James Spence

Author – Cartoonist – Toyologist – Dreamer

Archive for September, 2011

Goodnight Friend Upsy Daisy

September 27th 2011 Posted at Toys
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Toys R Us asked me to review the Upsy Daisy doll from the BBC show In the Night Garden. 

In the Night Garden is a show for toddlers set in a magical wood, with a cast of imaginitive, colourful characters.  The main characters are Iggle Piggle – a blue fuzzy fellow who sleeps on a boat and Upsy Daisy – a singing, dancing girl with outrageous, multi-coloured hair. 

In the Night Garden gives its name to a lot of licensed merchandise from bubble bath to bikes!  The Goodnight Friend Upsy Daisy doll is just one of many related products.

I thought the whole package worked nicely together.  Because the doll comes with an outfit, a story book and a night light, there is enough to guide a child through how to play with the doll, ie you get her ready for bed, read her a story and put on the night light to make sure she’s happy.

This doll would be a perfect gift for any wee girl who is a fan of In the Night Garden.

Goodnight Friend Upsy Daisy is available from Toys R Us

 

My Pal Violet by Leap Frog

September 18th 2011 Posted at Toys
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My Pal Violet and My Pal Scout are two of the main toys in Leap Frog’s range.  The characters are used in many of the toys the company’s catalogue.   Therefore I was excited when Toys R Us asked me to review Violet.  I was expecting good things.

I’ve reviewed a lot of Leap Frog toys in my capacity as a Toyologist, and Violet is really an excellent toy for a toddler.  The songs are good fun and it does seem to have been well designed as a friend for a kid.

Incidentally, because I couldn’t use Elwood’s name, I used “Friend” as his name.  It made some of the songs sound a little odd, as Violet often refers to the name.

The ability to record a favourite food, animal or colour is good as well and allows you to experiment with different options.  I noticed that Brussel Sprouts was an option.  I can’t imagine many kids having them as their favourite thing to eat!

My Pal Violet is available at Toys R Us.  Age: 6 months +

 

Peek-A-Shoe Talking Octopus by Leap Frog

September 18th 2011 Posted at Toys
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I’d like to be, under the sea, in an octopus’s garden with… the Peek-A-Shoe Talking Octopus!

Toys R Us, as part of the Toyologist programme, asked me to review the Peek-A-Shoe Talking Octopus from Leap Frog.

The idea is that you put one of the five balls into his hat or arm and it rolls around inside him, coming out under a random shoe.  I’m pretty sure real octupuses don’t work this way, but as it’s a children’s toy I’ll overlook it!  When you lift his shoes you are either told to try again or “Peek-a-boo!” when you’ve found it.

Setting it up, I was impressed.  It is a good size, colourful, and pleasant looking.

As the comic above says, it isn’t perfect.  The mechanism is too sensitive, but it’s good enough if it has been placed on a flat surface.

 Overall, it’s a pretty cute toy, and a good idea for a toy.

The Peek-A-Shoe Talking Octopus is available at Toys R Us.  Age: 9 months +

 

Aquadoodle by Tomy

September 18th 2011 Posted at Toys
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As you may have noticed, when the good people at Toys R Us send me toys I tend to draw comic strips sharing my experiences.  My latest toy box included Tomy’s Aquadoodle and I realised I had an opportunity to attempt a mixed media comic for a change.

So here, in digital media and Aquadoodle, is a review of Aquadoodle:


I was very impressed with the Aquadoodle.  It has a nice feel to it when using it to draw.  Of course if I ever drew anything I wanted to keep I’d be out of luck, but as a way of allowing a kid to mess around without making a mess, it is second to none.

Aquadoodle is available at Toys R Us.  Age: 18 months +

Competition – Leapfrog Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket

September 16th 2011 Posted at Blog
11 Comments

Thanks to Toys R Us and the Toyology Programme, I have one Leapfrog Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket to give away as a competition prize.

Regular readers may recall that I reviewed this toy recently.

The Shapes & Sharing Picnic Basket helps children explore shapes, colours, manners and more! Over 30 audio responses encourage pretend play, and the 14-piece set helps children build motor skills as they sort, match, stack, empty and fill.

The picnic basket is really friendly looking and colourful and the sounds are entertaining.

I thought it was an excellent toy and I hope the winner thinks as highly of it as I did.

As the comic shows, I gave the review copy of this toy to Hollie (aged two) and I’m told she has used it a lot (even sometimes during the night when she’s supposed to be sleeping!)

So, if you’d like the chance to win one, read on:

To enter, all you need to do is visit and ‘like’ the Toys R Us Facebook page then leave a comment on this post telling me you have done so. The Toys R Us UK page regularly posts competitions, news and reviews of toys and, in my honest opinion, is a great page to subscribe to.

The competition closes at 6pm (GMT) on Friday 23 September 2011.  The winner will be drawn at random and asked to provide their address and phone number (for the purpose of sending out the prize only).

The winner will be drawn at random from all valid entries.

Facebook has no affiliation or responsibility for this competition.

The toy will be sent directly from Toys R Us at the beginning of October.

No alternative is available. No cash equivalent.

UK entries only.

Good luck!

— Competition Closed – Congratulations to Stephanie Cummins —

Lettersaurus by Leap Frog

September 11th 2011 Posted at Toys
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I was delighted to find that Toys R Us had sent me Leap Frog’s Lettersaurus to review.  This is a fun educational toy designed to make the alphabet accessible to your child.  In this respect, it does exactly what it is designed to do.

As the name would suggest, the main objective of the Lettersaurus is to teach the alphabet, and the 26 colourful buttons (13 on each side of his spine) are very inviting.  In ‘letter’ mode, it says the letter and gives an example the first time the button is pressed.  However, upon the second press, it tells you how the letter sounds, as in “A says ahh”.  You can also personalise the toy so that it learns the first letter of your child’s name.

It’s difficult to find fault with it as it really does everything you would want it to do and more.  Like many other Leap frog toys, it has been tailored to the UK market with an English voice (I still think a Scottish version would be great – see my Leap Frog Picnic Basket Review).  The English version of the ABC song is a little strange though, as the American version rhymes V (Vee) with Z (Zee), but with an English accent V (Vee) doesn’t rhyme with Z (Zed).  Just an observation!

It’s a good toy.  If only the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park were as friendly as the Lettersaurus, it would have been an entirely different movie!

Lettersaurus by Leap Frog is available at Toys R Us.  Age: 12 months +

 

Step ‘n Play Piano by Fisher Price

September 10th 2011 Posted at Toys
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As a Toyologist, I am happy to review any toy that Toys R Us sends me, but I must admit I love it when I get a toy that Elwood is the right age for. So when the Fisher Price Step n Play piano arrived at my door, we could wait to put him into it.

It is certainly no small toy (so be aware of the storage implications).  It is a bulky play centre that the baby sits in and plays both with piano keys in front of him and at his feet.  In addition to the piano, there are loads of other buttons and components that make sounds.  Allow me to elaborate…

At the time of drawing the comic above, Elwood was 3 months.  He’s now 4 months and still absolutely loves the Fisher Price Step n Play piano.  In just one month, we’ve seen the way he interacts with the toy change.  Before he seemed to hit the buttons by accident.  Now, it is clear that he is trying to hit them.  As an experiment, we tried him in it without switching it on, and he was very unimpressed – he really wanted to hear the sounds when he hit the keys!

Elwood is happy sitting in the piano for twenty minutes or so before he wants to move on to other toys.  Let me assure you, something that can occupy him for twenty minutes is no small deal!

The sounds that it makes are pretty funky.  The guitar riffs are pretty cool and the piano has a nice honky-tonk feel.

When in song mode, it is clear that it is an American toy.  The ‘Incy Wincy Spider’ is the ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ for example.  However, as Tiffany is American and Elwood is therefore half-American, we’re happy with it giving him the USA versions.  I know, however, that some non-American parents prefer it when a toy is tailored to their own country.

I would recommend the piano to anyone with a baby and I’m sure this toy will get used a lot over the next few years.

Fisher Price Step n Play Piano is available at Toys R Us.

Vectron Wave by Air Hogs

September 10th 2011 Posted at Toys
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The Vectron Wave from Air Hogs is, in my opinion, an amazing toy and I was delighted to find it in my latest box of toys from Toys R Us.

It could best be described as a miniature flying saucer.  When charged, it starts to spin rapidly thanks to a propeller under the body of the toy.  This spinning motion lifts the unit off the ground, at which point the technology built into it takes over.  It has altitude sensors which allow it to figure out the height it should fly at.

As soon as it takes off it looks really impressive.  A red LED light on the side puts out an intense red line of light around the skirt.  When flown in a dark room it looks brilliant.

I took the toy around to my parents and played with it with my Dad and niece Charlotte.  I told Charlotte to switch it on and then step away from it really quickly.  She switched it on and, frankly, legged it!  When the Vectron Wave took off she squealed with delight although whenever it came close to her she laughed with nervous energy, as if being chased by a fun wasp!

Tiffany, on the other hand was less than impressed.  The toy takes a bit of getting used to, and she felt it was somewhat uncontrollable.  In many ways she’s right.  There’s no controls other than your hands and the air currents in the room.  The toy takes around half an hour to fully charge and then provides around three minutes of play time, so you would need other things to do to pad out the time.

If you do buy one, don’t give up on it too quickly.  It took me a while to get used to it.  It is quite addictive once yo start playing with it.

Whether you like it or not, it is a very memorable and dramatic toy.  I’ve never seen anything like it and I know when Elwood is a little older he’ll have a lot of fun with it.

Air Hogs Vectron Wave is available at Toys R Us.  Age: 8 to 10 years

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