Games, $29.99; www.goliathgames.us; ages 7 and up.

 

This beautifully executed game is a visual and tactile treat, consisting of a molded plastic 3D board and well-made hexagonal pieces. combines pure abstract strategy with a blissfully simple goal: to get four hexagonal tiles in a row on the honeycomb-like board.

 

While learning to play takes just seconds, mastering it can take a long time. Players need to think a couple of moves in advance as one player tries to outwit an opponent by coming at a win from two different angles. You’ll be surprised at how much suspense builds as you decide whether to move offensively or defensively. But if you focus too much on the offense, though, you may lose; you have to block a lot to stay alive. 

S’Match, Thinkfun, $19.99; www.thinkfun.com; ages 5 to 7.

 

In this game, you lay out cards as in classic memory games, but the spinner is the centerpiece and runs the show. The great big plastic spring-loaded, fun-to-crank-on, clicking spinner indicates what to find and match on the cards: color, category or the number of items. Turn over cards to try and match what the spinner dictates and then keep the cards to score.

S’Match is a very cool way to learn concentration, sorting, categorizing and matching.
 

Rainbow River Stones; Wee Blossom; $159; www.weeblossom.com or www.munchkinfield.com; ages 3 and up.

 

This brightly colored set of six large plastic molded river stones mimic the shapes of natural ones. Their top surfaces have non-skid patterns to add interest and grip. When children walk barefoot on the stones, they can imagine themselves outdoors, walking on the stones formed by water and earth. Hopping from one stone to the next helps children gain confidence in movement and practice balance and coordination.

 

The stones are lightweight and easy for children to move, carry and stack themselves. The set includes two river stones each of three colors/sizes that can be placed individually to make a path or stacked up to three high for more challenge.  The stones nest together and come in a durable nylon carry bag.

“It’s fun to pretend there are sharks and alligators and yucky seaweed in the river and we have to jump across without falling in and getting eaten. But if you do fall in, you have to eat the seaweed!”
- 6-year-old boy