The Toy Industry Association has just announced the winners of the tenth annual Toy of the Year (or TOTY) Awards. The "Oscars of the Toy Industry" are awarded annually in several categories.
The envelopes please......
- Specialty Toy: Captain Owen's Dolphin Explorer Boat by Sprig Toys.
- Educational Toy: Mindstorms NXT 2.0 by LEGO Systems
- Outdoor Toy: My 1st Scooter by Radio Flyer
- Infant Toy: Crayola Beginnings Color Me a Song by Crayola
- Innovative Toy: Zhu Zhu Pets by Cepia
- Preschool: Tonka Chuck My Talking Truck by Playskool and Bilibo by Active People
- Property of the Year: Bakugan by Cartoon Network
- Girl Toy: Zhu Zhu Pets by Cepia
- Game: Sort it Out by University Games
- Electronic Entertainment Toy: Rubik's TouchCube by TechnoSource
- Boy Toy: Bakugan 7-in-1 Maxus Dragonoid by Spin Master
- Activity Toy: Crayon Town by Wild Planet Entertainment
And the Overall Toy of the Year award goes to: Zhu Zhu Pets by Cepia
I think the vast majority of the nominated toys were indeed special, but I was disappointed to see that Zhu Zhu pets beat many fantastic toys for Overall Toy of the Year. I had a hard time assembling the Zhu Zhu Pets' environments and was not impressed with the manufacturing quality. Also, two of my friends' children got their hair tangled in the pets, and that's not much fun!
My 1st Scooter by Radio Flyer (compare prices) is an outdoor toy that clearly earned its accolades. Its wide deck and compact fold are my favorite features. The wide wheels make it easy for little guys to ride it.
The Rubik's TouchCube by Techno Source (compare prices) is exceptionally cool. When it first came out it was an investment at $150, (prices have come down significantly since) but a real Rubik's freak would love it. Just whiz your finger across the rows and the colors change. It's amazing.
I named Crayon Town from Wild Planet on my Top Ten Toys list. It is such a creative extension of crayons and it totally changes the way kids play with them.
A few nominated toys I think deserved top billing are Rocky the Robot Truck, Harumika (compare prices), Tag Junior Book Pal and Mindflex. Stay tuned, because when Toy Fair is over I will try to predict next year's big hit toys! We'll see how many I get right!
Do you think Zhu Zhu Pets should be the Toy of the Year?
hmmm….. I thought I would check out your list for an idea for an upcoming 1st birthday boy. unfortunately the Infant Toy of the year is suitable for ages 2+. I don’t really call two years old an infant.
The one chance I got to play with a Zhu Zhu pet I wasn’t hugely excited. My four year old giggled hysterically for the 20 minutes we were playing with it…. but once home she never mentioned it again, unlike the My Little Pony toys that the same friend has which she talks about all the time.
YES: even as a 17 year old and I love my Zhu Zhu Pets LOL when my zhu zhu pet wheel stopped moving I had to take the battery pack and pluck one of the silver things to get him to move again but that’s not even where I should started the Zhu Zhu Pets are even more affordable than most toys and that’s why I believe that they should have won a award.
I really was not impressed with Zhu Zhu pets. They are great for the first couple of minutes. But after that, just another toy at the bottom of the toy chest.
My 8 year old son had to have one. So we got one for him back in December. If you ask him where is it now he will tell you, “I don’t know. Maybe in nana’s house.” But ask him where are his Yu-Gi-Oh cards, he’ll run and get them for you.
I must say they were a great selling item for us during christmas. If the award goes for the most toys sold. I would say hands down this was the toy!