Chicago – Today VTech announced nine toys received recognition from the prestigious National Parenting Product Awards (NAPPA), honoring products that have been carefully evaluated and deemed “top of its class” by expert judges, parent and child testers and product reviewers. Winners include new playsets from the engaging Go! Go! Smart lines, including the Go! Go! Smart Friends® Enchanted Princess Palace™, Go! Go! Smart Wheels® Treasure Mountain Train Adventure™ and Go! Go! Smart Animals® Happy Paws Playland™. Additionally, the Touch & Learn Activity Desk™ Deluxe and new products from the Baby, Infant and Preschool lines received NAPPA Awards, including the Care for Me Learning Carrier™, Gallop & Rock Learning Pony™, Sort & Discover Activity Cube™, Ring & Learn Cash Register™ and Bizzy the Mix & Move Bot™.
“We are thrilled that so many of our products have been recognized by the National Parenting Product Awards,” said William To, President, VTech Electronics North America. “VTech remains committed to developing innovative, interactive products that enrich children’s development, make learning fun and offer lasting play value.”
“VTech’s products receive high praise from our judging panel year after year,” said Julie Kertes, General Manager, National Parenting Product Awards. “Their robust line-up offers many opportunities to engage and entertain our expert testers, and all of their offerings received high marks for excellence.”
Additional details about VTech’s award-winning products can be found at www.vtechkids.com and include:
- Go! Go! Smart Wheels® Treasure Mountain Train Adventure™: It’s a gold rush at the Go! Go! Smart Wheels Treasure Mountain Train Adventure. Turn on the motorized freight train and watch as it chugs around the tracks, through the tunnels and up hills on its own! The included train responds to nine SmartPoint locations with fun phrases, music and more. Pretend to mine for gold in the mountain by hammering the three shape-sorter blocks through the mine shaft. Each piece will roll down the mountain where it can be loaded onto the cargo car attached to the train. Or, kids can wait for the cargo car to pass under the mine shaft and try to hammer the shape-sorter blocks onto it. The gold mine also includes rotating gears and a crane to move the shape pieces around. Press the toy freight train’s light-up button to hear three sing-along songs and learn the letter “F” and the name of the vehicle. Collect other SmartPoint vehicles, and connect to other Go! Go! Smart Wheels and Go! Go! Smart Animals playsets with tracks (sold separately) to encourage children’s creativity. (Ages 1-5 years, MSRP: US$54.99)
- Go! Go! Smart Friends® Enchanted Princess Palace™: Explore each magical room in the Go! Go! Smart Friends Enchanted Princess Palace. This epic palace expands to four feet long and has a variety of luxurious rooms including a ballroom, music room, kitchen, bedroom and observation tower. While exploring the palace with Princess Darla, place her on the five MagicPoint locations to experience her friendly personality, lights and more. When Princess Darla sits at her MagicChat tea set table with a friend (additional characters sold separately), they will interact by chatting and singing with each other. The palace also has a clock with a movable hand and three light-up buttons that introduce words, colors, letters and numbers and play magical melodies and sing-along songs. Toddlers can create a whole kingdom featuring princesses, princes, fairies, magical creatures and more with Go! Go! Smart Friends characters and playsets (sold separately). (Ages 18 months – 5 years, MSRP: US$59.99)
- Go! Go! Smart Animals® Happy Paws Playland™: Play and explore with the Go! Go! Smart Animals Happy Paws Playland. This exciting playland for pets has three light-up buttons at the top of the elevator that introduce time concepts and play sing-along songs, melodies and fun phrases. Put the adorable SmartPoint cat in the elevator and move it up and down to trigger playful responses on each floor. Then, hop on one of the two slides to travel back to the first floor. Place the carefree cat on the eight SmartPoint locations for more songs, melodies, sounds and phrases. The playland also includes a turning telescope, swinging hammock, a secret trap door and more that help build fine motor skills. Collect other SmartPoint animals, and connect to other Go! Go! Smart Wheels and Go! Go! Smart Animals playsets with tracks (sold separately) to encourage children’s creativity. (Ages 1-5 years, MSRP: US$44.99)
- Touch & Learn Activity Desk™ Deluxe: The Touch & Learn Activity Desk Deluxe is a three-in-one desk with interactive activity cards that’s expandable for more fun and discovery. The desk features an interactive desktop and five pages to explore that are filled with engaging content including letters, numbers, music, colors and more. Choose from eight expansion packs (each sold separately) that each focus on a specific curriculum like reading skills, animals and numbers. It also transforms from a desk into an easel and chalkboard with plenty of storage space for art supplies to encourage play and discovery. The LED display illustrates letter and number stroke order and how to draw basic shapes. For even more fun, toddlers can play with the toy telephone or listen to fun tunes on the music player. Enjoy hours of fun as kids create, discover and learn. (Ages 2-5 years, MSRP: US$54.99)
- Care for Me Learning Carrier™: The Care for Me Learning Carrier is an interactive pet carrier that lets little ones take their plush pet anywhere! Put the plush puppy inside or take her out of the carrier and hear playful phrases when opening and closing the door. The activity panel on the side of the carrier is packed with learning fun. Press the light-up buttons to learn about colors, shapes, pet care and more. Sliding the letter beads introduces letters and plays music. Sliding the window and spinning the roller add to the fun and encourage motor skills. The carrier also includes four pet care accessories so toddlers can groom, feed and play with the cuddly puppy. (Ages 9-36 months, MSRP: US$24.99)
- Sort & Discover Activity Cube™: The Sort & Discover Activity Cube is five sides of fun! Little ones will love exploring seven fun activities and two electronic panels that introduce colors, numbers, animals and more. Turn the book page, twist the spinner and slide the animals to develop fine motor skills. The activity cube also develops hand-eye coordination with the shape sorter and colorful shape blocks. (Ages 9-36 months, MSRP: US$29.99)
- Gallop & Rock Learning Pony™: Hop in the saddle and go for a ride on the Gallop & Rock Learning Pony. This interactive 2-in-1 pony grows with a child and quickly transforms from a rocking horse to a ride-on toy. Brightly colored buttons introduce colors, action words and play realistic pony sounds for imaginative play. The pony also features a motion sensor that detects children’s movement and responds with cheerful music and pony sounds to encourage them to rock and ride! (Ages 12-36 months, MSRP: US$39.99)
- Ring & Learn Cash Register™: Little shoppers will love filling their basket with healthy play food and pretending to buy it with this interactive toy cash register. Weigh the food, ring up the order and use the credit card to pay for the groceries. Each interaction is rewarded with a variety of playful phrases, fun sounds, songs and music. Press the light-up number buttons to introduce numbers, colors, food and play healthy-eating phrases. For more role-play fun, press the “open” button to pop open the cash register drawer. (Ages 12-36 months, MSRP: US$24.99)
- Bizzy the Mix & Move Bot™: Now children can get creative as they build their own robot with Bizzy the Mix & Move Bot. With 10 different accessories there are so many ways to encourage the role-play experience by creating a different robot every time they play. This playful bot illustrates cause and effect as children connect the 10 accessories to trigger fun responses. It also includes 10 fun and unique melodies that children can personalize by switching around the accessories to add in their own special sound effects. Bizzy will guide children through various activities, allowing for creative, independent play. Bizzy also loves to dance around to the music on his interchangeable legs or wheels. With Bizzy around, the fun never stops! (Ages 2-5 years, MSRP: US$24.99)
About VTech
VTech is a world leader in age-appropriate and developmental stage-based electronic learning products for children. As a pioneer in the learning toy category, VTech develops high-quality, innovative educational products that enrich children’s development and make learning fun. With a rich, almost 40 year history, VTech has not only established itself as a learning authority but also consistently remains at the forefront of innovation with multiple award-winning products. The company also has a broad range of award-winning infant and preschool products available in 24 different languages worldwide, with more than 100 new products introduced every year. VTech was awarded a prestigious 2015 Toy of The Year (TOTY) Award for its Go! Go! Smart Animals® Zoo Explorers Playset™. In order to further strengthen VTech’s position as a learning authority, the company’s Expert Panel, with esteemed experts in reading, language arts, science, math, and child development, consult on new product introductions.
VTech Electronics North America, LLC is based in Arlington Heights, Illinois. VTech Electronics Limited is headquartered in Hong Kong with distribution globally.
For more information on VTech’s additional product lines, visit www.VTechKids.com, www.facebook.com/VTechtoys on Facebook or follow @VTechToys on Twitter.
About The National Parenting Product Awards
The National Parenting Product Awards (NAPPA) is one of the longest running and most respected awards programs in the country. With 26 years of experience in the industry, we have been continuously celebrated as the “go-to” source for parents and professionals seeking the best products for their children and families.
NAPPA enlists a team of independent expert judges and family testers to review each submission thoroughly. Together, they select the most entertaining, appealing, safe, educational, age-appropriate and enduring products as NAPPA winners. A NAPPA recognition is more than just a seal of approval. It signifies that a product has been rigorously evaluated against stringent criteria and that it stands out among hundreds of similar products from around the world. Products that receive the prestigious NAPPA award are quality products that parents and professionals can trust.
