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Crayola Color Explosion Glow Board

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Holiday Preview
from: Crayola

August 01, 2007
The kids had fun with this but it is really hard to clean off. Plus the light-up effect only works in a really blacked-out room so they should have made the buttons light up. My daughter complained about that. Overall, it's a so-so toy compared to pencil and paper. Still, a neat effect.

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Blokus Classic

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Holiday Preview
from: Educational Insights

May 01, 2007
This game is great! It's a game that can be played with 4 people and different colors. Even though it might be easy to lose some pieces it is still fun.You will find it hard to put the right pieces at the correct time.

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IlluStory Make Your Own Story Kit

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Holiday Preview
from: Creations by You

June 12, 2006
this product is great in theory...

I bought this for my 7 year old son. He decided to make his story online and it took him DAYS to complete. He worked very hard on it. After he was done I filled out the "about the author" section and uploaded his picture. Well part that was eaten by their website or something. Because I rechecked it before I put the order through and it wasn't there. So I re-entered it and clicked all the way through to the checkout.

WE got the book (finally, since they send it via media mail)and it had many errors - it had strange shapes that aren't on the screen when you are editing the the book on the website. and it was missing the "about the author" section. My son was in tears. I emailed the ... Read More:

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Melissa and Doug Deluxe Standing Easel

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Holiday Preview
from: Melissa and Doug

June 12, 2006
This is a great educational tool for children who are not writing well on paper yet. My three year old picked a piece of chalk and started writing her name and now even does well with paper.

Also great for older painters.

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Fisher-Price Smart Cycle

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Holiday Preview
from: Fisher Price

May 01, 2007
I bought this for my two grandsons, ages 4 & 6, for Christmas last year. The concept is a great one but needs electrical hookup. But for me the deal breaker was that it really needs to be made more durable. It didn't last but two weeks and fell apart. They did not mind repeating the games which helped to build their confidence as they mastered more and more. But it would have been nice if they could of had their own names and scores like a lot of the other software has that's out there. Like I said ... GREAT CONCEPT but lacking in durability.

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Fisher-Price Little Superstar Sing-Along Stage

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Holiday Preview
from: Fisher Price

August 01, 2007
This is the best purchase I have made this year! My 6mo. old will sit in front of this thing forever and just hit buttons and giggle with every sound it makes. She loves the mirror as well. She tries to touch the "other baby" all the time. On the other hand my three yr. old uses it as a dance studio. She grabs the mic and runs around dancing to the music and singing like a little superstar. This is a must have!

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Hasbro Electronic Hyper Slide

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Holiday Preview
from: Hasbro Games

August 30, 2007
Everyone from our 8 year old through our high school cousins right up to my husband and I - love this game. It's got three settings. One is sliding the chips underneath (by yourself or with a partner) based on the color they call out. They keep track of how many you achieve in a set period of time. They call out the record for this round and keep the all time record. This seems like a great way to learn your colors. For our gang it is a test of reflexes, and completely addictive. You can't believe how much you want to break those reoords. They also have a game where you try to break a four color code. They track how long it takes you. For those of us who are more into puzzles then reaction time -this give us a game to hold a record in. The final game ... Read More:

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LeapFrog® Leapster® Learning Game System - Green

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Holiday Preview
from: LeapFrog

June 12, 2006
I have a leapster, and I like it. It's green, and it's got lotsa games inside it, and you can put more in the top of it. I got the doggie game, the one where you wash and pet your dog, and I like it alot, and I got the one where you make creatures, and make rooms for them to live in. I have a case, and you always have to make sure when you go somewhere, you have the game inside 'cause if you get someplace, and you only got the case, and no leapster in it, it's not as much fun. I like my mom's Pretendo (Nintendo), but mine has more games for a little boy. I think it's a good game for kids, My mom is getting me the Spongebob game for the car ride to Disneyland.
(Review dictated to mama by Ethan, who is four)

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Monopoly Electronic Banking Edition

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Holiday Preview
from: Hasbro

July 05, 2007
I have played on the computer so hated the idea of all that loose money and needing to add it all,etc. This takes care of all that. There are a few rules on the computer that are not for this one but I add them just fine. All tax, etc. goes into free parking (use a pad and pen to keep track of that), if you get a roll that puts you right on go..you get double. (4 mil instead of 2 mil) but just add the extra 2mil with the card. Would like more choices for marker/tokens but other then that, I find no fault with it.

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Air Hogs Havoc Heli - Colors May Vary

Childrens Toy Shop > Toys > Holiday Preview
from: Spinmaster


I bought the Havoc Heli for my 9 year old nephew. He loves it. The fact that it can be flown indoor is especially nice. The only problem we have with it is that the trim does not seem to work well and it will not fly forward very well. It lifts off very easily and can hover, but no matter what we try, it will not fly forward. He still likes it in spite of that. For the price, it is a good toy for a child his age.