A story-telling game that can be played as teams or one on one. Players draw cards from the deck and make up a story as they add cards. Can be played solo or up to 8 players. Try this for a sleep over party or a family day. This is one of those games that can be fun for mixed age groups that include everyone from preschoolers to parents and grandparents, too.

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

An unusual game that involves building roadways to reach the key places such as the hospital, school, stores, park and other basic parts of a community. The game is played on a green flocked board and involves players with thinking about the necessary elements of a community and where they are placed. Players need visual discrimination to find the sections of the roadway that will connect from home to the other parts of town. Instead of competing to get rid of your cards, players work together to build the roads to and from home.  This is a quiet game that involves a bit of social studies as well as dexterity and thinking together.  5 & up.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2012.

Unlike a lot of math equation card games, this one has a little story built in that involves the Whozits and the danger of being destroyed by the Green Goo. Players do their best to stop the advance of the Green Goo by making equations—but watch out. Your opponent can snap a negative card on your card and change everything! There are steal cards, too! There are lots of rules, opportunities to use all four operations, as in addition, subtractions, multiplication and division. Once players have the hang of it, strategy can step in and save the Whozits in Wherezit. 8 & up.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2012.

Twenty-four pairs of animal faces for matching up in a classic concentration game. What sets game this apart is the art. The animals have a charming storybook look that will make them fun to talk about. They are wearing interesting hats and expressions. Use them for stretching language or even story telling in addition to making matches. Although this looks like a regular lotto game, the animals chosen go just a few steps beyond the usual farmyard critters--so this is an opportunity to expand their knowing and naming skills as well as encouraging kids to look at details. 5 & up.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2012.

Assemble the strips to create an endless cast of zany faces. Created by artist Saxton Freeman uses his photos of found objects to create images that can represent eyes, noses, mouths and other features from leaves, ribbons, coins and such. There is no right or wrong. Good fun. 4 & up.

SNAP: A good talking game with objects to know and name and extend vocabulary. Use this game for solo play or taking turns adding the top, middle and bottom of faces.

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2012.

Set up the five tier lily pads and get ready to flip your frogs. This is a tiddely winks game for a rainy summer day. Kids can play solo or with friends. All 12 frogs (in three colors) fit into the case for easy storage. This might be a good take along for the summer cottage or sleep away camp. 5-8

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2012.

Our tester, who loves math, naturally liked this game. There are blue and greenish robin eggs in the nest. Each has a negative or positive number that is hidden under them. On your turn you roll the die and then you need to turn as many eggs over to try to get as close to the number on the die. But, keep in mind, your opponent may be able to rob the egg you need. In a way, this is concentration meets math for kids 7 & up.

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

Here's a new twist on Jenga with a whole lot of shaking going on! Set up takes some dexterity, as the ice blocks have to be set up on the penguin's tray. Now players take turns removing an ice block from the tower and placing it on top of the ice tower. But your turn is not over yet. Now, the player presses the go- button that makes the penguin shiver. Keep your fingers crossed that the ice tower doesn't topple! Our test family said, "You can't help but laugh when everything falls down. It's one of those games that isn't very competitive because you are working together to keep the tower up." Their 9-year old son declared this "awesome for all ages." It is marked 5 & up. We think it will be more fun for slightly older kids who have greater dexterity.

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

Spread the treasure cards on the table to create a Plunder Island. On your turn draw any card from the pile. You keep drawing as long as you like--but watch out! Don't be too greedy or you may run into a pirate, yo ho ho! If you draw a pirate card before you stop drawing, you get no treasures to score! You have to get three of a kind to make a score of three points. Winner is the first to get to 10 points. There are a number of other rules that make for a fun game for 2-6 players ages 6 & up.

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

This game is a lot like Connect 4 with round wooden pieces- instead of plastic chips. The object here is to be the first to put four in a row of the same color either horizontally, vertically or diagonally. The playing pieces are painted in light and dark green and the entire game is made with eco friendly bamboo wood. That said, the pieces are small and fit into a choke tube, so this is a game that is not for kids who still mouth their toys. It is marked three and up, but playing the game will be more appropriate for 5's-6's and up.

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