With its big hand grip, this big eyed blue critter is easy for baby to grasp and it's just right for rolling along the floor. It is colorful, light, has textures on each wheel and three fabric tufts (cotton, satin and corduroy) on top of its head. Best of all the gears on its side twirl as it goes along. Lift the gears out and they can be stacked in a tower and then fitted back into their slots. A fine choice for a baby learning to crawl. Over 9 months.
The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

Age: Infants, Toddlers. 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.

Smooth as silk, this little car has a finger hold that little hands can latch onto as they roll the colorful wooden vehicle across the floor. There is a graphic of a puppy in the "driver's seat" that turns along with the wheels. Best of all the body of the car moves gently up and down as the wheels move forward. There is nothing complicated about this baby friendly rolling toy that crawling babies will enjoy. Also see the Baby Tractor ($13) same idea with a different shape. Both are made of eco-friendly rubberwood and they are finished with baby friendly non-toxic dyes that will not chip off. The wheels have patterns that add visual interest. But it’s really all about the action.

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

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

A perfect little vehicle for crawling babies. It's shaped like a tractor…not that most babies will car or understand what a tractor is. What they will love is that it has a finger hold that little hands can latch onto as they roll the colorful vehicle across the floor. The body moves up and down as the wheels move forward. Also see the Puppy Car($13) same idea but a different shape. Both are made of eco-friendly rubberwood that is smooth as silk and splinter-free! They are finished with baby friendly non-toxic dyes that will not chip off. The wheels have patterns that add visual interest. But it's really all about the action.

Age: Infants, Toddlers. Award Year: 2010.

A shiny silver pot of cloth comes with a lid and gaily striped handles. Fun for filling and dumping, it has velour strings of pasta that can be pulled out or pushed into the pot along with three velour rattles in the shapes of a carrot, tomato, and turnip. This is marked 3 months and up, we'd say more like 6-8 months when baby can sit up and enjoy the classic game of fill and dump. These rattles and the pot are also fun for playing around with object permanence. Put a carrot rattle in the pot out of sight with a young baby and they will just ignore it. Play this game again with y our 7-8 month old baby and they will actively look for the missing tomato or carrot. For young babies out of sight is out of mind. But older babies are able to remember something that is not in plain sight. Memory is kicking in. This is one of those toys that really does call for an adult to play along. If you just put it in front of your baby...not much is going to happen. 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: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Soft enough to grasp, this fabric photo cube is covered in colorful patterns that reflect the palette of illustrator Eric Carle. Only the featured players here are pictures of family that you can insert and change form time to time on the sides of the cube. Baby will like looking at familiar faces and the cube can also be fun for rolling or tossing. It has a quiet rattle inside for added sensory interest. 6 months and up.

Age: Infants. Award Year: 2010.

A set of three colorful fabric balls, each the size of a baseball, but soft and giving enough for little hands to grasp. They are covered with interesting graphic patterns that seem to have popped out of an Eric Carle book. Each ball has taggies or textures as well as crinkle or rattle sounds to explore. These are ideal for playing early back and forth games when baby can sit up or crawl. A nice shower gift that won't break the bank.
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: 2010.

An all new look to a press and pop toy that will fascinate sitting up babies. Push the yellow triangle with a smiling face and up pops a twirling purple disk. Push the red head on the top with textured fabrics and it sets a see through circle in motion with small beads inside that rattle and turn. Push the orange head down and up pop three gears that twirl inside. Push the pop-ups down and play it again! The three shapes that activate the motion also come out of their slots. Each has a shape on the bottom that fits back into the matching colored shape and space. So this is a matching game as well as one that introduces shapes and cause and effect. Babies love this kind of toy that allows then to make things happen. Repetition is also a favorite way of learning about cause and effect. This is going to be a big hit with babies. The toy is marked 9 months and up but this would still be a great 1st birthday present.

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

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

The photo doesn't do this huggable justice. A totally adorable green and pale blue doll with velvety velour head, hands, feet and tail with an understuffed - all the better to hug - body of cotton knit. The eyes and buttons on his jammies are stitched on for safety. This is an armful that toddlers will love to cuddle with at sleep time. Part of a larger line of dinos. See a smaller version 7"  Sleepyhead Dinosaur Rattle ($12) with a quiet sound and easy enough for baby to clutch. Infants & 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, Toddlers. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

A canvas bag with strap handles is ready for filling and dumping games that babies love. This charming shopping bag, like Mom’s, comes loaded with five velour veggies with stitched on faces and rattles or squeakers inside. Fun for naming and knowing games that stretch vocabulary, but for starters, it’s all about the multiple pieces to toss, taste, and examine. Along with the bright orange carrot with a squeaker inside, there is a tomato rattle that can double for a rolling ball, a light green pepper rattle, a bright yellow squash rattle, and a pale purple eggplant that squeaks.

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

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