Important Advisory:

We are now requiring companies to provide us with documentation that their products have been tested by an independent lab for phthalates and lead.
Please click here for submission requirements for new products. However, as we are not a lab, we will not be independently verifying those results. Also, with the exception of the 2008 Platinum Toy Awards, toys submitted for review prior to January 2008 were not tested for lead.

Instructions for submitting product to the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio for review.

Contact the Toyportfolio @ (212) 598-0502 or by email at Webmaster@Toyportfolio.com.

Copyright 1995-2008 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio - All Rights Reserved. Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award, and Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Blue Chip Award are Registered Trademarks of the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio.

With Spring in full gear, watch Stephanie on NBC's TODAY Show on June 5th - she'll share her top picks for outdoor play! To read more about her picks, read her blog!

Despite the economy, toymakers have come up with a lot of new playthings. Every day new packages are arriving at our offices. We're playing as fast as we can so that we can share the good news with you. Those that appear on this list have won our Gold Award and will be considered for the Platinum Award list in the fall.

To read about the best of the new items click here to see Spring 2009 toys. We'll be adding to this list in the coming weeks, so keep checking. Also, check Stephanie's Blog for our daily picks and other news items.

We've rounded-up the best new books of Spring 2009!

Click here to see our picks for the season's best new books.

The big trends of the year include dinosaurs, toys with a green agenda, active play, and going back to basics with board games, puzzles and art supplies.  Watch Stephanie on NBC's TODAY SHOW as she appeared on December 3rd.

Winners of The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio 2009 Awards were demonstrated on the Today Show on November 7, 2008. To see the segment click here.

We are delighted to announce the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award Winners for 2009! We've found a wonderful mix of products that are sure to be a hit with the kids in your life. If a toy made this list you know the following to be true: our expert and kid testers thought the toy was outstanding. For example, one of our toddler testers woke up from his nap every day with a huge smile and ready to play with his new ride on toy again and again.  You also know that the company that made the toy signed our verification form indicating that it met new safety standards.  Click here to read form. While we are not able to independently verify their testing, we are delighted with the number of companies that complied. 

We've broken the list down by age group:

• Infants
• Toddlers
• Preschoolers
• Early School Years
• Later School Years

We have also posted awards in the following areas:

• Audio
• Books
• Infants and Toddlers
• Preschool
• School Years
• Video

As the holiday season approaches we'll be adding more and more features that we hope will make shopping for the holidays fun and less stressful. As always, if there are particular toys you'd like information on, please feel free to voice your questions on Stephanie's blog.

We've looked at the best of the season's picks and identified many that will be an added plus for kids with special needs. Our mission has been to show ways to adapt or make good use of ordinary toys for kids with special needs. You will probably find other toys on our Platinum and Gold Lists that you can use to advantage. We know that kids with special needs like playing with the same toys that their sisters and brothers enjoy.Read more.

Now you can search our database by keyword!

Simply type in the key word in the title or name of the product you're looking for:

Read It! Play It! with Babies and Toddlers introduces new parents to the power of books, songs, stories and play at this crucial time in a child's development.

Studies show that it's never too soon to start reading to your baby.

Read It! Play It! with Babies and Toddlers' easy to follow format provides the resources, games and activities that new parents need to have at their fingertips.

Now available in Spanish.  Read more.

We don’t give ourselves awards,but we wanted our readers to know about Joanne's new book Dear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration During WWII.

Kids often struggle with how they can make a difference. This is the story of a remarkable young children’s librarian who did just that. Clara Breed was horrified when her young Japanese American patrons and their families were sent to incarceration camps. She corresponded with many throughout the war, sending them books, supplies, and most importantly, her hope and friendship.

Joanne was captivated by this story. She located and took oral histories from many of Miss Breed’s “children,” now in their 70s and 80s. Given the current climate we live in, with the ever-present threat of terrorism, this book provides a chilling lesson about what can happen to a nation when fear overcomes reason. 12 & up. Visit www.dearmissbreed.com for more about how the book came to be and the reviews by historians and book critics.

Read It! Play It! reviews fifty outstanding award winning books that we believe every child from 3 to 8 should know, along with dozens of playful activities and enjoyable learning games to enhance the reading experience. Read It! Play It! gives the"how" and "why" for doing activities that are essential underpinnings for school success including: language & phonics games,   storytelling & writing ideas, music & active physical games as well as art, math, science and cooking projects.

We have given each of the fifty books selected, a Read It! Play It! Award -recognizing that these are outstanding examples of children's literature that also lend themselves to playful exploration of language, math, art, and/or science.

Click here to order your copy of Read It! Play It!