Games to Go
(Alex $25.99 Score:) Six oversized 36" game boards for classics such as checkers, mancala, tic-tac-toe, snakes and ladders, backgammon, and Chinese checkers are printed with colorful graphics on fabric. Games are bound together like a giant book along with big playing pieces that all store in a zip-up bag. Clever way to take games along to beach or grandmas or a sleep over party. 5 & up. 5 & up. (800) 666-2539.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2007.

Imaginetics
(International Playthings $6.99 Score:) These are similar to the Colorforms we grew up with, but they are magnetic. 5s and 6s will enjoy playing with these in the car and airport on their own or with you. New sets include Angelina Ballerina Friends Forever and Bob the Builder Sunflower Valley. (800) 445-8347.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2007.

Game Night
(Chronicle $24.95 Score:) Okay, if you know how to play all the card and dice games in the book, you don’t need this set. But if you are like most of us, this deck of cards, dice and cup, score board, stickers, and most important of all, game book, explains and allow you to play 11 games such as Crazy Eights, Hearts, Rummy, Hooligan, Snakes, and others. 6 & up.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2007.

Number Chase
(3M $8 Score:) Put the numbers cards out from one to fifty (that alone is a good learning task for 6s and 7s). One person thinks of a secret number. Other player turns one card over at a time and asks question that helps discover the secret number. A good game for learning number value and sequencing. 6 & up. (866) 999-9654. www.playrooment.com.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2007.

Trapecolo
(HaPe $24.99 Score:) Create colorful patterns with 180 trapezoid shapes that fit into a large six-sided wooden frame. Patterns are shown in the brochure, but not full size, so these are more challenging. Marked 4–99, we’d say more like 6 & up. Making a design with these multicolored blocks takes visual perception as well as patience and problem-solving skills. For a simpler set, we still suggest a classic BLUE CHIP Parquetry Blocks Super Set (Learning Resources $26.95 5), thirty-two geometrically shaped tiles kids arrange on top of 20 colorful patterns. BUt this new set from HaPe is more challenging.

Age: Preschool,Early School Years. Award Year: 2007.

1001 Nights
(Haba $35 Score:) This is a handsome set of tiles that can be used in open-ended format to create a skyline of minarets and domes, à la 1001 Arabian Nights. There are multiple patterns that children can follow, and matching the tiles calls for visual perception. A good quiet time activity. (800) 468-6873.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2007.

Egyptology Puzzle
(Mudpuppy Press $11 Score:) Based on the book Egyptology from Candlewick, this handsome 100-piece puzzle is smartly designed with good clues in the graphics. If you have a child in the midst of all things Egyptian, this will be a prize! Puzzle image is printed on the metal storage tin. 7 & up. (212) 354-8840.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2007.

Lego City Puzzles
(Ravensburger $10 Score:) Choose from two cityscape scenes, one of a fire with Lego trucks and helicopter or a police station with police copter. Both puzzles are 60 pieces and include a bonus Lego vehicle to build and play with after the puzzle is assembled. Also top rated, City Scenes ($10 4). Three 49-piece puzzles with different patterns on the back to sort them. Small pieces for more advanced puzzlers. 5 & up. (800) 886-1236.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2007.

Big Bad Boomin' Bugs Observation Station
(Little Kids $19.99 Score:) Catch your bug with the capture-and-carry bug scooper, drop it into the 12" x 8" dome with powerful 3X magnifying lens on top. Plug in the earphones and you can listen to the bug chew, crawl, chirp, click, or buzz! A multi-sensory bug experience. (800) 545-5437. For a smaller bug chamber, Backyard Safari Bug Scope (Summit Toys $12.99 4) Hunters have to catch the bug under the open end of this temporary trap. Designed with a light to aid viewing. (205) 661-1174.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2007.

Dinosaur Excavation Kit
(Usborne $17.99 Score:) Archeologists in training will have fun digging out the bones of a T-Rex from the clay block. Complete with goggles*, brush, chisel, and hammer. Assemble the bones and read the book, which introduces beginning readers to the many kinds of dinosaurs. No glue included. *These goggles are not actually safety devices.

Age: Early School Years,Later School Years. Award Year: 2007.