The Toy Industry Association, which emcees the International Toy Fair going on this week in New York, has announced the winners of its annual toy awards. Less sterling than an Oppenheimer yet more credible than [Insert most pay-to-play "awards" here], the TOTYs (don't ask me) accept nominations from manufacturers for their own toys, with a limit of two per company, and then send out ballots to disinterested members of the toy-industrial complex. Here are some highlights from this year's competition:


Crayola's 3-D Sidewalk Chalk is apparently the most fun you can have outside, at least at sidewalk level.


A happy child shows off the wonders of Crayola 3-D Sidewalk Chalk

Not really, actually. That's Julian Beeves, whom we hope can take a joke. But seriously, if you have used this product, please tell me if it works. That would rock waaaay more than the Backyard Safari Bug Vacuum, best used for sucking the life out of environmentally sensitive species.


Free advice for Summit: Give that thing a "Reverse" mode and you will have just invented a new national pastime for eight-year-old boys.


Create Your Own Popup Books kit (makes two books) by Faber Castell won Specialty Toy of the Year. Looks like a fun intro to something that can get much more DIY once you figure a few things out.


Bakugan stuff won Property of the Year, Toy of the Year, and Boy Toy of the Year. Bakugan toys involve a magnetized card game players lay out in a "strategic" pattern and then roll Transformer-like balls onto, where they unleash their fury. The box of this toy does not say, but should, "Your cat is gonna FREAK!" Bakugan's sweep knocked contenders Barbie, Fancy Nancy, Disney Fairies, Handy Manny, and Star Wars out of the running for best "property," which actually doesn't sound that flattering if you think about it.


Bananagrams, a word game, beat out Zingo and Rush Hour, both of which we've played and enjoyed, for Game of the Year.


Playmobil's horse farm won Girl Toy of the Year, which is amusing because Playmobil toys are so gender-neutral. When I first saw this toy at our local toy store, I left telling Jenni I had seen a horse race track, and even conjured little bookies and cashier's windows in my head. Turns out it's a stable. Guess our Playmobil princesses and hedgehogs will have to do their gambling elsewhere...

LeapFrog's TAG Reading System won Educational Toy of the Year, which is a pretty fair assessment, if you ask me. We love the TAG system, and reviewed it here.

In being named EduToy of the Year, the TAG beat all these folks:

Computer Cool School (Fisher-Price, Inc.)
Idbids Eco-friendly Starter Kit (Idbids LLC)
Zillions Touch Screen ATM (Summit Products, LLC)
V-Motion Active Learning System (Vtech)
Discovery Kids Smart Animals Scanopedia (Jakks Pacific)
EyeClops BioniCam (Jakks Pacific)

We haven't tested any of the losers of that contest, but whenever we've made PC users test any software and hardware that invites young children to take over Mom and Dad's computer, they have grown bitter and angry.

The most memorable flop of 2009 may be Kota the Triceratops, the $300 animatronic dinosaur Hasbro released just as the economic meteor hit Americans' wallets. TIA member companies are eligible for only two nominations (and yes, they pay for the privilege) and Hasbro went all-in with Kota, nominating her for Infant/Preschool Toy of the Year and Innovative Toy of the Year. It lost the former to the freakish Elmo Live and the latter to Air Hogs Zero Gravity Micro, that toy car that can drive on walls. Our nod for Innovative Toy of the year from among the nominees would have gone to Sprig, which makes toys out of a mix of plastic and wood similar to plastic lumber, and adds an electronic component in the form of figures who plug into the vehicles as USB sticks. We tested these toys for review and found the design a bit awkward and the sound effects more chatty than engaging, but the innovation is definitely there. Still, who can argue with cars that drive on walls?

You can find a full list of nominees or a list of winners on the TIA website. We'd love to hear your experience-based assessments of any of these toys - share hot tips with other readers or reviewing recommendations in the comments below.

We're jealous of anyone who was able to go to Toy Fair this year - 2010, baby! - but will point readers to any other interesting reporting we see (i.e. stuff with an actual perspective rather than gee-whiz hype). If you've written some or otherwise see some we should highlight, feel free to comment and we may highlight it in a post later this week.