No Spill Bubble Tumbler
(Little Kids $2.99 Score:) The No Spill Bubble Tumbler solves that oh so familiar and upsetting moment when the bottle of bubble solution spills all over the ground. Here the wand goes into the container and is loaded with just the right amount of solution to make a bubble. If you turn the container upside down, nothing will spill out, really! The containers come in mini, regular and super sized (with three wands). A great example of a classic toy made even better by an innovative design.

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

Musical Babipouce
(Corolle $30 Score:) Babies are often fascinated by dolls that look like real babies. This year's Babipouce goes one step further—pull the top of this doll's hat and it plays "Beautiful Dreamer." Like earlier versions of Babipouce, this one is soft and safe enough for baby to handle with sewn-on velour romper and painted face. No moving eyes or doo-dads. You will need to remove ribbon on the doll's hand.

Age: Infants,Toddlers. Award Year: 2008.

Royal Jungle Puppets
(Manhattan Toy $12 Score:) These brightly colored 9" animal hand puppets (lion, monkey, and elephant) are just right for tracking games or just hamming it up for your baby. Our favorite is the lion with the brightly colored mane. This lion is also available as a music box, but it has a metal key- which is unfortunate.

Age: Infants,Toddlers. Award Year: 2008.

Inchworm
(Radio Flyer $39.99 Score:) He's back! Two versions of the classic toy are vying for your inchworm dollars. Playskool had the original green and yellow Inchworm in the '70s but have modified the design a lot with their new Bounce'n'Go Inch-Along. Radio Flyer's Inchworm is truer to the original design but done now in green and red. It is larger than Playskool's and more aesthetically pleasing. In our head to head competition, testers preferred the jaunty, springing action of the Radio Flyer. Both are novelty ride-ons and will not replace a basic ride-on.

Age: Toddlers. Award Year: 2008.

Sorbet Melodie Doll
(Corolle $29.99 Score:) A charming all-fabric doll with velour hair (really!), stitched features and a pretty floral print dress. A perfect first big doll that comes in a very special gift box. Just screams second birthday present!

Age: Toddlers. Award Year: 2008.

Little Petals Daisy Collection
(Mary Meyer $13 Score:) A new funky collection of four 10" all-fabric velour dolls with yarn hair and fun clothing (which does not come off). They look like cousins of the Groovy girls (from Manhattan Toy) —we love that all four dolls are smiling. Come in two skin tones.

Age: Toddlers. Award Year: 2008.

Go Baby Go Stride to Ride Lion
(Fisher-Price $34.99 Score:) None of the plastic push toys are weighted the way they used to be made, so they are not for tots to pull up on. Go Baby Go Stride to Ride Lion is the latest in this line of push walkers from Fisher-Price that converts to a ride-on. This bright yellow push toy has a big lion’s face on the front. Parents liked the convertibility factor, the design and the ability to turn the sound off. Our toddler testers were more interested in making the lion roar than pushing the toy.

Age: Toddlers. Award Year: 2008.

Flip-a Face-Baby Animals Nesting Blocks
(Blue Apple $19.99 Score:) Sturdy, cardboard stacking blocks with bold animal face graphics that can be abracadabra changed! Cut outs on the face of several blocks change the look of the face below. An extra surprise to the usual size order stacking and nesting opportunities. Develops language as well as dexterity and spatial visual skills. 18 months & up.

Age: Toddlers. Award Year: 2008.

Poseable Nutbrown Hare
(Kids Preferred $18 Score:) A plush recreation of a favorite storybook character, Nutbrown Bear, from Guess How Much I Love You. This one has poseable ears and front paws and a silky feel. Bring it home with the book that is available in sturdy board edition or regular format. 2 ˝ & up. The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

Age: Toddlers,Preschool. Award Year: 2008.

Step2 All Star Sports Climber
(Step 2 $99.99 Score:) If you're looking for something that you can use inside that will be great for toddlers to climb on and burn some of that boundless energy, this new compact climber may be just right. Our testers had a toddler and preschooler in the house and were looking for a toy that they could both use (with supervision). Comes with a slide, a basketball hoop on one side, a football toss and a place to kick a soccer ball. Scaled right for the 2 & up crowd. The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

Age: Toddlers. Award Year: 2009.