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.

Memorable People
For readers of all ages the best way into history is often through the stories of those who lived it.  They might be stories of sports figures, artists, inventors, political leaders or others who brought about changes in the world.  Again, you'll find a great variety of books from picture books to full-length biographies for older readers.

( Little Brown $$19.95$ ) Don’t be surprised if your child asks for a camera after enjoying this book. Cherman has created a very approachable biography for children of this legendary American photographer whose view of the natural world brought majesty to an art form. Each chapter is peppered with Adam’s breathtaking work and stories about his life that shaped his art. If your child already has the photography bug, Cherman’s book will be an inspiration. 9 & up. Age: Late School Years, Tweens, Teens, Adults. Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award 2004

( Clarion$$19$ ) A lively and totally engrossing biography of Theodore Roosevelt, xx President of the Untied States. Kraft, a grand storyteller, uses letters, journals, memoirs and newspaper accounts to give young readers a rich introduction to the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize, pioneered for preserving the wilderness, fought for reforms in industry and remains one of the larger than life leaders of his time. Handsomely designed with photos, drawings, and letters. 9 & up. Age: Late School Years, Tweens, Teens, Adults. Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award 2004

( Crown$$19.95$ ) Busby tells the story of how the Wright brothers invented the airplane in a very crisp and linear style. Though this looks like a picture book, it is designed for older readers. His account makes these historic figures come to life as young boys who were fascinated by a helicopter toy their father game them in 1878 and moves on through their trial and error years of building and testing their flying machine. The art layout is an inviting blend of Craig’s paintings, photographs and artifacts from the period. 9 & up. Age: Late School Years. Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award 2004

( Atheneum $$16.95$ ) At the turn of the 20th Century, Marshall Taylor was a champion cyclist but one who faced the bigotry directed to young African-Americans. While others plotted to defeat him by cheating, young Taylor rode with his eye on playing fair and succeeded. In time he not only wins in the United States, he triumphs in Europe as well. This is a handsome book that celebrates Taylor’s courage and determination. This is an inspiring biography that could well serve as a jumping off place for finding out more about this particular athlete or others who have overcome the ugliness of racism and bigotry. 7 & up. Age: Early School Years, Late School Years. Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award 2004

( Clarion$$17$ ) Born the year that Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the daughter of slaves, Mary Church Terrell was active in civil rights all her life. She was one of the first African American women to graduate from college, was the first to be appointed to the Board of Education in the nation’s capital, and was a founder of the NAACP. Nor did she give up the struggle in the 50’s to integrate the restaurants and theatres in D.C. Well into her 80’s she continued to march on picket lines and fight for the end of segregation. Right up until the end of her 90th year she continued to crusade for the ending job discrimination in Washington. 9 & up. Age: Late School Years, Tweens, Teens. Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award 2004