A loom for making something special you can really wear...naturally this craft kit made a huge hit with our tween tester. What you get is a knitting loom with 2 rows of 12 pegs. It’s not hard and the instructions are clear and easy to follow. You just wind the yarn in a zig-zag fashion going back and forth. The end product is great and even better when you buy a heavier yarn and make another one or more. 10 & up, up, up.

Age: Later School Years, Tweens. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Dominoes move over! Colorfall is a set of wooden playing pieces that look like dominoes without the dots. Matching is done by color, if matching is what you want to do. However, there is so much more to do with these handsome playing pieces. Have kids create their own patterns or play a pattern game of what comes next. Then, for real challenges, use the cards to build colorful "pictures" of creatures. The cards tell how many dominoes of each color are needed to make the picture. So there is counting and sorting. But arranging them calls for problem solving and spatial visual skills. There are designs that will fall with a tap if the pieces are put close enough to fall on each other as they drop. All the pieces can be stored in the big canvas drawstring bag it comes in. A good cooperative or solo game that invites planning, dexterity, and patience. 8 & up

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Designed for older and more experienced builders, this is a 560 piece replica of the White House.
A booklet has details about the design and history of the house. When it is put together it is only 9-inches wide and stands on a base with the label to identify it—not that it needs much identification. Be forewarned the pieces are small and call for fine motor skills and patience. 12 & up.

Age: Tweens. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

A handsome colorful first ukulele. This is not a toy, but a first instrument with a bright painted wooden body and steel strings. The instrument does not come with music or instruction, though the company plans to put music on their website. This French company is new to American markets. They also make a guitar and a neat xylophone. These are marked 3 and up, but more appropriate for older preschoolers and early school years children.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

A stunning 18" version of Merida steps out of the film Brave and onto the shelf where she can be admired by young collectors. We do not usually do collector dolls and this red-haired beauty in her royal robes and velvet gown is not a play doll. That said, she will fill a special place for older girls. There are several other versions of Merida that have soft bodies, tons of hair and a much lower price tag. Our testers especially liked the Merida Toddler girl($20) with her quirky smile and jaunty look. Fashion doll fans like the 16" princess ($20) who is wearing a much less pricey knockoff of the same outfit the collector doll is wearing. 6 & up.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

One of an adorable collection of 7-inch dolls with removable clothing and moveable joints for poseable play. They have painted faces with big eyes and plenty of hair to arrange. These are not fashion dolls in the traditional sense, but girl dolls. Their clothes have a high-end look, though the girls are plastic and not overly pricey. Marked 3 & up although kids under 5-6 will seldom have the dexterity to dress them. Also see Snow Queen doll and Spring Celebration Ballet doll from the same line.

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

One of an adorable collection of 7-inch dolls with removable clothing and moveable joints for poseable play. They have painted faces with big eyes and plenty of hair to arrange. These are not fashion dolls in the traditional sense, but girl dolls. Their clothes have a high-end look, though the girls are plastic and not overly pricey. Marked 3 & up although kids under 5-6 will seldom have the dexterity to dress them. Also see Pony Flag Race rider doll and Spring Celebration Ballet doll from the same line.

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

One of an adorable collection of 7-inch dolls with removable clothing and moveable joints for poseable play. They have painted faces with big eyes and plenty of hair to arrange. These are not fashion dolls in the traditional sense, but girl dolls. Their clothes have a high-end look, though the girls are plastic and not overly pricey. Marked 3 & up although kids under 5-6 will seldom have the dexterity to dress them. Also see Pony Flag Race rider doll and Snow Queen from the same line.

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

From our friends across the pond, comes a new collection of girl dolls that will give our well-loved historic American Girl Dolls a run for the money. The dolls, each from a different time period, are executed with the kind of finesse of a Masterpiece Theater production. Amelia, a Victorian girl, is about to turn 13. Her wardrobe, a pink Victorian party dress, her velvet opera cloak, and a gauzy blue stage costume are all part of the fare. She comes dressed in a charming school girl's blue cotton dress, a straw hat, and two toned button shoes. Her jointed arms and legs make her playable, although she looks in every way like a worthy collectible - the kind you were supposed to keep on a shelf. Each additional outfit is pricey, but a stunning time piece that older girls (and even collectors) will appreciate. Her two-piece pink party dress has a lace-trimmed bodice with tiny buttons, a skirt with bows, a lace hat with a puff of white feathers, and pink silk slippers. The A Girl for All Time collection actually begins with a sterner looking doll, Matilda, a Tudor girl of 13, who becomes a lady in waiting in the court of Henry VIII. She also has a marvelous set of clothing and an interesting back-story. Each of the dolls has a novel (we have not read them yet) that will introduce older girls of 8 & up to a chapter of English history. These are seriously designed for older girls, for that last beautiful doll that is often remembered or even treasured as a lasting gift of childhood. Our review of the books will come later. 8 & up. These are only available at this time online.
www.agirlforalltime.us

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2012.

Happy-go-lucky Elmo is bubbling over with laughs again. Press his foot and his laughing begins, squeeze the remote control fishbowl and he laughs and wiggles even more. Tickle his tummy and Elmo not only laughs, he tells little jokes, too. Guaranteed to bring on a case of the giggles, this season's Elmo is smaller than he used to be and not too cuddly. You can feel the mechanism through his plush body. That said, this is a novelty toy that will be a sure fire favorite of kids and grown-ups alike. 18 months and up.

SNAP: Activating Elmo just might interest kids who need to work on strengthening hands and fingers. Elmo certainly will motivate them and there are three different ways to discover and remember how he moves. Squeeze his foot, tickle his tummy and press the remote. That's a lot of ways to make things happen. Is it a long term toy? Probably not. This is one of those novelty items that has some redeeming features.

Age: Toddlers, Preschool. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.