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Best Smart Toys of the Year Dr. Toy Issues '100 Best Children's Products for 2007' Award Report

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) October 7, 2007 -- TOYS FOR SMART PLAY! The 16th Annual Report of "Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products 2007" awards announced today is now available to parents, teachers and others in the online magazine, Dr. Toy's Guide, at http://www.drtoy.com The free report is also available by sending a SASE #10 envelope to Dr. Toy.

This year, Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products Awards Program, which was developed by noted child development authority, Stevanne Auerbach, Ph.D. (a.k.a. Dr. Toy) as a service to consumers who desire to purchase safe, affordable, educationally oriented, stimulating toys and products for children, highlights the best products of 2007 in several major categories.

"As a childhood specialist for over 35 years," says Dr. Toy, Director of the Institute for Childhood Resources, founded in San Francisco in 1975, "I have seen the continuous, essential need for more year-round resources for consumers to identify and choose the most appropriate, safe, and engaging learning and developmental products for all children."

Dr. Toy's 2007 report has been added as part of the innovative on-line magazine, Dr.Toy's Guide, a publication that attracts "thousands of visitors daily from around the world to access information." The site was the first on-line resource to evaluate toys and children's products, and after 14 years, more than 4000 product reviews are archived on the site for reference.

The new report, "Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products for 2007", is being released according to Dr. Toy to "encourage parents and teachers to focus on the value of play as essential to the learning process." She adds, "Smart play products selected from 100 companies across the U.S.A., Canada and other countries provide children with exciting new learning tools to help them do better in school and also provide more constructive activities after school."

Dr. Auerbach believes that sometimes "parents and grandparents need help to get a head start locating new, diversified products that children will enjoy while increasing skills, enhancing instruction and expanding creativity."

The products, balanced among large and small companies, offer prices to match budgets and range from low to high tech for "hours of constructive, educational and stimulating fun." "Children learn best through play," says Dr. Auerbach, "and these smart toys and products encourage children to maximize their potential."

"Back-to-school is a good time to 'take stock' and do an inventory of what your children are playing with, what is not used and what they need next in their development," adds Dr. Toy. "Our Guide offers excellent ideas for choosing new products for after school play and for the holidays ahead."

"Dr. Toy's 100 Best Products 2007" were carefully chosen from among thousands that she has reviewed at toy fairs, exhibits, catalogs and through many other sources, and by using extensive criteria that she has developed over many years. Among the criteria used are: safety, age-appropriateness, design, durability, lasting play value, cultural and ethnic diversity, good transition from home to school, educational value, learning skills, creativity, improvement in the understanding of the community and the world, good value for price, and, naturally, fun.

In addition to the "100 Best Products," Dr. Toy creates eight special award categories for products suitable for babies to older children including products ranging from handicrafts to hi-tech, priced from $5 to $100. The winning products are affordable, well designed and reflect the wide range of children's interests.

Examples of the aspects of smart play of these outstanding smart toys and products and the companies recognized by these special awards include:

Active Play -- Play Smarter Cook 'N Learn Kitchen (Little Tikes MGA) Baby Tangle (Tangle Toys) Lil Explorer (Playhut) Doorway Playhouse (Step 2) Jump n Jam Talking Floor Mat (Learning Resources) Catch a Brain Wave Fitness Fun (Kimbo Educational).

Creativity/Music &Art -- Paint and Plant (Wild Republic) Carousel Musical Kaleidoscope (Gemini Kaleidoscopes) My First Airplane Kit (Scientific Explorer) My Dream Horse Pour and Mold (Breyer/Reeves) Ready2Learn? Mask Kit (Center Enterprises)

Puzzles & Logical Thinking Games -- Teachers Scramble Squares® puzzle (b.dazzle); Newton's Apples (Briarpatch), Game of Life (Hasbro/Milton Bradley) Bendomino (Blue Orange Games)

Learning/Math & Reading Readiness -- Adventure in Numberland Software (Comfyware) We Both Read (Treasure Bay) Language & Mental Development - Write their ABC's (Steps4Kids) Geosafari Talking Microscope (Educational Insights) Word Sweep (Intellinitiative Game)

Construction Play -- Simple and Complex Machines (Engino) Dado Cubes (Fat Brain Toy) Dwellings (Learning Materials Workshop)

Dexterity & Technology -- Brian the Brain (MGA Entertainment)

Social & Dramatic Play -- Kitty Keyboard (Parents by Battat) Art Lab Fashion Studio (Smart Lab Toys)

Socially Responsible Products -- Galapagos Tortoise Puppet (Folkmanis) Natural Classic School Bus (Maple Landmark) Be the Boss of Your Pain (Free Spirit Press) Hospital (Playmobil) My Own Monsters (North American Bear) My Two Homes (Family Stories) Downs Syndrome Doll (Fanny's Playhouse) In the Company of Wild Butterflies (Alpha Spectrum Productions)

Ten Best Toys Ultimate LEGO® Building Set (Lego Systems) Cheeky Chick (Okie Dog) DragonBonz (Curious Toys) Citysteps? Growing Things Dramatic Play Kit (ETA/Cuisenaire) Highway Patrol (Carrera of America) Erector Speed Play Robot ( Nikko/Erector USA) Interactive Lia (Corolle) Betty Spaghetty (Ohio Art) Throw & Tell Talking Flying Disc (Duncan Toys) and Activity Frog (Aurora World) and many more wonderful toys and children's products.

Complete information about these smart toys and other products are included in the full report (www.drtoy.com).

Dr. Toy selects special categories including: Ten Best Toys, Best Active Products, Audio and Video Tapes, Creative Products, Educational Products, Games, Socially Responsible Products and Software/CD's/High Tech Products.

Winning products are manufactured by new and established small and large companies from around the world including: Alex, b.dazzle, Battat/Parents Magazine, Blue Orange Games, Briarpatch, Corolle Dolls, Educational Insights, Engino, Fanny's Playhouse, Fisher-Price, Folkmanis, Gamewright, HABA, Hasbro, KNEX, Learning Resources, LEGO Systems, Mega Brands, Maple Landmark, MGA Entertainment, Mic-o-Mic Americas, Ohio Art, Patch Products, Playhut, Playmobil, Spinmaster, Step 2, Tangle Toys, University Games, Wild Republic, Young Scientists Club, Zabazoo and many others.

The Dr. Toy 2007 Holiday Gift Guide based on the 100 Best Products is now on line and can be used as an additional resource. The annual report includes company customer service numbers, web site URL, age range, price, and full description of each product. The award-winning, on-line magazine, Dr. Toy's Guide, features full color photos of each product, links to companies to learn more, interviews with and articles by Dr. Toy, plus hundreds of "Best Classic" and "Best Vacation" products. At this time over 4,000 products are included plus links direct to companies, toy stores online, toy history, parent resources and much more.

Dr. Auerbach is the only Ph.D. evaluating toys and children's products with extensive training, background and over 35 years of experience evaluating, writing and speaking about toys and children's products. Dr. Auerbach is trained in education, child psychology, child development and special education. She is a parent educator, consultant, parent and grandparent.

In addition to easy access on the Internet, a free copy of "Dr. Toy's 100 Best Children's Products 2007" may be obtained by sending a self-addressed, stamped #10 business envelope (SASE) to "Dr. Toy," c/o Institute for Childhood Resources, 268 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA, 94104.

Additional Points:

?    Dr. Toy's Guide provides many related useful sites and resources.

?    Dr. Toy presents newest products to parents and teachers around the world. Currently she is on a promotional tour to share insights about the importance of learning through her book, Smart Play/Smart Toys. She contributes all toys to and attends the U.S Marines Toys for Tots Kick-Off and presents product and guidance information at selected events and on line.

?    Dr. Toy is the author of Dr. Toy's Smart Play/Smart Toys to provide tools to parents to enhance their child's P.Q (Play Quotient). The book, published in China, Croatia, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Israel, Korea, Russia, Spain, Turkey and Thailand will be available in other countries.

?    Interviews with and about Dr. Toy have appeared in newspapers, magazines, radio and TV across the country, in Canada, Germany, Spain and around the world.

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