On February 22, LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. announced the expansion of its infant and preschool collection, anchored by a feature line of toys based on Nickelodeon’s preschool series Blue’s Clues & You! The new products are on display at the 2020 North American International Toy Fair.
“We’re so excited to welcome Blue’s Clues & You! to the LeapFrog family, so kids can continue learning with characters they love,” said Andy Keimach, President, VTech Electronics North America, LeapFrog’s parent company. “We’re a perfect pair because we both help build preschoolers’ confidence through interactive and fun learning games and challenges.”
A remake of the curriculum-driven interactive series Blue’s Clues, Blue’s Clues & You! has a new generation of preschoolers searching for clues with puppy Blue and new live-action host Josh (Josh Dela Cruz). LeapFrog is bringing Blue’s Clues & You! to life with toys that enable kids to play along with the series by using their very own Blue’s Clues & You! Really Smart Handy Dandy Notebook and Blue’s Clues & You! Play & Learn Thinking Chair to help solve their own game of Blue’s Clues. Children can also play with puppy pals Blue and Magenta with new learning watches and educational, interactive books.
In addition to Blue’s Clues & You!, LeapFrog is expanding its collection of infant and preschool toys with new products that encourage important skills at an early age. With a talk-back feature that lets kids speak and hear responses, the Speak & Learn Puppy is an interactive friend that teaches ABCs, 123s, emotions, and language development across three levels of play. A complement to the best-selling Learning Friends 100 Words Book, the 100 Animals Book is fully bilingual, introducing kids to 100 animals in both English and Spanish. Leaning into learning through pretend role-play, LeapFrog is introducing the Pick Up & Count Vacuum, that scoops up and recognizes included dust play pieces, the Purrfect Counting Purse, that encourages put and take play in a fabric cat purse and the Yum-2-3 Toaster, which introduces colors, opposites, numbers, and more through a cute, friendly toaster.
Meanwhile, VTech announced new additions to its baby, infant and, toddler collection and Go! Go! Smart Wheels line, now on display at Toy Fair.
“We know that playtime is such an important part of a child’s development,” said Andy Keimach, President, VTech Electronics North America. “We have a heritage of being the brand that parents can trust to bring interactive playtime experiences that engage children in a really fun way. Our incredibly successful history of continual innovation in the early learning, infant, toddler, and preschool space speaks for itself. 2020 is no exception – we are very excited about our newest products, which I am sure will delight parents and kids!”
The Jiggle & Giggle Fishing Set features a smart fishing pole that recognizes different sea creatures. An update to its Smart Shots Sports Center, the Count & Win Sports Center adds an adjustable basket for kids to make a slam dunk and a target to take aim at in the soccer net. The Explore & Crawl Elephant encourages little ones to crawl and walk after him as he moves along. For a surprise 2-in-1 experience, the Helping Heroes Fire Station is a large colorful playset that transforms from a fire station into a fire truck and includes hand-held figures for role-play. And for toddlers who love vehicle play, the Go! Go! Smart Wheels line is adding the Go! Go! Smart Wheels Ultimate Corkscrew Tower, offering a playset with two track configurations for racing.
On Sunday, VTech announced the introduction of Switch & Go, a new toy line that combines two favorite kids’ themes – dinosaurs and vehicles. From a T-Rex Truck to a Velociraptor Helicopter, Switch & Go offers a kid-friendly transformation feature, sounds, and motion-activated lights.
“Kids are going to love our new action-packed Switch & Go line,” said Keimach. “Dinosaurs and vehicles are classic themes that kids love, and we’ve made them even more fun by adding lights, sounds and awesome transformations!”
Whether kids want to play with a fierce dinosaur or a cool vehicle, they can transform these 2-in-1 Switch & Go toys. The toys are roaring to go with phrases and sounds depending on the mode they are in and feature LED lights or animated screens to enhance imaginative play. Some Switch & Go toys feature additional activations such as spinning rotor blades or search lights.
The Switch & Go line is recommended for ages 4 years and up and will be available in the fall. For more information, visit www.vtechkids.com.