US: TOTY nominees announced

The Awards will be held at Pier 60 at Chelsea Piers on Sunday, February 15th at 6:30 p.m. and will officially kick-off American International Toy Fair Week.

Also this year at the TOTY Awards, Jack Pressman, founder of Pressman Toys, and Joan Ganz Cooney, the creator of Sesame Street, will be inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame.

The TOTY ballot was overseen by the TOTY nominations committee, which is comprised of major retailers, TIA board members, toy trade journalists and academics.

Each TIA member and associate member company is granted one vote for each of the categories below, as well as for the overall Toy of the Year. Voting runs from December 1st, 2008 through January 16th, 2009.

THE NOMINEES

INFANT/PRESCHOOL TOY OF THE YEAR

• Kota the Triceratops – Hasbro
• Tink's Talking Café – Jakks Pacific
• Giddyip 'N Go Pony – Little Tikes
• 50's Diner – The Step2 Company
• Sit to Stand Alphabet Train – Vtech
• Elmo Live – Fisher-Price

GIRL TOY OF THE YEAR

• Pretty Pedicure Salon – Creativity for Kids/Faber-Castell
  
• Barbie iDesign Ultimate Stylist Cards and CD-ROM – Mattel
• Mrs. Goodbee Talking Dollhouse – Learning Curve
• Disney Hannah Montana's Malibu Beach House – Play Along
• Playmobil Horse Farm – Playmobil
• Clickables Fairy Charms Starter Set – Techno Source

BOY TOY OF THE YEAR

• Handy Manny 2-in-1 Transforming Tool Truck – Fisher-Price,
  
• Nerf N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25 – Hasbro
• EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles – Jakks Pacific
• Legends: King Arthur Battle Action Castle – MEGA Brands
• Sprig Adventure Series Discover Rig – Sprig Toys
• Air Hogs Zero Gravity Micro – Spin Master
• Bakugan Battle Brawlers Battle Pack Series 1 Spheres – Spin Master

GAME OF THE YEAR

• Bananagrams – Bananagrams
• Haunted Ruins 3-D Adventures Pop-Up Board Game – Basic Concepts
• The Cat in the Hat, I Can Do That! – I Can Do That! Games
• Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition – Hasbro
• Pictureka! – Hasbro
• Rush Hour –ThinkFun
• Zingo! –ThinkFun

OUTDOOR TOY OF THE YEAR

• Crayola 3D Sidewalk Chalk – Crayola
• Power Wheels A.T. Rex – Fisher-Price
• Cosmic Keep Away – Hasbro
• Fropper – International Playthings
• Junk Ball – Little Kids
• Backyard Safari Bug Vacuum – Summit Products
• Banzai Skim Board Surfer – Toy Quest

EDUCATIONAL TOY OF THE YEAR

• Computer Cool School – Fisher-Price
• Idbids Eco-friendly Starter Kit – Idbids
• TAG Reading System – LeapFrog
• Zillions Touch Screen ATM – Summit Products
• V-Motion Active Learning System – Vtech
• Discovery Kids Smart Animals Scanopedia – Jakks Pacific
• EyeClops BioniCam – Jakks Pacific

ACTIVITY TOY OF THE YEAR

• Color Wonder Magic Brush – Crayola
• Clipo Creativity Table – Hasbro
• Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker – Jakks Pacific
• StarWars AT-TE Walker – Lego
• Circus Ring – Playmobi
• PixOs Super Studio– Spin Master
• KidiArt Studio – Vtech

ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT TOY OF THE YEAR

• Ultimate Wall-E Programmable Remote Control Robot– Disney
• Imaginext Spike, the Ultra Dinosaur – Fisher-Price
• Fur Real Friends Biscuit My Lovin Pup – Hasbro
• U-Dance – Tiger Electronics
• KidiJamz Studio – Vtech
• RS Tri-bot – WowWee

MOST INNOVATIVE TOY OF THE YEAR

• The Pieceless Puzzle- Ceaco
• Imaginext Spike, the Ultra Dinosaur – Fisher-Price,
• Kota the Triceratops – Hasbro
• EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles – Jakks Pacific
• Sprig Adventure Series Discover Rig – Sprig Toys
• Air Hogs Zero Gravity Micro – Spin Master
• Bakugan Battle Brawlers Battle Pack Series 1 Spheres – Spin Master

SPECIALTY TOY OF THE YEAR

• Deglingos – All New Materials
• Create Your Own Pop-Up Books – Creativity for Kids/Faber-Castell
  
• 18" Fancy Nancy Cloth Doll – Alexander Doll
• Totem Boys/Girls from Kids on Roof – Kids on Roof
• Circus Ring– Playmobil
  
• Sprig Adventure Series Discover Rig – Sprig Toys
• Wind Power – Thames & Kosmos

PROPERTY OF THE YEAR

• Barbie– Mattel
• Fancy Nancy– Harper Collins
• Star Wars The Clone Wars– LucasArts
• Disney Fairies – Disney
• Disney's Handy Manny – Disney
• Bakugan – Cartoon Network
• Yo Gabba Gabba – Wild Brain