(Creativity for Kids $10.00) For the aspiring author/artist, this is a perfect gift that they can use to create their own storybooks and illustrations. There are two blank hardcover books (6x8 and 8x11) each with lined pages and pre-made boxes where art can go. Young artists can use the 12 colors of the half and half markers plus 75 colorful stickers to enhance their art. This is a fun way to keep school skills alive during the summer. Ages: Early School Oppenheim Toy Portfol

(Mindware $21.99) Designed for twos who are not exactly game players, yet. It’s really a matching game to play with older twos. There’s a little suitcase, that's loaded with the items on each trip card. First, you and your game player decide where you are going…to Grandma’s to go sledding, the beach, the forest or school. Put the illustrated list in plain sight. Now put the playing pieces out, so they can be chosen to match the list. Count the pieces to be sure you have them

(Company Name $0.00) Introduce preschoolers to concepts of opposites with this board book featuring wild animals that are shown clearly in pairs of opposites…an elephant and a bird that are big and small, a giraffe and a kitten that are short and tall, a tortoise and a hare for fast and slow, a sloth and another sloth one above and one below. There are other pairs and lots to talk about. After you read, look for other big and small opposites or high and lows. Ages:older toddl

(VTech $14.99) Bring home their favorite Paw Patrol character on the face of this oversized wrist-watch. It has a digital readout that tells the time and a small screen with four mini games. You can change the Paw Patrol faces on the face of the watch and use the watch as a stop watch. Marked for 3-6, be forewarned, the games will be too hard for threes and most fours, but our preschooler testers loved wearing the watch. As a working watch and game show, this is really a bet

(Disney $19.99) There is a flood of Toy Story 4 related products. Of them all, we liked this mid-priced Blast-Off Buzz best (try saying that four times fast!) He's one guy that won't break the bank. If you need more than one, you'll find Buzz and his buddies at almost every price point. Plain posable ones will not be more than $10, but for twice that, we think this Blast-of version is cool. Push his legs together and you’ll see what we mean—Buzz Lightyear’s wings pop out! No

(Mattel $19.99 each) Barbie gets around in a working wheelchair! Dressed in jeans with a striped knit blouse and totally fashionable cape sleeves and bare shoulders. She’s dressed for the sun and even has a pair of sunglasses on her head…hope she’s wearing sunblock, too. Choose blonde Barbie #132 or African American Barbie #133 with wonderful natural hair style. Ages: Early School Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award 2019 Click here to purchase the African American Version fro

(Fat Brain $24.95) A two sided learning center with silicone mounds that children press down. One side has six colorful founds with the color word in English and (though it may be hard to see from the picture) it's also imprinted in Braille above the color. Flip it over and each of the mounds has an embossed shape and the words in English and Braille for circle, triangle, square, rectangle, diamond, oval. It’s marked for 12 months and up. Of course, babies are not going to ca

(Mattel $24.99) Right off the big screen of Toy Story 4, this Bo Peep posable doll is dressed in her ruffled bloomers and comes with her action staff, plus a dress with puffed sleeves and reversible satin skirt that turns into a cape. Of course, she has a bonnet, headband, shoes, comb, bandages and miniature Officer Giggle McDimples. You can put her into three iconic poses from the movie. Marked 3 and up. Ages: Older Preschoolers Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award 2019 Click

(Gamewright $18) A new take on the original Platinum Award Seal winner, Rat-a-Tat Cat. It's a board version of the original card game and easy to learn. The object here is still to collect the least number of points, and cat cards are still the low cards while rats are high. In this board game version, players roll one, two or three dice to move the Cat-tue of Liberty around to reach the place on the board they want to get to. Once there, players have to make further choices

(Fat Brain $19.99) A sleek plastic plane in red or blue has a special action when tipped upward or down. The weights inside the plane move back and forth as the plane is tilted and that sets the gears off to spin the propeller. The package calls it a STEM-venture, but this is more like a rather simple little lesson in cause and effect. You can see the gears in the see-through propeller mechanism. You can only feel the weights shift as they click from front to back. Too bad th