b.dazzle - producers of gifts, games and fun: News Releases

REDONDO BEACH, CA...JUNE 23, 2009... b. dazzle, inc. of Redondo Beach, California, has announced that four of its new Scramble Squares® 9-piece educational brain teaser puzzles for all ages have been honored by The Institute for Childhood Resources in San Francisco as among only one hundred twenty-three (123) products world wide selected as "Dr. Toy's Best Play and Learn Vacation Program for 2009.” The four honored Scramble Square® puzzles include “Black Bears,” “Kites,” “Seahorses,” and “Squirrels.”

The report of Dr. Toy’s Best Play and Learn Vacation Award Winning Products for Summer 2009 is now available to parents, teachers and others on Dr. Toy’s Guide at www.drtoy.com. The information is designed to assist children to play and learn at home and on vacation.
Dr. Toy’s Best Play and Learn Vacation Products Awards were developed by noted child development authority, Stevanne Auerbach, Ph.D. (a.k.a. Dr. Toy), as a service to consumers who desire to purchase safe, affordable, educationally-oriented, and stimulating toys and play products for children for vacation time at home or on the road.
“As a childhood specialist for 40 years,” says Dr. Toy, “I have seen the continuous, essential need for more year-round resources for consumers to identify and choose the most appropriate products for all children.” Dr. Toy reports that in the years that the innovative on-line magazine, Dr. Toy’s Guide, has been available, “thousands of visitors daily from around the world have accessed its information.” It was the first web site to evaluate toys and children’s products. The report is being released according to Dr. Toy to “encourage parents and teachers to focus on the value of play during the summer as essential to the learning process.”

“Exquisite award-winning Scramble Squares® are perhaps the World’s Most Challenging Puzzles® with over 135 topics for all ages. Black Bears Scramble Squares® has been very popular withcampers, naturalists, tourist attractions, outfitters and campgrounds. Although each Scramble Squares® puzzle has only nine 4” x 4” pieces, they are perhaps the World’s Most ChallengingPuzzle®!

Scramble Squares® puzzles are Easy To Play, But Hard To Solve®! The object of the Scramble Squares® puzzle game is to arrange the nine colorfully illustrated 4” x 4” pieces into a 12” square so that the realistic graphics on the piece’s edges match perfectly to form completed pictures in every direction. Scramble Squares® puzzles teach patience, perseverance, fine motor skills, critical thinking skills and help maintain mental agility while providing stimulating entertainment as either a solitaire game or a cooperative activity. Each puzzle includes an interpretive panel of fascinating facts on the subject of the puzzle, as well as a trivia question and hidden answer, all packaged in a unique and handy resealable heavy duty vinyl travel pouch, which can be collected and stored. Over 135 exquisite styles of colorful original art are available on nature, sports, history, culture, geography, science, technology, occupations, fantasy, hobbies and activities. Scramble Squares® puzzles are highly rated by the Ableplay.org web site of the Lekotek National Center in Chicago, which ranks products that are beneficial to the learning disabled.”
Dr. Toy reports, “The Best Play and Learn Vacation Products, selected from large and small, new and established, companies across the U.S.A., Canada, and other countries, will provide children with exciting new learning tools that will help them not only to do better in school, but also will provide more constructive activities while traveling or on vacation.”

The award winning products include innovative toys, books, CDs, crafts, DVDs, games, puzzles, and many other play products for children of all ages and interests. Dr. Toy believes “parents need more help to get a head start locating new, diversified products that children will enjoy as they increase learning skills and expand creativity.” The products are balanced from among large and small companies and range from low to high tech for “hours of constructive, educational, and stimulating fun.”

“Children learn best through play,” says Dr. Auerbach, “and these Best Products encourage children to maximize their potential and make the most of Smart Play. By making a renewed focus on summertime as a special time for choosing new products for children, parents improve their children’s development. This is a perfect time to ‘take stock’ and do an inventory of what your child is playing with, what is not used, and what they need next in their development.” Dr. Toy’s Best Products for Summer 2009 are carefully chosen, using extensive criteria she has developed over many years, from among hundreds she has reviewed at toy fairs, in catalogs, and through many other sources. Among the criteria used are: safety, age-appropriateness, design, durability, lasting play value, cultural and ethnic diversity, good transition from home to school, educational value, learning skills, creativity, improvement in the understanding of the community and the world, good value for price, and, naturally, fun. These are products suitable for babies to older children, include products from hand-crafted to hi-tech, and range in price on the average from $8 to $50. The winning products are affordable, well designed, and reflect the wide range of children’s interests. Complete information about these and other products are included in the full report.

Dr. Auerbach, a long-time resident of San Francisco, originally from New York City, lived in Washington, DC, while working for the Department of Education, where she approved the first proposal for “Sesame Street” and established the first day care center for children of federal employees. In San Francisco, she established the San Francisco International Toy Museum, theworld’s first “hands-on” toy museum visited by over 50,000 children. She is the author of 15 books and hundreds of articles on toys and play, and is the only Ph.D. in Child Development evaluating toys and children’s products with extensive training, background, and over 37 years of experience evaluating, writing and speaking about toys and children’s products. Dr. Auerbach is trained in child development, education, child psychology and special education. She is an educator, consultant, parent, and playful grandparent. Her book, Dr. Toy’s Smart Play/Smart Toys: How To Raise a Child with a High P. Q. (Play Quotient), may be obtained through www.barnesandnoble.com and at many toy and book stores.

"We are very pleased, honored and extremely gratified that over the 15 years that we have produced Scramble Squares® puzzles, our Scramble Squares® puzzles have maintained the very high standards that Dr. Toy upholds as her criteria for "Dr. Toy's Best Play and Learn Vacation Program for 2009," says b. dazzle founder, puzzle designer, president & CEO, Kathie Gavin.

Founded in 1993, b. dazzle, inc. is a progressive market-driven company which manufacturers and distributes wholesale in the gift, souvenir, toy and educational products industries a wide range of beautiful, wholesome, entertaining and informative made in America gifts of high quality and low cost for all ages of adults and children that can be selected by topic to appeal to the personal interests of the recipient and can be enjoyed as cross generational family activities.

dazzle, inc. is an official member of the CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition of the Josephson Institute of Ethics in Los Angeles: http://www.charactercounts.org
(800-711-2670; 310-846-4800).

The purpose of the CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition is to fortify the lives of America's young people with consensus ethical values called the “Six Pillars of Character.” These six key character values, which transcend divisions of race, creed, politics, gender and wealth, are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. Because our society places such a high value onmaterial success, there is the tendency in human nature to pursue success by material success, there is the tendency in human nature to pursue success by any means, whether fairly or unfairly, honestly or dishonestly. We strongly believe that with oursuccess comes a duty for us to contribute to our society. We wish to do so by advancing the principles of good character and ethical behavior, not only by operating our business in accordance with ethical standards, but also by advancing and promoting the importance of ethical business practices and ethical behavior throughout our industry and our society at large. The “CHARACTER COUNTS!” Coalition has become the nation's leading character education system, now reaching five million youngsters through a widespread partnership of schools and youth-serving organizations. Two United States' Presidents, the Congress, most states and countless municipalities have endorsed the Coalition's approach and declared the third week in October “National CHARACTER COUNTS! Week.”

For further information, contact either Kathie or Marshall Gavin at b. dazzle inc., 500 Meyer Lane, Redondo Beach, California 90278. The telephone, fax, e-mail and web site numbers are,
Phone: (310) 374-3000
Fax: (310) 318-6692
E-mail: info@b–dazzle.com
World Wide Web Site: http://www.b-dazzle.com.