$350; www.zinkotek.com; for ages 3 and up. Made of recyclable EVA foam material, this oversized building set inspires children to stretch their imaginations indoors and out. Kids connect multishaped pieces to create tabletop structures or life-size playhouses, rockets, lemonade stands and puppet theaters. The sturdy construction lets kids play inside their masterpieces and the set is large enough for several children to play together. This toy can grow with a child for years and years, and the complexity of the structures will increase as the child’s logistical thinking matures.

 

For more big building for little hands, check out:

Zip Sheets®, Zip Sheets®; $79-$119; www.zipsheets.com.

Make middle-of-the-night crib (or twin bed) clean-ups easier with the help of Zip Sheets. The all-cotton, three-piece set comes with one zippered mattress cover and two Piddle Pads, which are fire rated for safety and ingeniously designed to eliminate entanglement. To install, just zip the cover around your baby’s crib mattress and affix the Piddle Pad using the Velcro fasteners. To change the sheets, just remove the waterproof Piddle Pad and replace it with a clean one – using just one hand! You’re done in minutes: a dry bed for your child and more sleep for each of you!


 “It’s a great design and so much better than anything out there. It is the only bedding you need.”
– Mom Tester

“It’s an awesome product! I love that one thing takes the place of two. The sheets are fire rated and the zips and Velcro are completely covered and out of reach.”
– Mom Tester

“Crib sheets are always difficult to put on and remove. These are a huge improvement on standard sheets because you can change them so much faster. They fit on my toddler’s mattress, also.”
– Mom Tester
 

Zoodles, Inquisitive Minds, Inc., 2009; free, premium memberships start at $7.95/month; www.zoodles.com; ages 2 to 8.

 

For parents concerned about unleashing their child, unprotected, on the Information Superhighway, this child-friendly browser offers educational content and includes controls that parents set to monitor their children’s online experiences through the Zoodles Dashboard. The site also includes a virtual toybox with online games, and features content from sites recommended by schools, such as FunBrain. 

Zooboogie! Steve Pullara & His Cool Beans Band, Cool Beans Music, 2008; $15.99; www.coolbeansmusic.com; ages 9 and up.

This joyously upbeat performance about all things animal is a veritable musical mélange of fur, feathers, fluff and leather in a plethora of styles, from rock to swing. A little bit of musical comedy and a little bit of tin pan alley brings elephants, penguins, mice and ponies to life. Special kudos go to the outstanding track, “The Elephant Who Couldn’t Pay Her Rent.”
 

ZiggityZoom.com, ZiggityZoom LLC, 2008; Free; www.ziggityzoom.com; ages 2 to 8.

 

This cute Web site for young children features a variety of simple, yet fun activities, including digital “colorforms,” mazes, printable activities and coloring sheets, as well as parent resources. Our judge’s favorite game here is “Feed the Monster,” in which players drag individual food items into the hands of a goofy little green monster that gobbles them up and exclaims, “Yummy,” after devouring each treat. It may seem simple, but little kids will surely find delight in this and other mini-games on the site. 

ZillaDog.com, ZillaDog.com LLC, 2007; Free; www.zilladog.com; ages 7 to 13.

 

This Web-based email site for kids enables parents to manage and monitor their child’s email communications, especially for kids under the age of 13. With so much inappropriate spam reaching free mailboxes, ZillaDog is a safe alternative for parents who want their kids to have limited email access. Parents can also manage buddy lists and request to receive copies of all incoming and outgoing mail from their child’s account.