Rich colors to choose from this set of non-toxic oil pastels. They come in a slide out box with sturdy tray that will keep them well stored between uses. Although pastels can be blended, these come with a rich variety of hues making it possible to achieve even greater variety by switching from one pastel to another. There are six shades of green alone and a wonderful collection of reds, blues and more. The set ranges from pastels to jewel tones. Of course, pastels are messier than crayons, so protect the table surface they work on and their clothes. This set and several others with different graphics are available from eeBoo. 5 and up, up, up.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2013. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Three fabric covered balls to learn to juggle with. It comes with a poster that starts you out with juggling one ball, then two and finally, lot of luck-- try three! A fun choice for active play that challenges dexterity and eye hand in a BIG-G-G way!

Age: Later School Years, Tweens. Award Year: 2013.

The "X" design of this new sticker maker makes for a fun modern piece of room decor. And even better, it's very easy to use. The set comes with many sets of premade art for coloring in (including a page of velvet-shaped art), but from our point of view we loved that you can make your own stickers from photographs or things you find in magazines. Comes with markers, a sticker journal, pre-made shapes and one refill. Additional refills are available from the company for $7.95.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2013. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

We're big fans of 3D wonder paint. It's great fun to make the designs and then decorate your windows with them. Our biggest problem is that we never wait long enough to let it dry so we always have one that is smushed a bit. This kit comes with six glitter paints (some are intended as liners), suggested traceable patterns, 2 plastic project sheets (where you place the glitter paint), self-adhesive rhinestones and instructions. You can either attach your snowflakes to the window or make 3D ornaments that can be hung up with the included satin ribbon. We had less success with the new Activity Kit -- that is intended for making 3D flowers. Ours just didn't work out very well.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years, Tweens. Award Year: 2013.

A really satisifying kit for adding some light and sparkle to any room. Comes with three battery powered (batteries included) round clear plastic globe bulbs that have faceted surfaces. The set comes with plastic leaves, shimmering fabrics, beads, self-adhesive rhinestones, thread, double-sided sticky foam, a bead threader and an instruction book with ideas.  Comes with green satin cords to hang the lights up with. Very pretty and our testers liked that the bulbs have three different settings for varying d

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2013.

A loom for making something special you can really wear...naturally this craft kit made a huge hit with our tween tester. What you get is a knitting loom with 2 rows of 12 pegs. It’s not hard and the instructions are clear and easy to follow. You just wind the yarn in a zig-zag fashion going back and forth. The end product is great and even better when you buy a heavier yarn and make another one or more. 10 & up, up, up.

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

Build a control tower and a jet plane that light up and flash when you make the right circuitry connections. This is one of a new series of construction sets that comes with a battery pack and lots of challenges to dexterity and problem solving. Marked six and up but we’d say it's more like an 8 and up, up, up kit. Younger builders are going to need parental help to learn how to install the plug in ports and figure out the less than clear directions, that the company says they hope to improve in the future. That said, the end results are showy and fun for dramatic play. This is the smaller kit and there are several still smaller ones (which might be a good way to try it out) as well as one big wow of a kit called Extreme City Lights ($99 ). Once built these will be fun to use for dramatic play with Lego and Playmobil settings. Kids can also use the components to create their own structures with the multiple building pieces. 8 & up.

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

Dominoes move over! Colorfall is a set of wooden playing pieces that look like dominoes without the dots. Matching is done by color, if matching is what you want to do. However, there is so much more to do with these handsome playing pieces. Have kids create their own patterns or play a pattern game of what comes next. Then, for real challenges, use the cards to build colorful "pictures" of creatures. The cards tell how many dominoes of each color are needed to make the picture. So there is counting and sorting. But arranging them calls for problem solving and spatial visual skills. There are designs that will fall with a tap if the pieces are put close enough to fall on each other as they drop. All the pieces can be stored in the big canvas drawstring bag it comes in. A good cooperative or solo game that invites planning, dexterity, and patience. 8 & up

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

Picking up on this year's political banter, the folks at Etch-A-Sketch have provided both blue and red versions of their classic product.

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

A handsome colorful first ukulele. This is not a toy, but a first instrument with a bright painted wooden body and steel strings. The instrument does not come with music or instruction, though the company plans to put music on their website. This French company is new to American markets. They also make a guitar and a neat xylophone. These are marked 3 and up, but more appropriate for older preschoolers and early school years children.

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