The Toy Review

Now, who doesn’t remember The Farmer Says? Like most kids, I had a couple of these growing up, only mine worked with pull strings. We’ve entered a whole new world, and today’s Farmer Says works with a lever, and it is also smaller than the one I grew up with, but with more animals, because of the flipping board. It’s still enough fun to make a toddler’s eyes light up as she kicks her feet and giggles. And they still learn how to make cool animal sounds while they play with it. We have this one, and another one, and we love ‘em.

Is it hot enough for you? I declare, we are cooking here, just as surely as if this were a giant crockpot. And according to Al Gore, it is, LOL! But the Little Tikes Beach Ball Sprinkler looks like a fun way to cool off, doesn’t it? I bet it wouldn’t take long for the whole neighborhood to show up if you had one of these in the front yard! Rated for 18 months and up, this looks like fun for the whole family to me.

I love, love, love this toy! My littles have the older version of this drum, which is now selling on amazon.com for an amazing 139.99. Plus 14.99 shipping. Dang, I’m sitting on a gold mine here! If you want the Spanish version, it’s still a reasonable 19.99. Insert eye-pop-out smilie in this spot as I try to reel in a political rabbit trail and refocus my attention back to the toy at hand. The new LeapFrog Learn & Groove Alphabet Drum. If this is anything like it’s predecessor, it is an awesome value. The teaching voice is pleasant, and the sound effects are low-key, unlike some toys which drive me crazy-insane-mad with all their beeps, bangs, and whistles. Batteries last a reasonable amount of time, and the handle makes it easy for a child to haul it from one place to another. Or at least the handle on the old one did

Man, does this doll make me feel my age! I remember when Baby Alive was the hot new toy, and all she did was not eat fake food off a mechanically triggered pink plastic spoon. Now there are like, 87 varieties of her, in several races. Some of them pee and some of them sleep, and some of them slurp. There are even potty and birthday versions!

Now, in truth, I feel the same way about the Baby Alive Newborn Sip-N-Snooze as I do most other electric baby dolls: they sure do strip the imagination right out of a kid, yk? I think kids are better served by dolls that let the children decide the course of events instead of a computer chip.

My kids love to bowl. They frequently set up pyramids of wooden blocks and then roll balls toward them. They think it is great fun, and I enjoy watching them until someone starts lobbing the ball. And when I say them, I mean DaBaby through Diva. That’s ages 2-13 for those of you who have not memorized my family dynamics. I’m thinking that the BARNYARD basics™ Barnyard Bowling™ would be a big hit for Batman on down, but especially for the youngest two.

We actually received this Hasbro Playskool Crew Dusty The Talking Vacuum for Christmas, as a gift from my mom to help my youngest two girls get over their fear of the vacuum cleaner. It worked very well for that, and both of them enjoyed the toy. Writing this post has reminded me that the handle recently broke on ours, and I now have the hot glue gun heating to repair it. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Now this is one stylin ride! I’ve been watching the evolution of the Radio Flyer wagon for a few decades now, but they have really ramped it up in recent years, haven’t they? I can remember when Radio Flyer meant a tricycle or a a “little red wagon” and that was it. In fact, I remember my mom threatening to fix my little red wagon, and she was not talking about my toy. But I digress. Let’s move back to the subject at hand: the Radio Flyer Ultimate Family Wagon.

With seating for two in multiple configurations and a snazzy umbrella, what’s not to love? Just in case that’s not enough, there are cup holders for the kids, and also for mom and dad. There’s kid storage and adult storage. This is one wagon designed to go where you go. And it’s right at home in the back yard, just like it’s antique cousin.