(Peaceable Kingdom $12.99) Wow! Put this floor puzzle together and you have a three-foot side red firetruck with shiny foil trim and three doggie firefighters. Its’ a big 39-piece puzzle, that will challenge young puzzle builders. Also challenging, a 35-piece Rainbow Floor puzzle, shaped like a rainbow with clouds on each end. Kids will need some strategy for setting this up. Start with the faces and the end pieces will give them a clue about the color pieces that come next.

(Mindware $25.99) Perfect for a party or play date with kids who are into Dragons. This kit comes with a dozen Dragon Eggs, chisels and instructions. Unlike a lot of dig toys that throw chips and dust around, this one begins with a good soak! You put the egg into water and when it rises it’s ready to get to work digging. The chisel is then used ( with lots of paper under the work surface) to unearth the dragon. Each egg holds a colorful dragon—no two alike—that will be a toke

(Mindware $25.95) An outdoor activity for the garden! It’s an 8” X 10” pre-made cement stone in the shape of a dino’s foot. Testers thought this was a good fun project. Paint it and bake it to create a long-lasting weather-resistant stepping stone for the garden. Kids can press the stone into soft earth to make footprints and then find a spot where the fake-fossil can hide under a bush or along a garden path. Marked 6 and up, but we think 8-9 would be more like the right ages

(Mindware $19.99) Testers liked this unusual kit for making embroidered Wood Jewelry. It’s a perfect way to learn how to do cross stitching while decorating 12 wooden pendants that can be worn as necklaces. The kit comes with a dozen pendants in seven different shapes, along with 12 colors of embroidery floss, 18 necklace cords, 12 jewelry clasps, 2 needles and 16 beads for finishing off the jewelry. A great craft kit for discovering different ways of cross stitching, back st

(Play Monster $49.99) Say you want to switch from trike to bike, but not all at once. This is a good transitional ride-on that starts out with two wheels on the back, but they are close together. This requires more balance than a trike, but less than a strictly two-wheeler would. There are no pedals, so this is all about getting a head start on the balancing act needed for riding a two-wheeler. It’s low to the ground and, by the way, easy to assemble. It will carry kids up to