Roll & Rhyme Melody Block
(LeapFrog $19.99 Score:) Turn this big fabric block and it either plays music or says a rhyme about the animal featured on the topmost face. The block includes a small mirror, peek-a-boo leaves that open to reveal a parrot, a polar bear that slides on the snow, a fox that pops in and out of its den, and a lion with a satiny mane. Fun for rolling as well as exploring its textures and sounds. They say birth & up, we’d say more like 6 mos. & up. SNAP: Pleasingly easy to activate. Use this for a sing along or talking moment..naming the illustrations on the block or immitating the sounds.

Age: Infants. Award Year: 2004.

Tolo First Friends Carousel
(Reeves International $20 Score:)

So happy that this wonderful toy is back in the market! A former Platinum Award winner, it's now on our Blue Chip Award List. What we wrote in 2002: Finding easy-to-activate toys is key for young babies who are just learning the power of making something happen. Tolo First Friends Carousel comes with a big knob to make the little people spin inside a see-through dome.

Age: Infants. Award Year: 2004. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Put and Peek Birdhouse
(Manhattan Toy $19.95 Score:) This cheerful fabric birdhouse is a parent-intensive toy with lots of possibilities for hamming it up. You an fly the four birds into the house (the roof opens wide, as does one side). Our nine month old tester favored holding (and tasting) the red bird as he watched his father fly the other ones about. Preferrable to Infantino's Puppies Playhouse (same idea, but the animals aren't as nice and the house is smaller and not see-through).

Age: Infants. Award Year: 2005.

Roll-a-Rounds Drop & Roar Dinosaur
(Fisher-Price $35 Score:) This is a ball run with multiple openings from which balls appear. Played with sounds and lights or in silence, it can be enjoyed by a sitting-down baby. That said, this is a large piece of green plastic and younger babies may have trouble fitting the balls into the holes on the front of the dino, rather than dropping them in—as they can in Roll-a-Rounds Swirlin’ Surprise Gumballs ($17.99 4 1⁄2). This is a much smaller ball drop with a lever that pops the gumballs out. It employs more direct cause and effect, but it does tip over easily. Either is a better choice than the Jungle Friends Treehouse (), a frenetic ball drop with over-the-top sounds and twirling bases. (800) 432-5437.

Age: Infants,Toddlers. Award Year: 2006.

Lamaze Chime Garden
(Learning Curve International $24.99 Score:) Our eight-month old tester enjoyed tapping the flowers on this colorful floor toy. Talk about making things happen, his touch set off a not-too-loud chime and a light, as well. This is scaled just right for the sitting up baby. Flick a switch and instead of single sounds each flower will play a familiar song. An attractive musical toy that gives baby a sense of empowerment and a beginning grasp of cause and effect. The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. A sample of this toy was tested in an independent lab and determined to be lead free.

Age: Infants,Toddlers. Award Year: 2008.

Amazing Baby Clicky Duck
(Kids Preferred $15 Score:) Twist the ducks soft patterned fabric body for a pleasing clicking sound, squeeze its “arms” for crinkle sounds. It has two chewy orange flapper feet and satin ribbons for extra interest and texture. Comes on a black and white clip for hanging on the stroller, but this one will be fun for sitting up babies who are ready for two handed play and making something happen! 8 months & up. The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

Age: Infants. Award Year: 2008.

Crayola TaDoodles Drop & See
(Crayola $19.99 Score:) Unlike most ball drop toys that run from top to bottom, the ball in this run travels one level at a time. This is a good idea in designing toys for babies. Too many are frenetic and go so fast it is hard for babies to see any cause and effect. Here there are three levels and baby needs to activate the ball to move along at each level with a push of a lever. In a sense, this should make it easier to track visually and puts baby in charge of making the action happen. Each lever activates a sound and motion. Unfortunately, the idea and design did not work as we hoped it would. Several testers reported that the levers were just too hard for even 18 month old babies to activate and that the toy fell over a lot, making it more frustrating than fun for younger kids. The question is--will it hold the interest of older kids. We don’t think so. We really liked the idea of this toy and that it has a volume control and the tower on the side that stores the three balls. The color walls effect color changes, but we doubt babies will see these or understand anything about color mixing. Take 3AA batteries. 9 months & up.

Age: Infants,Toddlers. Award Year: .

Alex Jr Prickly Play Porcupine
(Alex $29.99 Score:)

A visually stimulating floor toy for sitting up babies. Along its velour striped back there are cone shaped points with interesting patterns and textures for little hands to explore. The porcupine's face with pink nose and stitched features has a squeaker inside...that will need to be activated by an adult. Turn it over and surprise...there’s a peek a boo mirror that baby can see his own image! The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

 

Age: Infants. Award Year: 2009. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Swirlin' Saucer
(Fisher-Price $12.95 Score:) Our seven month old tester loved picking up the over-sized plastic balls and dropping them in the saucer. You can turn on the toy base so that the saucer shakes and makes noise as the balls drop. When you first introduce the toy we recommend starting with the sound and motion off. A pleasingly easy to activate first floor toy.

Age: Infants,Toddlers. Award Year: 2005.

Earlyears Click N Spin Highchair Flower
(International Playthings $15.99 Score:) This colorful flower suctions to the high chair tray. Petals have spinners, a mirror, textures, patterns, and sounds for sitting-up baby to activate. (800) 445-8347.

Age: Infants. Award Year: 2006.