Star Wars fans are likely to have this remote controlled Millennium Falcon on the top of their wish list.  It is very lightweight and takes a certain amount of practice to get it to fly well which is the only reason it's not on the Platinum List. It's not the type of toy that you can hand off to your 8 year old and they will be good to go right from the start.  That said our tween and teen testers really liked adjusting the trim and working on their own ability to work the remote control. And it is the Millennium Falcon after all!

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

Our testers gave this Iron Man inspired RC a rave review.  Red, yellow with a big thick bumper in the front--this car was easy to steer. The "controllers work really well", "it really moves fast!" noted our kid testers and the parents commented that they really like the moderate price.   Silverlit also has a sleeker (all black and grey) RC for older fans ($29.99).  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, Tweens. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Kids can customize their own see-though racers with the stick-on decals. Give them a shake and the "marble" in the center of the vehicle lights up. These will make good party favors or stocking stuffers or a less than costly way to exit the toy store with a small purchase. 3 & up.

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

A red backpack that opens to a small track and storage container for hot wheels. It comes with just one vehicle.

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

Just right for taking along to a play date or Gram's. This backpack opens to a play setting for drag racing your best cars. Shaped like a wheel it transforms to a working side-by-side race track for dramatic play fun. There's a garage area, a winner's circle and built-in parking. On line it says that it comes with two sturdy die cast sports cars, but in fact the toy we tested came with just one vehicle. There are three holders on each side of the drag racing track. Or you can fit as many as 100 loose vehicles in this as a storage bag. Also fun, the HotWheels ZipBin Skull ($20) Shaped like a ramp for race cars to zoom down, this opens into a track and also stores vehicles. It comes with just one car.   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.

A hefty front loader with working parts that will lift sand, or blocks and dump them wherever your construction worker steers it. This is a 15 inch truck that looks big but is not as heavy as your old Tonka trucks used to be. The painted metal trim is encased in plastic and sealed so there are no sharp edges and it should not rust. Also see the Steel Force Dump Truck. For smaller vehicles to take to beach or sandbox, see the Mini Front Loader and Mini Digger with treads from the same Steel Force line. ($16.99 each). 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.

A hefty working 15-inch plastic and steel trimmed dump truck that is light enough for kids to handle. The big wheels will ride through sand and mud and do a good day's work in sandbox or inside for dramatic play, loading and dumping with ease. The painted metal trim is encased in plastic and sealed so there are no sharp edges and it should not rust. 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.

Wait till you try these amazing little vehicles that will follow any dark line you draw! These Doodle-Track vehicles are truly magical! Bring home a blue or red sports car. Small enough to fit in your hand, yet these are loaded with play power. Each vehicle comes with it's own set of colorful stickers, a thick black marker and a small pre-drawn track. The little vehicles have an optical sensor that will follow lines drawn by a thick washable marker or crayon. The company also plans to make tracks with signs and seasonal decorative themes available on line that kids can download and print out at www.doodletrackcar.com.  This is a wonderfully open-ended toy that allows kids to dream up new ways of playing. Add original tracks into block settings or create your own raceway for multiple Doodle-Track vehicles to run. This comes under the heading of many good things come in small packages! Requires 2 AAA batteries. Marked 4 & up.   We think this will be enjoyed by older kids as well...not to mention their parents.    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: 2009. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

We've told you about these Shake 'N Go cars before. To charge them up you have to shake them and off they go.  You get two cars in this new Extreme Speedway set that is packaged with a marvelous set of tracks with a goodly supply of pieces that can be set up in six or more formations. Unlike last season's track, which could only work as a circle, this is far more open-ended. Kids can construct a loop with figure eight track, an oval within an oval, a circle within a circle or many other choices.  Follow the patterns shown or create your own. There are so many ways to use the Easy Track Changeup. The set includes a ramp and barrels for doing tricks. A memorable gift! 

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

SNAP IDEAS: Making the track fit together is pretty open ended now and the pieces are big and easy to put in vrious formations.  But the best parts of this toy are the cars themselves. In fact, you can buy the cars separately. There is no remote controller to make them go. You need to shake the cars and count to ten and va-va-va- voom off they go! There's plenty of built in practice since you ned to count and shake them everytime. What a fun payoff for counting!

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2009. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Happily Thomas and Friends are back! After all of the lead issues, it's nice to see that the company has regrouped and come out with something that will attract train fans! Push one of the special trains through the station and Sir Topham Hatt will great the trains. While we were originally concerned that this additional of technology would overtake the experience, it really enhances the play possibilities. We also LOVE that there is a volume setting since the out of the box setting is really loud. If you already have a lot of trains, you can also just bring home the Stop and Greet Station ($69.99) or the new Cranky the Crane ($69.99) and the new talking trains ($14.99 each). It's all really pricey but very innovative and special.

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: 2009. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.