Blog - Page 1494 of 1553

Winfat to Manufacture Baby Genius ELAs

Pacific Entertainment Corporation is partnering with Winfat Industrial Co., Ltd. in a new licensing deal that will grant Winfat the rights to manufacture electronic learning aids (ELAs) for Pacific Entertainment’s Baby Genius brand. The ELAs will include bilingual preschool laptop computers and learning boards for distribution to mass-market and mid-tier retailers, ecommerce, specialty toy stores, and book stores throughout the U.S.

The deal will run through 2013, and the first line of products is expected to release next spring. The Joester Loria Group, exclusive licensing agency for Baby Genius, brokered the deal.

PBS Kids Releases Cyberchase Whiteboard App

In conjunction with the launch of the eighth season of PBS KIDS GO!’s Cyberchase, the show is releasing the Lucky Star app for SMART Board interactive whiteboards. The Lucky Star app will be structured as a game show hosted by Cyberchase character Jackie. The app was unveiled by SMART Technologies and PBS Kids at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference in Denver, Colo.

Questions in the game are designed to help children in grades 3 through 5 strengthen their skills in algebraic thinking, number and operations, geometry, measurement, and more. Students can play alone or in teams as they reason, collaborate, represent, and test their ideas. Teachers can create their own set of math problems tailored to a specific curriculum. The app features characters and props from the television series.

The whiteboard app can be downloaded at the Cyberchase website or the SMART Exchange website.

Shred Sled Slashes Price for Caster Board

Shred Sled has reduced its retail price for its caster board by half, now $59.99 compared to the original price of $119.99. The company says the reduction is to provide retailers with a fourth quarter incentive to drive holiday sales, yet the change in retail price will not affect the original features such as the board’s 4 x 80 mm polyurethane wheels, aluminum casters, and ABEC-5 bearings.

The Shred Sled is a caster board that combines the movements of snowboarding, surfing, and skateboarding. This board features a four-wheel inline and a dual-deck board for a smooth ride and the ability to “carve.”

Aurora World Expands YooHoo & Friends Line with More Plush Toys

Aurora World, Inc. has announced several additions to its Yoohoo & Friends plush animal line. The additions include Holiday/Wintertime, Aspirations, and Halloween plush animals to compliment its more than 100 existing styles.

YooHoo & Friends Aspirations are available as five- or eight-inch plush toys in four styles, including a cheerleader, a ballerina, a soccer player, and a girl dressed for a party.

The Halloween line features the five-inch Wannabe toys dressed as a black cat, a pumpkin, or in orange or dark purple color themes.

Crorey Creations Introduces My Friendship Bracelet Maker

Crorey Creations, Inc. has introduced the My Friendship Bracelet Maker, a kit designed as an easy way to create friendship bracelets. The kit features an adjustable butterfly clip at the top to hold strings in place, a row of numbered pegs at the bottom to keep strings in order, and a slide-out storage tray to organize and transport extra threads.

David Crorey came up with the initial concept for the kit while babysitting his granddaughters and struggling to make friendship bracelets with them. My Friendship Bracelet Maker first launched in Michigan-based specialty retailers and is now available in over 300 independent toy stores, as well as Hobby Lobby and Michaels stores nationwide.

Each kit comes with 56 pre-cut, 60-inch threads in 14 different colors, as well as directions for how to create a variety of different designs. The kit is recommended for ages 6 and up.

Angelina Ballerina and Thomas and Friends Premiere in Latin America

HIT Entertainment and Discovery Kids have debuted new episodes of Thomas and Friends in CG animation, as well as the new CG animated series Angelina Ballerina the Next Steps, in Latin America. In its first week of launch, Angelina Ballerina the Next Steps received the top ratings for girls ages 4-11 across all kids pay-TV networks in Colombia and Brazil, and ranked as the No. 2 kids’ program for girls 4-11 across all kids pay-TV networks in Mexico and Argentina.

Thomas and Friends introduces new characters including Charlie, a small engine with a reputation for fun and mischief, and the Japanese engine Hiro. Joining them are Kevin the crane and Victor, an engine from the Sodor Steam Works. The characters were first unveiled in the feature-length special Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails, which aired on Discovery Kids on May 7.

Angelina Ballerina the Next Steps is an extension of the original Angelina Ballerina books by author Katharine Holabird and illustrator Helen Craig. Each episode stars Angelina and consists of two 11-minute CG animated stories linked with a live-action segment featuring all types of young dancers and musicians.

Bead Bazaar Introduces Knitting Pretty Kit

Bead Bazaar’s Knitting Pretty Kit is designed for the beginning knitter, ages 8 and up. The kit includes materials to create two or more accessories and comes with yarn, bamboo knitting needles, pattern cards, and detailed illustrated instructions.

New Parent-Controlled Social Site for Pre-Teens Premieres

KidzRocket.com, a new social networking website for children ages 9 to 12, has premiered and is promoting internet safety by only allowing access to children if they have parental consent.

The child cannot begin activity on the site until the company has contacted his or her parents, confirmed approval for membership and participation, and initiated a trial membership using the parent’s credit card. Additionally, every friend the child communicates with on the website must be approved by the parent. If the child leaves KidzRocket.com to move around the internet, each site they attempt to visit is subject to parental approval.

Internet reports of their child’s online activities can be generated using the free KidzRocket WebFilter, a real-time image composition analysis engine. The engine allows parents to control and monitor pre-defined internet privileges by telling them which websites their children have attempted to access.

KidzRocket.com is a subsidiary of BizRocket.com, Inc.

Warner Bros., WaterTower Music Release Bugs Bunny CD

On July 13, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and WaterTower Music will release a live Bugs Bunny at the Symphony concert recording, which captures the debut performance of “Bugs Bunny at the Symphony.” The first performance was held in May at the Sydney Opera House, and was created and conducted by Emmy Award winner George Daugherty.

The production and recording follows the orchestra and film concert Bugs Bunny on Broadway, which debuted in 1990 at the Gershwin Theatre and was also created and conducted by Daugherty. Both productions feature Looney Tunes characters, including Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Porky the Pig, and Daffy Duck, as voiced by Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan, and is composed by Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn.

The CD will be the first major recording of Stalling and Franklyn’s work to be released in two decades. The CD contains nine full-length cartoon scores, excerpts, and songs from 10 others, plus two full-length symphonic overtures which inspired the cartoons.

Bugs Bunny at the Symphony will have the second tier of its world premiere at the Hollywood Bowl July 16 and 17 with the L.A. Philharmonic.

Chick-fil-A Visits Adventure Publishing

Chick-fil-A stopped by The Toy Book’s and The Licensing Book’s office to tell us about their annual Cow Appreciation Day, which will be celebrated tomorrow.

The company will celebrate the day by offering a free meal to customers who visit one of the chain’s restaurants fully dressed as a cow. The company will also award a complementary entrée to customers who partially dress in cow attire (a cow-spotted scarf, purse, hat, or other accessory).