Old favorites—again - What's new? Holiday gifts galore - electronic toys - Buyers Guide

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Nov, 2002

Much as a family will find a perfect vacation spot and return year after year to renew old routines, but also to make new discoveries, so it is with favorite companies around the holidays. You go back every 12 months, and what you find to put under the tree on that most-special of days never disappoints. That's how we feel about VTech Industries, Glenview, Ill.; Neurosmith, Long Beach, Calif.; and Maple Landmark, Inc., Middlebury, Vt.

VTech, one of the pioneers in the field of interactive electronic toys, has a pair of new items especially worth noting. In Explore a Town, political correctness is the order of the day, as the mayor is a woman, the firefighter is an African-American, and the basketball player is Caucasian. This instructional tool lets kids visit six role-play areas to learn and have fun. At the Alphabet Library, for example, youngsters can interact with Dominic, a classmate who teaches them simple Spanish. The Community Center, meanwhile, provides a platform for kids to find out about community helpers and identify objects that relate to each occupation; the Safety Station provides fire and emergency safety tips; and Town Hall is the place to learn to tell time and practice numbers.

For the really young set, there is the Pull `n' Play Phone, which aids language and cognitive development as well as motor skills. Big buttons identify numbers zero to nine by sight and sound; actions are rewarded with lights, noises, and a pop-up puppy; and the pressing of phone buttons increases hand-eye coordination.

Neurosmith, on the other hand, started out making educational software, but soon shifted gears to create learning tools that would incorporate the powerful "insides" of a computer with more age-appropriate "outsides" to allow children to play the way they do naturally--using all their senses. The company's two latest "learning tools" are the Jumbo Music Ball and Musini, both $59.99. The Jumbo Music Ball asks a question, then kids spin, turn, and roll the ball to search for the answer in the form of different letters, colors, and shapes The tactile play pattern helps cement learning while physical manipulation develops motor skills. And, like many Neurosmith products, classical music (Mozart, Beethoven, Handel, and Prokofiev) figures into the mix.

Music also is a big part of Musini, which transforms any room into a musical playground where every step, turn, tap, or touch activates a unique musical response. Children simply select their favorite musical style--Basically Bach, Child's Play, Latin Jazz, Carnival, or Orchestral Overture--and Musini does the rest, sensing the strength and speed of each vibration and responding with a totally personal and unique musical experience. They'll never create the same masterpiece twice.

When it comes to wooden classics, especially the train variety, you would be hard-pressed to top Maple Landmark. The company's big item this year is the Montgomery Schoolhouse My Train. Each of the 21 cars in the collection set is an activity unto itself. New are the Puzzle and Dinosaur cars, while being retired are the Pumper and Box cars.

Nontoxic color finishes give this line a classic look and durable finish, and, as the package rightly boasts, no batteries are needed--these trains are kid-powered.