Spring 2006 Hot Dozen Toys

The Power of a Super Summer is in Your Hands ... Spring Issue of Toy Wishes Magazine Hits Newsstands This Week; Toy Wishes, The Ultimate Guide to Family Entertainment, Announces the Spring 2006 Hot Dozen List

NEW YORK --(Business Wire)-- April 5, 2006 Faster than kids scatter after the last school bell, more powerful than the draw of the ice cream truck, and able to quiet 'I'm bored' in a single issue... the Spring/Summer 2006 issue of Toy Wishes hits newsstands this week. Packed with informative articles for parents, activities that get kids up and moving, favorite childhood birthday memories from today's rising stars and a super-savvy Summer 2006 Entertainment Guide, the Spring issue of Toy Wishes features everything parents and grandparents need to become a superhero this summer - including the much-anticipated Hot Dozen list which spotlights its picks for hottest toys of the season.

In addition to hundreds of toy reviews, the latest issue of Toy Wishes, The Ultimate Guide to Family Entertainment, takes a look at the classic toys dear to both kids and parents, provides tips on how to get your kids excited about baking and features insightful Hit Lists including 'Top 5 Travel Toys,' 'Top 10 Toys Kids Can Buy With Their Allowance' and 'Top 10 Rainy Day Toys.'

So, without further ado, here is the Spring 2006 Hot Dozen (in alphabetical order):

• BANZAI FALLS CRISS-CROSS
  (Toy Quest/ages 5 and up/approximate retail price: $349.99) Your backyard becomes an astounding water park with the latest introduction from the Banzai Falls line. Easily assembled and guaranteeing hours of fun, this inflatable unit features an 18-foot water slide, soft bottom landing pad and a spray tunnel that you can sail through on the inflatable body slide. Always be sure that parents or caregivers are supervising play.

• CRANIUM HULLABALOO DVD GAME: THE AMAZING ANIMAL ADVENTURE
  (Cranium/ages 4 and up/approximate retail price: $24.95) Kids love Cranium's Hullaballo because it gets them up and active, and gives every player a chance to shine - which is always more important than winning or losing. With the new DVD version, kids can release their inner animals as they play the game along with the DVD that features real live animal footage and gameplay that encourages kids to hop like a kangaroo, crawl like a lizard or moo like a cow!
  Available at Amazon.com

• CRAYOLA SUPER BRUSH
  (Crayola/ages 4 and up/approximate retail price: $9.99) Get ready to paint the town - or at least the sidewalk. This easy-to-use brush has three different tips so kids can create all kinds of great special effects, outrageous artwork or big, colorful games using Crayola Washable Sidewalk Paint. Best of all, everything can be cleaned with the hose (including the kids, if you want), but the colors are bright and vibrant, and the painting process is fun and satisfying.
  Available at CrayolaStore.com

• FAN YANG INCREDIBUBBLES
  (Funrise/ages 3 and up/approximate retail price: $12.99-17.99) Fan Yang is the world's greatest bubble artist. And now kids can do many of the outrageous tricks that have landed Fan Yang in The Guinness Book of World Records and have allowed him to astound audiences all over the world. The super-cool Fan Yang Incredibubble Wand lets kids create super- huge bubbles, and the Fan Yang Unbubblelievable Bubble Maker lets you try amazing bubble tricks at home. The Fan Yang Ultimate Bubble Set includes a large wand, dipping dish, four differently shaped wands and a 16-oz. bottle of solution. Kids also get an instructional DVD.

• GRAND SOCCER STADIUM
  (LEGO/ages 7 and up/approximate retail price: $49.99) What could be cooler in a World Cup year than a build-and-play soccer stadium? This amazing kit allows you to play competitive soccer right on any tabletop or floor. Snap the LEGO pieces together to build the stadium, then add the spring-loaded mini-figures, and you can pass, shoot and score for hours of fun.
  LEGO Shop at Home: The Official LEGO Store

• LIGHTNING MCQUEEN POWER WHEELS
  (Fisher-Price/ages 3 to 6/approximate retail price: $209.99) He's the star of the hit movie Cars, and now kids can feel like they're really in the movie as they get behind the wheel of a replica Lighting McQueen they can really drive. Kids will love the hot red color and the even hotter spoiler. Turn the steering wheel to hear sounds and phrases from the movie!

• OOZINATOR
  (Hasbro/ages 6 and up/approximate retail price: $24.99) It's slime time! That's what happens when kids pull the trigger of this blaster - they have the choice of soaking someone from the 30-oz. reservoir or tagging them with the goopy, gloppy Bio-Ooze compound. This is the first water blaster that gives you a choice of ammo with just a flick of your finger.
  Available at Amazon.com

• PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN BLACK PEARL PLAY SET
  (Zizzle/ages 6 and up/approximate retail price: $49.99) Shiver me timbers! Here's one of the best movie play sets we've seen in years. The Black Pearl Play Set is more than two feet long, features lights and has nine different sound effects and all kinds of special features that let kids replicate the dramatic action of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and create their own pirate adventures.
  Available at Amazon.com

• STAR WARS TRANSFORMERS
  (Hasbro/ages 5 and up/approximate retail price: $14.99) How cool is this? The classic action/adventure and fun of Transformers meets Star Wars in a complete line of transforming figures based on classic Star Wars characters, so you can transform the Star Wars heroes and villains into their signature vehicles. Pick from Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, General Grievous and Luke Skywalker.
  Available at Amazon.com

• SUDOKU
  (Technosource/ages 8 and up/approximate retail price: $14.99-19.99) It's the latest puzzle craze that has people everywhere puzzling over numbers and grids. Who would have thought that logic could be so much fun? The touch-screen version of the popular game has a great ergonomic design, more than 100,000 puzzles, hints, and four different levels of difficulty. Better get one for each kid because no one is going to want to put this game down!
  Available at Amazon.com

• SUPERMAN RETURNS INFLATO-SUIT
  (Mattel/ages 4 and up/approximate retail price: $21.99) Now every kid can be as buffed-out as the Man of Steel and transform (almost) instantly to a massive, muscular superhero. Slip on the suit, switch on the fan, and the suit instantly inflates, giving kids an impressive physique that's sure to give kids that super feeling of power and scare away the bad guys.
  Available at Amazon.com

• TAMAGOTCHI CONNECTION VERSION 3
  (Bandai/ages 8 and up/approximate retail price: $14.99) Now in its third generation, the original virtual pet has more play features than ever before. Kids can play games, collect "gotchi" points to buy things for their pet and interact with other owners through infrared connectivity. Then take all the fun online at Tamatown.com and experience even more Tamagotchi fun in an exciting environment.