Baby Colors, by Rachael Hale; Little Brown Books, 2009; $6.99; www.lb-kids.com.

In this small, sturdy board book, adorable babies with expressive eyes are paired with sweet rhyming text and a rainbow of colors. Each baby showcases a color, along with a four-line rhyme and photograph. For example, the little baby for yellow is holding a yellow banana. Author Rachael Hale, well known for her animal-portrait photography, has now turned her considerable expertise to photographing charming babies. Visit Hale’s Web site to learn more about her and her work at www.rachaelhale.com.

“When my girls were little they loved board books with photographs of babies.”
– Parent of two young girls

Best Bang for the Buck!
 

Baby Einstein/Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, 2008; 33 min.; $19.99; www.babyeinstein.com; for ages 1 to 3. Great for bilingual families, this DVD features lots of colorful images along with sounds from different languages. First, toddlers are exposed to five basic sounds (ah, buh, duh, ee and mm) and then each of these sounds is connected to simple words in other languages, accompanied by images of the objects described by those words. Good for co-viewing for parent and child, this DVD exposes young ears to English, Spanish, Chinese and French.

 

More winners from Baby Einstein include:

Musical Motion Activity Jumper
10th Anniversary Edition Baby Mozart DVD
Baby Einstein Discover & Play Stackers

Oregon Scientific, 2008; $39.99; www2.oregonscientific.com; for ages 5 to 10.
In a year in which Batman is the box office champ, this stand-alone game and activity unit wins big with its sleek “bat wing” design. One of our kid testers grabbed this from the pile before any other games had even been opened and immediately disappeared into its games and puzzles for almost an hour. The system has 40 interactive learning games and activities that help kids develop skills in language, math, logic and creativity. Plus, there are 10 activities in Spanish to encourage bilingual development.
 

Family Fun Winner! 

$34.99; www.gamewright.com; for ages 8 and up. A fun twist on bocce, this game is played by throwing a multi-sided ball and having players throw their bean balls and hoops to land the closest to the target ball. During play, a wrist-mounted scorekeeper gives additional rules on “how” to throw (stand on one leg, roll it off your head, toss with eyes closed, yell and toss, etc.). The target ball awards bonus points for special circumstances, such as for the object farthest away. 

BoBo Glove and Book, by Raquel Jaramillo; Workman, 2008; $18.95; www.workman.com.  

“Turn your hand into a baby wonderland!” This little book, which presents animal sounds, is affixed to a glove that contains a rattle, pull-toy, teether and squeaker. Together, they create a world of fun on a soft, brightly colored and patterned glove in favorite baby colors. Perfect for babies 0-24 months, this set makes the perfect baby shower gift and will get everyone “oohing” and “ahhing.”
 

$24.99; www.hasbrotoyshop.com; for ages 7 and up. Players simulate a baseball game by bouncing metal balls on a mini trampoline into target holes that represent bases, outs, strikes and home runs. Unit keeps score and builds excitement with lights and sound.

 

Battleship, Hasbro, $15.99; www.hasbro.com; ages 7 and up.

 

The new clear plastic, two-sided battle grid brings players head-to-head in a high-tech-looking version of this classic sea battle game. Players face each other on opposite sides of the grid and launch a hit-and-miss assault on each other’s fleets. Call the shots: Charlie 8! Foxtrot 11! The play hasn’t changed much, but the ships and the battle arena have been nicely updated. Hit or miss, the nostalgia is unavoidable and the fun is intact!
 

Judge's Top Pick! 

Trout Records, 2008; $14.98; www.troutmusic.com; for ages 4 and up. These two talented chaps have been nominated for three Grammy Awards, and here’s why: great songs, great production and great performances. The Trout Fishing formula consists of gentle folk-rock laced with world-music touches and pro-social messages. “Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks” introduces two great American heroes to a new generation, and “Curse of the Spinach” offers a silly explanation of why spinach is yucky, and why we should sympathize with our veggies instead of screaming and running away.

 

For more fishy fun from Trout Fishing in America, check out:

Been There, Survived That: Getting Through Freshman Year of High School, edited by Karen Macklin; Orange Avenue, 2008; $9.95; www.zestbooks.net. This collection of interviews with real teens offers humor, hope and perspective. Been There makes a great gift for a middle-school graduate.

Brighter Minds Media, 2008; $19.95; www.brightermindsmedia.com; for ages 4 to 6. Requires: Windows 2000, XP or Vista, or Macintosh OS X 10.3.9 or newer. With old pal Bob the Builder, the goal is to build five new habitats for the babies that have just arrived at Bobland Bay Zoo. While kids create their own story scenes and earn stickers, they’re learning to identify tools, organize and sort, develop memory and hand-eye coordination, identify shapes and colors, and exercise basic problem solving, planning and time sequencing. Even some of our older kid testers said, “This one is really fun!”