A great combination of two favorite play modes for learning about cause and effect and making things happen. There’s an easy to activate ball drop with two balls that roll down a chute and best of all, there is a set of colorful gears that twirl and play music. Tots can activate the gears by moving them directly or by pressing the red happy face button. The gears on the side of the toy are locked in, but the ones at the base can be lifted off and stacked on each other. This is a wonderful floor toy for sitting up babies and young toddlers. It has musical sounds, but they can be turned off. Depends on your baby and your own tolerance for electronic sound effects. This will be enjoyed with parental help by sitting up babies and independently by toddlers. 9 months & up.

The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

SNAP: There are good-sized pieces in this two-way cause and effect toy. The two balls are the right size for grasping with the whole hand and learning to release them from the hand is the second part of the trick. Unlike so many ball drops, this is uncomplicated and yet satisfying. The colorful gears can be used for reinforcing color names. They are usable for stacking as well as fitting together like a puzzle that moves. Best of all, the big red button allows them to make the gears spin…allowing a direct kind of lesson in cause and effect. Adaptation: This is an engaging toy that may need to be taped down for stability. That means leaving the sound off or using a tape that can be lifted and replaced with ease since the sound button is on the bottom of the toy.

Age: Infants, Toddlers. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Although many toys are supposed to "grow" with your child, most tend to fit one stage better than another. This one really is a keeper for babies as well as toddlers. For the sitting up baby, this is an ideal floor toy with six Stack ‘n Surprise blocks under the peg back of the Croc. It's an ideal put and take toy with places to stack the blocks that pop up as they are put on the big pegs. The green Croc's mouth opens and when you put the blocks in its mouth they reappear with peek-a-boo magic inside the Croc. The rolling eyes of the croc move with a swipe of a hand. Put a block on the back and it will rise. All of these activities are meant for babies even before they can walk about. But, now, open the long handle that locks under the body of the Croc and your toddler will use this for a pull along or push along toy as they begin to walk about. All the stacking blocks with jolly faces can ride along or stay inside. There is sound and a volume control, but happily it can be turned off and is the least important part of the toy. Although this will be enjoyed by infants who are sitting up, it will also be a great treat for a 1st birthday gift. 6 months & up.

The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

SNAP:  A fun way to play peek-a-boo games that teach children about object permanence. Put the block inside of the Crocs mouth and abra-ca-dabra they reappear under the Croc's back. There are easy to activate cause and effect games here with a swipe of the hand they can make the Croc's eye’s roll or pop up action in the blocks when they are sacked. For children with locomotion delays, this is a good-sized rolling toy that can convert into a push or pull toy. The sounds can be turned off, but they too have a lot to do with cause and effect since the music plays when you open the Croc’s mouth or roll it along. Happily, it can be enjoyed with or without sound.

Age: Infants, Toddlers. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

For kids who are learning about odds and evens and place value, this is a fun game that reinforces such concepts. The elephant playing cards, each with a numeral on it, are laid out as for a concentration game. But, that’s where the similarity ends. Each player starts with one card face up. First player puts the mouse on one of the playing field cards and throws the dice. One die tells how many moves to make, the other tells if the number you turn up has to be higher or lower that your card, or an odd or even number. If the number is higher and the arrow points up, you can take the card and go again. You can keep playing each of the cards adjacent to the mouse. But watch out! If you try to take too many chances and the card you turn is worth less when it is supposed to be more, you must put all your winnings from that round back into the slush pile. The winner is the first to win ten cards. 8 & up.

The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

It's rush hour at the Ring-Ding Diner. Players each have a guest check. Player one rolls the die to add dishes to their pictorial check. If the die has a bell be the first to hit the bell and grab the grub that matches your check. But be careful. If someone rolls a swap you have to give them your check with all the cards on it. Kids will like the bell and the pace of this game—though some may find the swapping part as hard to take as falling on a downward chute in Chutes and Ladders. You need to be pretty quick to get to the bell first and use visual discrimination to make speedy matches and fill your "check." 6 & up.

The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

For kids who are into building blocks, here is an exciting add-on—a set of ten smooth wooden blocks with mylar windows that reflect like a glass mirror without the danger of glass. They have rounded corners, include four shapes (rectangles, squares, triangles, and half moons) and are sized to match standard unit blocks. These will add a new dimension to buildings, inviting creative optical explorations. 3 & up.

The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Finding puzzles for beginners is not easy. Many have too many pieces and tiny knobs or no knobs at all for lifting the pieces. This is the exception. Beautifully crafted in wood with stout handles, the five geometric puzzle pieces fit into a slanting board that lifts it off the table top or floor. Each shape is painted to match the place on the board where it fits. You can talk about the colors and shapes as they use this toy to reinforce shape and color concepts. Marked 1 and up, we think this is a better choice for 18 months and up.

The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

SNAP IDEAS: For children with difficulty grasping objects, adapt this by slipping a large foam curler over the handle. Children can also use these shapes for tracing or making patterns by pressing them into play doh. For all the reasons listed above this is a solid choice for developing language and math concepts as well as dexterity and matching skills. ACTIVITIES: Play a shape finding game. Play a circle game by looking for all the things in the room you are in that are shaped like a circle. Another time make a riddle of it. I Spy something in this room or on the table that is the same shape as the circle. Declare today Circle day and eat a lot of foods that are circular..i.e. cherrios, doughnut, crackers, burgers, berries. Cut up a banana into disks and count how many sweet circles there are to eat.

Age: Toddlers, Preschool. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

A see through container with colorful fabric trim and leaves. Inside baby can drop or take out the colorful fabric shapes that are printed with letters of the alphabet. Each shape has a different sound effect inside. This is not about learning letters or counting. It just happens to be an attractive toy for filling and dumping games that babies enjoy. You can add other items to the holder that have interesting textures.   

SNAP: Add pieces of fabric to the holder and talk about the way they feel. Try a washcloth, a satiny toy, a bumpy fabric such as corduroy, a wooden block, etc.

Age: Infants. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Our test family found this game "Awesome!" It's an all new form of Twister. This is played with a color spinner and instead of a mat, players use colored hoops that connect with varying body parts. There are five different variations of the game. Some involve tossing the hoops and catching them where they belong, others are more direct. However you choose to play, get ready for laughter, action and loads of fun. This is a great outdoor game and can be enjoyed by multi-age groups, including parents. Warning: this is not for kids under three since it contains a small ball, balloons, and other small parts that might be choking hazards. 6 & up.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years, Tweens, Teens, Adult. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

If you grew up throwing little gliders, you'll want to try this new steroidal version from Air Hogs. Its wing span is an impressive 4 feet.  We tested it over several days, and it does as the packaging indiates soar 45 feet if you get a good throw.  Our sample broke apart several times but did not break.  At $9.99 this seems like a reasonable novelty toy that will be enjoyed by many--and there will be no serious tears if it ends up stuck in a tree! A gentle wind or long broom will get it down. We also liked the "no batteries needed" - a welcome departure for the Air Hogs brand.

Age: Later School Years, Tweens, Teens. Award Year: 2010.

We asked some of our most loyal Monopoly fans to take a serious look at the new U-Build version.  Now these are the same testers that rejected the electronic reader and score counter "takes the math out of it!" 

So we waited with great interest to see how they would respond to this new challenger. Kind of like the cereal commercial and Mikey..."they liked it!"...with the following qualifications.  1. It does not replace playing the traditional game. 2. It's somewhat cynical and gives a nod to the realities of the modern world--there are hazards that decrease the value of your property (nearby sewage works, prisons or power stations).  3. They liked that you can determine the length of the game by how many pieces you build with. Now for hard core, epic battle kind of Monopoly folks this may be too far afield to be in their comfort zone.  4. Our parents noted that while they are able to assist their younger kids with tradtional Monopoly, this one did require kids to be at least 8 (the age recommended on the box). 5. They enjoyed putting the districts together with the hexagon tiles.

From all of the new U-Build Games we received this summer, the U-Build Monopoly clearly rated the best.  The U-Build Mousetrap got poor marks for being not as cool as the original.  U-Build Connect 4 and Battleship--also did not impress our testers.  They all wanted to go back to the original.  Building your own game board is a big trend this year. LEGO also introduced new games that require building before you can play.  These did well with our testers across the board.

Age: Later School Years, Tweens. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.