All mySimon Toys Shopping Picks

The Rubik's Cube has gone super high-tech in the Rubik's Revolution, and it's won more awards than we can count. The electronic cube (it runs on the included 3 AAA batteries) has 6 addictive, fast-paced games, complete with lights and sound effects. The "Light Speed" game challenges you to turn cube lights off by quickly tapping them. "Pattern Panic" has you memorize and repeat a sequence of lights. There's even a "Multiplayer Madness" game... more

Keep your favorite Star Wars fanatic busy for hours this holiday with LEGO's Motorized Walking AT-AT. Once the 1,137 pieces are put together (and 6 AA batteries are inserted), this toy walks forward and backward and moves its head up and down. There's even a cockpit that opens and rotating laser cannons. The AT-AT stands over a foot tall, and comes with a pilot, General Veers, Snowtrooper, and Luke Skywalker with a grappling line... more

If you like sniffing Sharpies (and really, who doesn't?) maybe you should switch to Smencils. They're regular #2 pencils that are made out of recycled newspapers (instead of wood), and smell like watermelon, cherry, grape, orange, root beer, bubble gum, and even popcorn. And unlike the chemicals in your whiteboard markers (admit it, you've sniffed those too), Smencils' gourmet scents come from environmentally-friendly fragrance liquids and last up to 2 years. More great more

We confess we're a little weirded out by Pleo. He's not just a toy that looks like a 1 week-old Camarasaurus (from the Jurassic period, of course). No, Pleo is "an authentic Life Form." He can see, hear, touch, learn, react to his environment, and feel emotions. He stretches when he wakes up in the morning (yes, he actually sleeps when he's tired). But wait, there's more. Two or more Pleos will recognize each... more

There are 3 key ingredients to a really successful educational toy: It must be electronic, it must plug into a TV, and it must use TV characters (Dora, Diego, Barbie, SpongeBob) to teach the lessons. The new Fisher-Price Smart Cycle has all 3 ingredients plus a 4th: It makes kids ages 3-6 pedal to guide their characters through spelling, counting, and problem-solving games. Kids can even race the clock, each other, and the cars... more

Get 5 rock stars for the price of one with this Devo action figure from NECA. The 7-inch figure comes with an energy dome, whip, and 5 interchangeable heads (Mark, Jerry, Alan, Bob1, and Bob2) that you can pop off and replace whenever you're bored at work. We would have preferred 5 separate figures, but then again, they all wore the same outfits, and one body with 5 heads is probably cheaper than 5... more

How can you keep your kid's hands off your expensive digital camera? Try the Kidizoom digital camera from VTech. Designed for kids ages 3-6, the Kidizoom is a real .3-megapixel digital camera that's easy to grip and lots of fun to use. Kids can take and store up to 200 photos on the camera, view them on the 1.8" color screen, and have fun editing their shots with distortion or silly frames. The camera... more

In the Why Would Anyone Buy That? department, may we present this talking Elvis robot. For the low, low price of $300 you, too, can have a lifelike 12-pound bust of the "king" on your mantel, shove it full of batteries (3 AAAs and 8 Ds), and watch Elvis "turn his head, open and close his mouth, blink, look around, and bob his head to his own music," according to PC Magazine. Put Elvis... more

Give your toddler a fun introduction to the world of technology with the LeapFrog ClickStart My First Computer. Designed for kids ages 3-6, the ClickStart comes with a child-friendly wireless keyboard, plug-and-play console, and child-sized mouse. The big colored buttons help kids learn basic keystrokes, and the 4 included educational games teach letters, numbers, colors, shapes, counting, phonics, and more. The "monitor" is your TV, so kids can see their work on the big... more

It's been quite a summer for blockbuster movies with toy tie-ins. First there was Spider-Man 3. Then Shrek the Third, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Ratatouille, Transformers, and Harry Potter. But the one we've been waiting for is the Simpsons movie, which opens this Friday. We don't know who some of the characters are, but that's not stopping us from ordering some of these cool Simpsons movie action figures. Shown here is Homer and... more

If you're a Barbie girl (in a Barbie world), then you need to log on to BarbieGirls.com, where you can make your own Barbielicious avatar, design your room, go shopping at the mall, and chat online with Barbie friends. You'll also want a Barbie Girls MP3 player. These 4.5" doll-shaped MP3 players have 512MB of storage (expandable to 2GB), as well as mix-and-match clothing and accessories. And when you connect the Barbie Girl to... more

Ratatouille ("rat-a-too-ee"), the latest Pixar movie, comes out on Friday. Set in Paris, the movie stars a rat named Remy, a "foodie" who desperately wants to be a chef. Since rats aren't exactly welcome in kitchens, Remy teams up with a restaurant's garbage boy in order to realize his dreams. The film's producer calls it "a wonderful story about following your passions when all the world is against you." Some Ratatouille toys have already... more

Tony Hawk better watch his back! The Bratz empire continues expanding apace, with a Bratz magazine, an upcoming Bratz movie, talking Bratz, and now remote-controlled Bratz on skateboardz. Yegads. They've made their "passion for fashion" mobile, with "sizzlin' safety gear" to protect them while they do "stunts" and "tricks." Each set comes with a doll, a skateboard, a remote control, and a hairbrush (because helmet hair is so uncool). See all Bratz... more

Bring the amusement park indoors with Razor's battery-powered bumper cars. They're made out of shatter-resistant plastic and have non-marring bumpers that won't leave smudges on walls, so you won't have to call the contractor after little Billy's parents pick him up. Plus they only go 2mph - fast enough to be fun, but slow enough for pets to make speedy exits. If the weight maximum wasn't 55 pounds we'd use these at the office... more

Thirty years ago, on May 25, 1977, the first Star Wars movie opened - in all of 32 theaters North America. Celebrate this weekend by watching the Star Wars trilogy (again) and testing your patience with this ultimate LEGO set. The 3,417-piece built-to-scale LEGO Death Star II replica (from Return of the Jedi) towers 25" tall and 19" wide, and even features a Star Destroyer. More Star Wars LEGOs.