Editor's Pick: Best of Toy Fair 2008:

Dinosaur Puppets

by Laurence Liss

Of the thousands of toys on the floor of Toy Fair 2008, there were only a few standouts from the point of view of the SafeToys.com editorial staff. Far and away my top pick was a 30-inch dinosaur hand puppet. While the thought of a modern child choosing a puppet over a video game may sound like a stretch, it is not. This isn’t an ordinary puppet. The dino-puppet is the work of a Hollywood special effects artist, and the level of detail is astounding. The toy is made from soft foam-rubber which gives it excellent mobility and makes the movements very life-like. Each dinosaur puppet has supports in its legs which allow it to stand even while the operator rests his or her arm in the puppet.

These toys should be available in stores later this year. Currently the toys come in Tyrannosaurus Rex, Spinosaurus, Ceratasaur, and Triceratops models, but a Velociraptor model and Pterodactyl model are in the works.

I like these toys for a few reasons. The most important reason being that they are dinosaurs and dinosaurs really don’t get old. I have had toy dinosaurs on my desk at every job I have worked and continue to keep them close at hand. Beyond the mere cool factor of prehistoric monsters, I also appreciate the fact that the toy requires a child to play with it. Many of the toys on the market now utilize technology to the maximum extent: they talk, they move, and occasionally think, for themselves. While these toys are sometimes fun, I do not find them to have any longevity. Further, more parts, batteries, and complicated gadgets simply means more things to break. But Puppetoys Extinct line of dinosaur puppets don’t have any moving parts. They can’t become obsolete and they require imagination.

There is also one particular concept that was presented to me by Michael Maddi, the creator of these excellent toys. He pointed out that many children have access to their parents’ video cameras. Many new computers come with web-cams, and many digital cameras have video functions. All of which leads to HOME-MADE DINOSAUR MOVIES! Need I say more.

SafeToys.com wants to see your child’s dinosaur films. Post them to YouTube and email links to us. We’ll link to the best entries and show them on our site.