
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, November 28, 1993                   TAG: 9311230418
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: F-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

SOME OF THE BEST TOYS YOU CAN BUY . . .

The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio began in 1989 as an independent consumer review of books, toys, videos and other products for children.

The organization tests the products and compares their performance based on the judgment of parents from many professions.

New toys that are listed in the latest Oppenheim buying guide and received platinum awards for being the most innovative are:

For infants: Fold 'n Go Play Around Mat ($34, Playskool); Peek a Boo Play Mirror ($12, Wimmer-Ferguson); Velveteenie Circus Animals ($14 to $31, North American Bear Co.), and Baby Gumballs, a toy gumball machine ($10, Playskool).

For toddlers: Peek a Boo Stacker, stacking toys ($7.99, Kiddicraft); Hide Inside fabric toys ($16.98, Discovery); Duplo Airport with control tower and aircraft ($36, Lego), Super Sports Car riding toy ($45, Today's Kids).

Preschoolers: Talking Barney ($35, Playskool); Press N Dress Doll, a fabric doll ($29.95, Pockets of Learning); Recycling Trucks ($17, Little Tikes); Air Nikko Remote Control Jet ($38, Nikko); Shape `N' Color, a color-coded sorting board for chips ($18, Anatex), and 2-Sided Magna Doodle, which allows children to draw on either side of a magnetic board ($20, Tyco).

Early school years: Multicultural Puppets ($19.95, Learning Resources); Spaghetti Machine pasta maker, ($32, Natural Science); Madeline Doll rag doll ($38, Eden); Kwanzaa doll ($25, Golden Ribbon); Technics with Pneumatics construction toy ($34, Lego), and Criss Cross Hot Wheels, a motorized cloverleaf track ($34, Mattel).

by CNB