Down on the Farm
The Fridge Farm is a great set to travel with. All pieces store on the back of the barn and a carry handle allows easy transport from place to place. The toy's resilient construction withstands wear and tear and holds up nicely to rough child play. With this toy's open-ended format toddlers can create any hilarious combination they choose. It features strong magnets to keep it from falling off the fridge and a lightweight construction so the child can carry the fun from room to room. A handy volume switch keeps the music at an enjoyable level. This toy is easy for little fingers to manage and convenient for parents to store. It requires three AAA batteries (included).

Fun Award-Winning Features
The fridge farm encourages creativity, as your child mixes, matches, and makes zany animals. Bright colors and lively animal songs make the Fridge Farm a family favorite. Loved by parents and their children, this award-winner is both educational and fun. In 2004, it received the prestigious Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award. Superior quality, easy-to-grasp pieces, and lively banjo tunes make it a great addition for any toddler's toy box.

What's in the Box
Barnyard, 5 animal pieces, and 3 AAA batteries.

Slice and Bake Cookie Set Ages:3+

What We Think Fun factor: Durability: Educational factor: Novelty factor: The Good: Sturdy, high-quality wooden toy is built to last, offers plenty of opportunity for both independent and interactive pretend play The Challenging: It's a toy with a lot of individual pieces, but it includes handy, clever storage solutions In a Nutshell: Wooden cookie set comes with toy kitchen utensils, providing fun tools to foster imaginary play in preschool-age children

Kids love using the wooden spatula to remove their cookie creations from the tray. View larger.

"Slice" cookies from the tube of "dough" with the wooden toy knife. View larger.

Bake Up Something Good
The Slice and Bake Cookie Set features a dozen cookies that are packaged in a cardboard tube that looks just like a tube of cookie dough from the grocery store. Because they're held together with Velcro, the cookies slide out in one piece. Use the wooden toy knife to "slice" the cookies apart -- the Velcro makes a satisfying slicing sound when it separates.

The child can then place the cookies on the cookie sheet and pretend the cookies are baking, making sure to hold the "hot" cookie sheet with the oven mitt once they're done. (Note that the toy kitchen utensils are not meant for use with real food or with real kitchen appliances.)

Once the cookies are done baking, it's decorating time! The 12 "vanilla" and "chocolate" frosting pieces attach to the cookies with Velcro. They are painted with different, yummy looking sprinkles, candy pieces, and icing patterns, so your child can create a variety of different looking cookies. After the decorating is done, your child can serve them up with the included wooden toy spatula.

Perfect for preschool-age children, this toy not only offers plenty of opportunity for imaginary play, it also helps small kids exercise their motor skills. Our preschool-age tester found it challenging, yet fun, to slice the cookies apart. And while our toy tester enjoyed playing with it independently, this toy makes a great parent-and-child activity, too.

Adults can place custom orders for cookies, play counting and matching games, and more. If you're at a loss for ideas, Melissa&Doug includes interactive play ideas on the back of the cookie sheet that help you encourage your child to learn while she plays.

Sturdy, High-Quality Construction
The Slice and Bake Cookie Set definitely has plenty of pieces, so we were glad to find that the cardboard tube is big enough to contain both the cookies and the toppings, making cleanup and organization much easier. We also love the toy's sturdy wooden construction that's built for plenty of rough play. And as with all of their products, Melissa&Doug states that this toy is made with non-toxic coatings and meets or exceeds US toy testing standards.

About Melissa&Doug
Started in the garage at Doug's parents' house in 1988, Melissa&Doug has grown to become one of the most popular toy makers in the world. Their toys have garnered dozens of parenting and "best toy" awards over the years, and have been featured widely in national print media and on television.

One of the company's points of pride is that their toys are thoroughly tested for safety, and meet all US consumer product safety regulations. The toys are tested at the factory of origin during various phases of the production process to ensure that every toy meets the company's stringent safety requirements every step along the way. In particular, the paints and coatings on Melissa&Doug toys are tested frequently to be sure they meet or exceed government recommendations limiting heavy metals and lead in children's items.

Since day one, Melissa&Doug has been in compliance with every US consumer product safety regulation and will continue to stay compliant as the laws continue to evolve, assuring parents that their children can have a safe childhood while playing with Melissa&Doug toys.

What's in the Box
12 wood cookies, 12 decorative toppings, toy cookie dough tube, wooden cookie tray, wooden spatula, wooden toy knife and oven mitt.

My Cuddlin Kitty Lulu Ages:4+ Requires: 4 "C" batteries (included) Phillips screwdriver to replace batteries

What We Think Fun factor: Durability: Ease of assembly: Educational factor: The Good: A fun, realistic toy that teaches kids about being responsible pet owners. The Challenging: Lulu sheds occasionally (though not nearly as much as a real cat.) In a Nutshell: An interactive toy that feels like and mimics a real cat.

Interactive, Life-like Kitty
Lulu is the size of an actual cat, though her mechanical body is much lighter in weight, and she even sheds--thankfully not as much as a real cat, and you don't ever have to worry about allergies.

Everything about Lulu is amazingly realistic. Her soft white fur and adorable sounds make it hard not to pet her--especially when she rolls over for a tummy rub or cleans her face with her paw. Lulu has five convenient touch sensors located on her head, back and stomach. It seems that Lulu may also be able to detect motion or sound--when you walk by without touching her she will purr and meow "hello" at you. (To keep this from happening you can easily turn her off.)

Adorable and Hard Not to Love
Though Lulu is designed for children, we can see how she would appeal to all age groups including adults--who wouldn't love having a fuzzy realistic toy kitty to cuddle with? Lulu's interactivity makes her a great addition to the family or as a first pet for your preschooler to care for. She even includes a brush for grooming and an adoption certificate that proclaims your child as her rightful owner. Once Lulu sits on your lap and purrs, you and your child will not be able to help falling for her.

As a small warning, since Lulu is electronic, she should only be used indoors and away from water or hot temperatures that could damage her mechanics.

What's in the Box
Cat figure, a plastic comb, an adoption certificate, and four "C" batteries.