What a playful paper doll set this is! Fans of the Ivy and Bean books are going to love the two stand up dolls that step right out of the pages of their books. They come with a reversible setting showing indoors and out and 100 vinyl stickers for dressing up. Best of all the stickers themselves are funny, with masks, funny glasses, zany clothing that will produce smiles. Enough here for play-date fun. While you are at it, bring home a new Ivy and Bean book. 5 & up.

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

We'll admit it, one of us is obsessed with glow in the dark toys. So when anything arrives that promises to work in the dark, we're all in for checking it out. Glow Crazy comes with two big cling surfaces that you can put up on your wall easily (and without mess), and a big "magic" stylus that allows you to "draw" on the surface in the dark from a far. It's really a flashlight, not a laser - so it does not present the safety issues that laser pointers do--although we don't suggest looking into the flashlight either! The set comes with stencils, but our testers most enjoyed the open-endedness of this product. Fun!

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

What could be better than bringing home one of your childhood favorite toys and sharing it with your children or grandchildren? That's what you can do with this replica of the original Colorforms Set that has 350 geometric pieces in a spiral book and playboards to put them on. Unlike all the licensed images that followed since 1951, this is a more open ended set that allows kids to create their own themes. There is a small insert with images that can be copied, but best of all, this is an invitation to explore and discover how shapes can be transformed into designs and less literal images from one's own imagination. It's also an art form with no messy residue and no right or wrong rules. Getting the pages started may call for some adult help, but playing with the shapes develops fine motor skills, dexterity, and creative thinking.

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

A basic arts and crafts activity kit that now has a "green" edge to it. Our testers thought this kid was just right for a play date or when you have more than one child at play. Comes with 20 crafts to work on including creating puppets, animals and jewlery. The kit uses recycled stickers ( an impressive  428),   6 recycled colored pencils, 42 craft sticks, a wooden spoon, fort and spatua, 42 wooden buttons,
ribbon, glue stick, tissue paper - you get the idea. With some instructions for the projects. 

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

If the kids are having a sleepover or you are having a Halloween party, here's small glow-in-the-dark paint kit with four premade pictures that kids simply paint. There are no blank papers for free-form painting, so this is more like the pages of a coloring book with premade art. It's also pretty short lived since the glow fades after what the manufacturer calls "four fantastic hours." That said, it's a way to have a little quiet sit-down fun. You turn the lights down after the paint is mixed in the special tray and listen to their oooo's and ahhhhh's as the special effects glow in the dark. It's a novelty and a nice activity for what might otherwise be a long night. BUT be forewarned, the manufacturer shows on the package that the glow paints do stain. Be sure to cover the work surfaces and their clothes before they start. 6 & up

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

A perfect set for best friends to share. It's a set with two scrapbooks plus ribbons, scissors, pens, self-adhesive frames, stencils, flowers, glitter stickers, papers, glue sticks, rhinestones, and everything they need to make two unique books. The hard-covered scrapbooks have 10 pages and 20 layouts to guide beginners in the art of scrapbooking.  This would be fun for a sleep over or day long playdate that best friends often enjoy.   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. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

You have probably seen these glow sticks at parties, but here's a new twist. These come with plastic connectors with sprockets that allow you to construct some amazing structures that kids can wear or display. These would be fun for a pajama party to keep kids busy and eager to turn off the lights--so they can wear their glow in the dark creations. The set comes with three colors, 40 glow sticks, and 18 connectors. Of course, the glow part fades after a few hours, so this is basically a disposable novelty item. But, so are birthday celebrations and family events. This buys you a little quiet time for busy hands and ooos and ahhhs.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Remember those small wooden looms that you could make a really, really long knitted tube from? I never quite got the hang of them or really understood what to do with the tube when I was done. Well, this kit has both a plastic version of the old school size as well as a really big loom!  With the big loom you can make a hat, a tube dress for your doll, or maybe even a small purse. The set comes with three skeins of colorful yarn (pink, red and purple), embroidery thread, pony beads, a knitting hook, a yarn needle, a thread needle, needle threader, a tassle maker and ideas for projects.  A nice starter kit for needlework. Althought I think these kits work best if someone is around who remembers how to do these crafts!

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years, Tweens. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

A perfect activity for a Mother's Day present. The set comes with two pairs of flip flops (one for Mom and one for a daughter).  The big pair of zebra printed flip flops are said to be a Big Kid size 4-7 but our mom tester with a woman's size 7 1/2 was able to use these.  SO I guess we should say they will fit mom with average or smaller feet!!  The smaller cheetah pink flip flops are designed to fit a child's 11-2 shoe size. If you're in doubt the back of the box has a shoe print of both flip flops so that you can see if they'll fit. The set also comes with lots of satin ribbon, fabric flowers, craft gule, heart rhinetstones, self-adhesive rhinestone trim (our testers liked this aspect alot!) and a handy scissors.    A fun summer time craft!

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Granted there isn't a whole lot of "arts and crafts" in this kit, but it was a hit with our testers who loved the little puppy.  Comes with a tutu, a crown, pearls, bows and little stick on "gems" to add to the crown. At the end of the day this is a very cute puppy with a wardrobe!  It also comes with a comb and brush.   There is also a mask for the eyes--for serious spa time rest.

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.