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Mega Brands Launches Tours at North America’s Largest Toy Factory

Mega Brands launched its North America’s Largest Toy Factory Tour Program at its headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. The Mega Brands team welcomed the local Hochelaga Community Center Day Camp at its Mega Bloks toy factory for a day of building, learning, and fun. More than 120 children visited the Mega Bloks Toy Factory and enjoyed a variety of building activities alongside Santa Claus and his elves.

The Mega Bloks Factory Tours showcase the facilities to young builders through activities specifically customized for each age group. The tours highlight how-it’s-made processes, visits to areas where Mega Bloks are created from start to finish, and future professions visitors can aspire to.

Students will also have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A session with Mega Bloks toy experts and ask any and all questions they have about the toy industry. The Mega Bloks Factory Tours are a great way for students to learn about a local global business as well as the stages in the “life of a toy”.

Tours are only available to schools, camps, daycares, and non-profit organizations to children. Although the tours are free, a donation of $5 per visitor in benefit of the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation must be made (not applicable to non-profit organizations). Tours are limited to a maximum of 30 children at a time and it is recommended that classes be separated into groups of 8 to 10 to facilitate activities. Organizations are responsible for travel arrangements and all visitors must be dressed comfortably with closed shoes.

Spin Master Entertainment Launches its First Preschool Animated Series, Paw Patrol

Spin Master Entertainment, in association with Nickelodeon, launches its first solely owned intellectual property, Paw Patrol. Paw Patrol, based on a concept by Keith Chapman (Bob the Builder), with animation from Guru Studio (The Backyardigans and Justin Time), is set to premiere August 12 on Nickelodeon in the U.S., followed by the Canadian premiere on TVO and Knowledge Network on September 2. The series will begin airing on Nickelodeon’s international channels in the fall.

Paw Patrol is a CG-animated series starring a pack of six heroic puppies–Chase, Marshall, Rocky, Rubble, Zuma, and Skye–led by a tech-savvy, 10-year-old boy, Ryder. The series focuses on citizenship, social skills, and problem-solving. The Paw Patrol work together to protect the Adventure Bay community believing that “No job is too big, no pup is too small!”

Spin Master is responsible for producing and distributing Paw Patrol in Canada through broadcast partners TVO and Knowledge Network, as well as owning the worldwide toy rights. Nickelodeon licensed from Spin Master the global (excluding Canada) distribution rights for the show on behalf of Viacom International, as well as ancillary exploitation rights, including licensing and merchandising.

COMMENTARY: Fandooble is Fun for Players Young and Old

During a recent game-testing session here at The Toy Book, I had the opportunity to play Fandooble, from Mindtwister USA. This game took a few rounds to get the hang of, but once I did, I really liked it—so much so that I called dibs and took it home. Last weekend, I hosted my two teenage male cousins from Sweden. Needless to say, it could be a challenge at times to find activities that we all enjoyed; after all, a 13-year-old boy and a 28-year old woman don’t have a lot of common ground. Fandooble was a great solution, and we played several times during their visit. I even purchased another copy to send home with them as a reminder of our time together.

The game includes four dice and a bag of gold coins. The dice bear images of green dragons, red dragons, knights, wizards, treasure chests, and Fandooble—the money-snatcher. Each player begins the game with five coins in their “stash.” The rest of the coins are kept in the middle. Read More…

My Girl’s Dollhouse Allows Girls to Build Their Own Dollhouse for 18-inch Dolls

My Girls Dollhouse, from U.S. toymaker Wicked Cool Toys, is the first of many quality children’s products under its Goodtoy brand. My Girl’s Dollhouse is an enormous, high-quality, customizable wood dollhouse for 18-inch dolls and their furniture, clothing, and accessories.

Until now, there has never been a dollhouse mass produced for 18-inch dolls. With My Girl’s Dollhouse on the market for this holiday season, consumers nationwide can visit mygirlsdollhouse.com or goodtoy.com, build and customize their house, and bring their creation to life.

My Girl’s Dollhouse measures 6 feet tall, 5 feet wide, and 2 feet deep. It features two external styles – one Classic style for the older 18-inch doll enthusiast, the other a Whimsical style positioned for younger girls. Both are built with the same high quality wood frame. The interior offers five rooms where girls and doll collectors are given the perfect opportunity to decorate their home exactly the way they wish and to create a reflection of themselves. With two rooms on the bottom, two rooms on top, and one room attic with a bar for their doll’s fabulous wardrobe to hang, there is room for a houseful of 18-inch doll furniture. Moreover, collectors at any age can choose four from among 12 different styled rooms to reflect their own style.

My Girl’s Dollhouse is the perfect storage solution for all of your little girl’s 18-inch dolls’ belongings. The constructed dollhouse also provides a bonding opportunity for kids and parents, as families can work together to build a little girl’s very own dollhouse. My Girl’s Dollhouse is available direct to consumer now at a limited time price by visiting www.mygirlsdollshouse.com or www.goodtoy.com.

Hasbro Rolls Out New Toys for Transformers’ 30th Anniversary

Hasbro is celebrating the upcoming 30th anniversary of the Transformers brand with new toy lines, including the first Construct-Bots in the Transformers Prime Beast Hunters style, and Transformers Generations toys that celebrate different incarnations of the Transformers brand from throughout its 30-year history.

Other new toys include the first 10 items in the Thrilling 30, a set of 30 limited-edition toys, available at various locations worldwide, that celebrate the 30th anniversary. The first talking Bumblebee toy for Transformers Prime, Transformers Weaponizers Bumblebee, was also debuted. The unveiling of the toy coincided with the first time Bumblebee talked in an episode of Transformers Prime Beasthunters.

At Comic-Con, the Transformers team revealed the winner of the Fan Built Bot poll, which asked fans to help create a new Transformers character. The winner is a black and red female Autobot jet named Windblade.

Trout Fishing in America to Release New CD

Trout Fishing in America will release a new album of witty story-songs on September 3. Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers features tongue twisters, mind-benders, spooky situations, and instantly identifiable slices of a kid’s life. From the creepy feeling of stepping in a gooey substance that is definitely “not mud,” to witnessing the disturbing sight of your sister kissing her boyfriend, to exploring a “Zoo Wacky Zoo” where tigers do the tango, the songs and situations unfold with every track.

Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet have been writing and playing music together since 1976, when they met in a folk rock band. Their style appeals to audiences across generations, making their music “family music.” The band plans to greet its fans nationwide this fall as they tour to celebrate the new release. The concert schedule details are available at www.troutmusic.com.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Launches Curious George’s Town App

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt debuts Curious George’s Town for iPad and iPhone. Developed for preschool- to kindergarten-aged children, Curious George’s Town teaches smart saving and spending habits while engaging kids in creating a virtual world complete with roller coasters, dinosaurs, and farm animals, as well as neighborhood staples such as the pet store, bakery, and fire station.

The app features a unique reward chart that parents and caregivers can customize by assigning a specific coin value to a list of real-world tasks—such as cleaning up toys—incentivizing children to complete real-life responsibilities. Kids can also supplement their stockpile of virtual savings by tackling in-app educational games.

Curious George’s Town from HMH Kids on Vimeo.

Taco Bell Discontinues Kid’s Meals and Toys Nationwide

Taco Bell has announced that it will discontinue kid’s meals and toys at its U.S. restaurants, becoming the first national quick service restaurant chain to do so. Select restaurants will begin the removal in July, with nationwide implementation anticipated by next January.

Kid’s meals are not part of Taco Bell’s long-term brand strategy and have had an insignificant impact on system sales. Taco Bell will continue to focus on new menu options that provide a broad range of choices and define the brand, such as the Doritos Locos Tacos and the Cantina Bell Menu. The company is also trying to offer more balanced menu items.

Menu items on the current Kid’s Meals Menu will remain available individually on the regular menu, including the Crunchy Taco, Soft Taco, Bean Burrito, and Cheese Roll-up.

Babies “R” Us Introduces My Little Prince and Princess Collection

Babies“R”Us is celebrating the birth of the Prince of Cambridge, son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, with a new collection. The company introduced the My Little Prince and Princess line from Tommee Tippee, a U.K.-based manufacturer. This new collection is available in the U.S. exclusively at Babies “R” Us, and honors the arrival of the royal baby with regal graphics, such as a Royal Guard and horse-drawn carriages. The assortment includes a 9 oz. bottle, a first sips cup, and a gift set. They are available in pink and blue. In addition to two 9 oz. bottles, the gift sets will include two pacifiers.

Shoppers can now order My Little Prince and Princess merchandise online at Babiesrus.com. The collection will become available in Babies “R” Us stores nationwide on August 20.

COMMENTARY: Clifford The Big Red Dog Helps Explain The Science Behind Rainbows

Clifford The Big Red Dog is such a classic, lovable cartoon character, so it is fitting that Scholastic has a Clifford-themed science kit about something as spectacular as rainbows. Who doesn’t love to look to the sky and see an array of colors that seem to have magically appeared there after a rainy day? I know I sure do—almost as much as I loved Clifford growing up. Clifford The Big Red Dog Rainbow Science, part of The Young Scientists Club, is for ages 3 and up and is an experiment kit that teaches kids the science behind rainbows, while encouraging them to take an active role in their learning. Included in the kit is an informative manual advising close adult supervision for all experiments, and all the materials: a pipette, three test tubes, a funnel, test tube holders, wells, six pieces of chromatography paper, crayons, rainbow glasses, a measuring cup, a pencil, a mirror, and a white circular cardboard. Common household materials are needed for the experiments as well. The bottom of every experiment page provides explanation for the outcome and there are illustrations outlining each step to every experiment, which I found to be very helpful once I was actually experimenting.

The first two experiments are dubbed “milk rainbow” and “rainbow star.” Both call for milk to be poured into the provided plastic bowl and for kids to add a drop of yellow, red, and blue food coloring (which must be provided from home). The child is than instructed to add one drop of liquid dish soap to the middle of the bowl. The point of these experiments is to show kids the liquid soap breaking the surface tensions of the milk, causing the color droplets to mix together and in with the milk. The next few pages of the manual feature experiments that teach kids how to use and clean the pipette properly, be creative and come up with their own secondary colors from primary colors, and decorate the chromatography paper provided from the kit. The next three experiments use vegetable oil, which must also be provided from home. The purpose of the “colored bubbles in oil,” “rainbow color explosions,” and “colored bubbles in a tube” experiments are to show kids that since oil and water don’t like to mix, the watered food color will not dissolve into the oil, causing bubbles to form and even explode when the oil and water are mixed in one of the test tubes. Read More…