Editorial Review

What's the No. 1 group dance for the pre-school set? Hint: it's not the "Electric Slide" or "Cotton-Eyed Joe." You guessed it, and so did Elmo: the "Hokey Pokey." Though Elmo doing the "Slide" would be a sight to see, he masters the Pokey quite convincingly, to the probable delight of his toddling fans. After loading his foot with four "AA" batteries, press his hand and he performs the popular jig. He sticks out both his right hand and foot, shakes his body all about, then smoothly spins in place, thanks to a rotating platform under one foot. Elmo even spices up the beat, and sporadically speeds up the action; both innovations crank up the fun factor. The only downside: he was de-plushed, presumably because of all the mechanisms needed to help him dance and maintain balance. The result, still, is an impressive performance. He's just not very cuddly. --Diane Beall ... Read more

Reviews (73)

We hokey pokey right along!
Since my 1-year-old is an Elmo freak, we bought this for her for Christmas. She loved it from the first beat! It was hard for her to turn on at first, but once she got him going, she danced right along! And I have to admit, it's kind of a catchy jig! Our only problem was that the batteries ran out pretty fast. But other than that, we love Hokey Pokey Elmo!

It is an awsome toy!
I love Elmo and so does my niece. My co-worker had it, and I thought it was neat. Now I would like to buy it for my niece for her birthday and i can't find it any wheres in syracuse New york.

great toy elmo
i bought this elmo for my 6 month old elmo he loved it and we as adults thought it was ahoot i wanted one so did some of my family it is so sweet

Our kids LOVE Elmo!
My daughter got this for her first Christmas this past year and she is going on 7mos now but she absolutely LOVES this toy. She giggles and squirms whenever he's singing and dancing. Her 2 yr old brother dances with him too and loves when he falls over because he asks you to pick him back up. Granted he doesn't sing the whole song but who cares? It's the fun of dancing with Elmo. So far Elmo has survived 2 kids and a curious cat. The entertainment value and watching what your kids do when he dances and sings far outweighs the noise and not singing the whole song. I recommend this if you want to have a great time with your children.

LOVE IT!
My Greatgrandmother got this Elmo for me for Christmas, and I can't stop bouncing when he dances. I'm still pretty little, so I like to eat Elmo's fur, but when Mommy and Daddy play and dance with me, it's SO much fun! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Guess what! Dora the Explorer has jumped on the royal bandwagon! This intrepid explorer is now a fairy tale princess with magical hair that grows when the jewel in her crown is pressed with a wand. Dora talks and sings, too, in both English and Spanish: "Vamanos! Let's go to fairytale land! Will you brush my hair?" The 14-inch-tall plastic doll is not designed to be cuddled so much as played with and groomed. She is attired in a satiny yellow gown trimmed in pink and purple, and has a brush, barrettes, and magic wand. The magical tresses emerging from the hair-growing tube are quite realistic, although grownups, at least, might be a little unnerved at the sleek brown hair oozing in and out of Dora's head. Still, children are experts at suspending disbelief and accepting weirdness in the world, so they probably won't mind a bit. Four AA batteries required (included). --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Fun for kids of all ages
We bought two of these for my nephews who are both around 1 year old. My almost two year old daughter fell in love with the puppy so we ended up giving her one and going back to the store for another. She loves the puppy and unlike some "interactive" toys we have bought, it doesn't require adult strength to activate the different songs she can easily play all the songs by herself which is her goal with everything at her age.

Wow! Great toy!
We just bought this for my daughter's birthday. She is turning one in December. She played with it the entire time we were in the store. Then when we came home she continued to play with it, so I had to give in and opened it up early. She loves it. It really great because the buttons are easy for her to push, unlike many of her other stuffed animals that sing. She really gets into the music and dances her little heart out. I am so pleased with it. It also speaks and sings clearly so she can understand the words. The only bad part is that is seems a bit loud at times, but a small price to pay when it makes her so happy.

Mommy fixes bordonm
this is a wonderful toy for a baby my son is hard to take care always into to stuff but i definately keep his attention with this ... Read more

Editorial Review

Dora the Explorer, "Nick Jr.'s" doe-eyed, Mexican sojourner, converses in Spanish and English as a doll as naturally as a cartoon. From simple, one-word translations to the "Happy Song," Dora speaks and sings using over 30, clearly pronounced, easy-to-learn words. She interacts with four included friends--a star, baby bird, butterfly and frog--who respond with movement, light and sound (via microchips) when placed in her right hand. Dora's body is designed to sit rather than stand (she has a very flat bum and solid posture), so she's actually built to be conversational. Just position her on the edge of a chair and the fun begins. If kids still need something to coddle, Dora has pliable extremities, and her pretty, brown hair can be combed. Her clothes, however, are not removable. Required: 4 "AA" batteries.--Diane Beall ... Read more

Reviews (33)

at least it's fun
The toy is fun for my three year old; however, we have had a terrible time keeping track of Dora's "friends" which is the reason I rated durability rather low. When you place the "friend" in Dora's hand, there is no locking mechanism; so as my little girl is running around the house -as children do- with her Dora doll, Dora's "friends" are flying at my 4 month old's head. No injuries to report thus far, though. Also, we have already lost (and found) two of Dora's "friends". If I had one suggestion to make it would be to include Backpack with the doll, making Backpack fully functional so that the "friends" can live there when not in use. I have also been disappointed with Dora's phrases. Apparently, she is to say 30 interactive phrases and in the entire time my daughter has had her Dora doll, I've only heard a total of 8 phrases, which is my justification for rating Dora's educational value low as well.

Cute Toy
My 2 year old received this as a gift. Six months later she still plays with it frequently. She even calls many of the characters by the Spanish names. Although she hasn't quite gotten into the games, she still enjoys the song. This is a must for any Dora fan.

Great educational toy
This is a great educational toy. It is fun and easy to use for children. My daughter loves it. She received the toy for her first birthday and has been enjoying it. I'm so glad I purchased the toy for her.

Not very impressed
I bought this Dora the Explorer Doll for my 2 year old. Within the first week it was grinding and not recognizing which character was what. Not very durable!

EXCITING!
This toy is very educational. Especially if you want your child to learn two languages:English and Spanish. I say it's a 5 star toy! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Elmo has certainly sold out. The fuzzy red Muppet is dressed up in a chicken suit, with only his red face and hands showing. The fuzzy suit is bright yellow with a white chest, orange feet, and a red comb on the hood. Push the button on Elmo's left foot and his high-pitched voice encourages little ones to do the Chicken Dance with him. His arms flap and his knees bounce up and down as he sings the lines, "Elmo wants to be a chicken, Elmo wants to be a duck" to the familiar, but annoying, tune. Press the button on his right foot and Elmo will cluck like a chicken and move his head. Note that these two actions are the only ones Elmo does; there is no volume control, repeatedly hitting a button will cause a "rap effect," and the body under the chicken suit is hard plastic, which hurts his huggability factor. --Pam Lauer ... Read more

Reviews (111)

Chicken Dance Elmo
I read some of the other reviews, and I disagree with alot of them. Some of these people say that the toy is loud and obnoxious, but I think that it's fun for kids. My nephew is 4 now, and he's had it since his third birthday, and he still loves it and plays with it all the time.

Deafening
I recently bought a chicken dance Elmo for my daughter, but it is too loud (and there is no way to adjust the volume). I actually really like Elmo and his songs but this is just earsplitting. Also, Elmo is not cuddly at all. His body is hard plastic with a thin "fur" covering.

I'm dissapointed in how long the toy worked!
This is one of my son's favorite toys. He also loves the Elmo piano. He received the Elmo piano in 12-02 and has played it constantly. We have only just changed the batteries in 3-04. We gave him the Chicken Dance Elmo when Toys R Us was out of Tickle Me Elmo (even though their commercial said they'd never run out, they did). Anyways, he absolutely loved Chicken Dance Elmo and unfortunately it stopped working on 3-29-04, a little over 90 days of use, that's all he got out of it. For the price I am really disappointed at how poorly it held up.

A love/hate relationship
We purchased Chicken Dance Elmo when our son was about 12 months old because he loved it in the store. For about 2 months, my son liked and and would flap his arms and try to chicken dance. We have taught my son sign language and whenever he saw Elmo anywhere, he would flap his arms like a chicken.
Then, at about 14 months, my son became terrified of this toy. I hid Elmo in my son's closet thinking this would solve the problem, but then he saw it in there and then would point to the closet and shriek while making his sign for Elmo. I put it in our closet and then made the mistake of leaving the closet door open while my son was in there. More shrieking! While not having Elmo around was a bit of a relief to us (he's a bit noisy), we thought it best to try some deprogramming. My husband took Elmo out of the closet, hugged him in front of my son, and told him that Elmo is our friend (hilarious). After several days of this, Elmo was welcomed back in the family. NOW, my son adores him, and gets very upset if he falls over (which he often does). It really is too cute to see him chicken dance. Still, Elmo is loud, not at all cuddly, and likely pretty scary for kids under 18 months. Additionally, all he does is the dance. Amusingly, while my son now loves the Chicken Dance Elmo, he is still terrified of the Limbo Elmo.

Holds up well
We got this for my step son Christmas of 2002. He was 11mos old then but we decided to get it since he adores Elmo. When he was opening gifts he unwrapped this one and had no interest in any of the others. He still loves to play with this one and hokey pokey...at the same time and combines the two dances. He holds it so it won't move all the time and it still dances. This toy has held up so well to a very curious toddler, a stuffed toy box, and 2 moves. This Elmo also has 2 buttons, one on each foot, that can play at the same time! When he's singing and dancing you can press the other foot and he will balk like a chicken and roll his head and the song doesnt reset it will breifly pause do the head roll then pick up right where it left off. All in all I recommend this toy to any one. My 7mo old daughter also gets a kick outta this toy too! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Simply put the Move ‘n Groove Dance Mat on the floor and let your child dance the day away. The keyboard makes six different notes, the instrument icons play various tunes, and when the picture of Barney is stepped on, he will issue instructions to step on the blue footprint, step on the red footprint, etc., and even congratulate the child when she steps on the correct spot. The furry, inflatable Barney figure spins around when music plays, an effect that would be better if he didn't tilt weirdly to one side. Nonetheless, Barney is still a nice bonus with this mat since, being removable, he is a fun toy in his own right. True, the combinations of things you can do may be limited, but the physical and interactive qualities of this toy are a big plus. --David Stoesz ... Read more

Reviews (22)

wow im 25 and i still like this
this thing is so much fun it teaches people to dance move n groove barney is off the fisle fashisle dawg. so buy this thing for yourself and experiance the fun and joy of barney. barneys fun fun fun

Barney Dance Mat, not so Super Duper
The Barney doll is a blow-up doll and does not stand up properly on the stand even when it is at filled at capacity with air. It just turned out to be a big noise-making mat that our toddler dances on.

Fun, but Barney Deflates
We may have purchased a defective one then because Barney will either deflate while trying to spin or he will come out the base (I even tried to double-tape the bottom of his feet to the base, but that didn't work either). My 2 year old loved this toy, but since Barney doesn't stay put (or deflated), it made her upset, so we ended up throwing it out. I didn't realize that not everyone had this problem (from the other reviews I have read). Maybe, we just purchased a "bad" one or something.

Great toy for a two year old who likes to dance!
My 18 mnth old loves this toy. She loves to dance with him even though she can't understand the steps yet. She especially loves to pick Barney up and run off with him! It's one of her favorite toys and my 6 mos old laughs when he hears Barney talk. He thinks it's really cool that Barney is in our house. (:

Don't understand all the bad reviews!
My 2 year old just received this toy yesterday and she and my 3 year old can't stop fighting over it!! They both just love it. The people who complained about blowing it up must have never blown up a beach ball before!!! It took me maybe 5 or 6 breaths to inflate it. And after hours of play.........Barney's still standing. This is the first toy review I've written and the only reason I wrote it is because I strongly disagree with all the poor reviews. It may not be the most educational toy but it's great exercise for the kids!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Elmo may not be on the cutting edge of pop culture with this incarnation, but he still makes playtime fun. Instead of mimicking the latest hit, which always seems to drive kids wild, he sings and dances his own version of a 70s classic: "YMCA." It never dies, does it? The 13.5-inch Elmo sings out letters to a catchy rhythm while dancing what can only be described as pseudo-Egyptian. It's quite a feat, actually, to see what he does with his arms and legs: standing on one foot, bobbing his head, moving several limbs at once. His cute, familiar voice hasn't changed, either; kids can hear it with each press of his upheld hand. Required: 4 AA batteries.Diane Beall ... Read more

Reviews (1)

too cute for words
This Elmo is the cutest one that I have ever seen. By daughter loves to dance with Elmo. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Awesome for learning to play with imagination
My daughter is two and loves this doll! She memorized the first day all of the sayings! It teaches a small amount of spanish, which is a great start for a child to learn. My daughter loves to pretend play with Dora. I feel this has expanded my daughters imagination play out more! Great toy!!

It's Dora!
This is a very well made doll. It's cute and perfect for our little 3 year old. This doll helps her with her role playing, which she is doing alot of now. And she acts out scenes with this doll and Boots (9 inch cuddly doll). The hair keeps well.

This Dora doll is very adorable!
My 18-month-old loves her Dora doll! She says several cute phrases, including a couple in Spanish. The backpack, bracelet, and surprise are a real treat too. We haven't had her long, so I don't know how well she will hold up, but this toy is made by Fisher-Price so I'm sure it will last for awhile. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

My daughter loves this toy
My 8 year old son won this toy at a dance contest in shea stadium and gave it to his 4 year old sister and she has not stopped playing and dancing with it .Very entertaining for this age group ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great for Blue's Clues fans!
I bought this for my son's 2nd birthday and he absolutely loves it.

The toy measures approximately 12" tall; the arms are outstretched, so technically it is around 10.5" wide. I wanted to know this information when I was shopping, and am sure others will too.

The stomach holds the batteries & microphone and is therefore hard; however, the fabric is very soft to the touch so my son still loves to sleep with it at night.

When you squeeze Blue's hand she says many different phrases. Some of them are: "Hi you, there's so much we can do", "I can boogie" "I love you, I love you, I love you *kissing sound*", "I can pretend with you" "You're a good friend" "What a great team we are, don't you think?", "Let's talk again", and countless more.

If you have a child that is in love with Blue's Clues (as mine is), then this is definitely a great toy for them at a fantastic price. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Dora the Explorer would never think of setting out on an expedition without her trusty backpack, and chances are that any kid who gets hold of this hard-plastic backpack will feel the same. It features the same cheerful expression and, at the press of a button, it says one of four different upbeat lines or sings the "Backpack Song," which chances are your child already knows by heart. The sound is awfully loud, so parents may wish to have an artfully arranged piece of tape ready for muting purposes. Rounding out the ensemble are Dora-themed bracelet, camera, magnifying glass, and binoculars. While none of these accessories actually work, like the backpack in which they all fit, they're quite charming. --Charlie Williams ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Items are difficult to get out of backpack
I'm finding that the opening to the backpack is small in relation to the camera and the binoculars, and the kids are having a hard time getting their hand inside the backpack and pulling out what they want. They can reach in and grab the item; but, when they go to withdraw their hand with the item in it, their hand hits the narrow opening and this knocks the item out of their hand. So, they tend to tip the backpack upside down and shake it to get the items out. Since you really don't want to make the items smaller, I think the opening needs to be bigger.

Lots of fun!
We bought this for our daughter, a huge Dora fan and she LOVES it! In fact, we carted it all the way to Kauai and back. It has been dropped, pounded on, slammed and still looks brand new. I would recommend this toy for anyone who is a Dora fan.

Love Dora
My 3 year old received this as a gift and plays with it every day. My 22 month old also loves playing with it. They fight over it but always seem to split up the pieces so they both can play with it!!! Only complait was that the bracelt is too big for my daughters arm. But other then that it is a great toy!!! I remond it!!!

The Dora Back Pack
I was a little unsatisfied with this toy. It is very durable but the toys are very hard to fit inside the plastic back pack. It is also hard to get them in and out of it. My daughter is four and LOVES Dora but she plays more with her fabric Dora back pack more then she plays with the plastic one. It is musical but not very entertaining to her.

Fun toy for all ages
My mom bought this for my 3 year old, but she and her little sister are constantly fighting over it! They both love it, even though none of the accessories actually "work". My 18mo old loves to hear the song. Cute toy! ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Soft and sweet
The only negative to this doll is that the rattle is too heavy for the doll. I took the rattle off and sewed up the hand, now she is the perfect cuddly doll she was intended to be.

A Baby's Baby
My 15 month old received this for her first birthday, but it just became appealing to her. Especially the rattle. I guess because her father and I are so affectionate with her, she does hte same to her dolly. It takes a while for babies to get used to playing with a dolly though

We just love this doll
My little girl got this for christmas and at first she wasn't so sure about it and now she crawls all over the house with it. She teeths on it and she loves the fact the baby has a toy too. It doesn't really bother her that the rattle is heavier she has never once hurt herself. So we have no complaints.

Cute soft doll, but rattle is rather heavy for a light doll
My daughter loves this doll, It's soft, although its face is plastic, however the rattle is rather heavy for a light doll, so its off balance so to speak. You can't sit the doll up, etc because the rattle pulls it over. Haven't had any problems with the rattle coming off though, as another reviewer did.

My Baby Loves This Doll
My baby girl loves her baby doll.She got it when she was 6 months and was insantly attacted to it she falls to sleep sucking the bow and her thumb.My only worry was the heavy rattle Which knocked her up top her head but no damage done.She goes everywhere with this doll so this means I wash it weekly(only after my girl goes to sleep with it).I know the care instructions say to put in pillowcase and wash in machine but I always wash the entire doll in the sink and genlty squeeze most of the water out and put the blow dryer on it till its mostly dry and when the dryed completely I return it to my girl.She has had this doll for 4 months and it is in very good condition considering my cleaning method.Its a great doll for ANY girl to have a doll is a doll.I am purchasing a second one just in case. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Loved it for a few minutes until the megaphone didn't work!
My son received this toy as a birthday gift and we couldn't get it out of the box fast enough. He was so excited and couldn't wait to play with it. It didn't take us long to figure out that the megaphone only partially worked. We couldn't talk into it like we were supposed to. I changed the batteries hoping that would help. Then it didn't work at all! I put different batteries in, changed them around, everything. I finally unscrewed the thing and looked at the wires. I was surprised to see the wires being held together with string and masking tape! Low and behold, a wire was lose. I tried to fix it and ended up breaking it entirely...within 10 minutes of having the toy. My son is so disappointed that I'll probably end up having to go buy a whole new one just for the darn megaphone! I'm going to see if Fisher-Price will send me a replacement part, but I'm not counting on it.

Big Billy Is A Big Hit!!
I purchased this item for my six year old son who is a die hard Rescue Heroes enthusiast. He LOVES it! The megaphone was a lot of fun for him, and he likes the idea of having a larger action hero to play with. For me and my husband, it was very reminiscent of our old GI Joe dolls. Rescue Heroes are great toys with an equally good message. We own most of the line, and Fisher Price should be applauded for not only making a quality toy at a reasonable cost, but for constantly evolving the line so there are always new things to buy at holiday and birthday time!

Big Billy Was Big Hit
I got Big Billy Blazes for my nephew's 2nd birthday. It was his first Rescue Heroes figure, and he fell in love with it right away. He figured out how to use the megaphone before most of the adults in the room did. My nephew brought Billy to bed with him that night, and now Billy goes almost everywhere in the car with him. And he is always talking about being a firefighter when he gets big. Billy is very durable and he was a big hit with my nephew!! I would definitely recommend this toy, as well as the other Rescue Heroes figures. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Tigger is indeed a "wonderful thing"--a bouncy storybook tiger who embodies all the exuberance and glee of early childhood. Although children typically fall in love with Winnie the Pooh characters during their toddler years, this infant-safe velour toy makes it possible for babies to become enchanted with the critters of the Hundred Acre Wood from the moment they are born. This adorable Tigger is made of soft velour that's perfect to cuddle with, and with minimal polyester stuffing, he's easy to carry. The "silly" part is that he flops about and falls into funny positions when picked up and put down. Since he's surface washable, he can easily stay fresh and clean throughout the early years of hard loving. --Hannah Reynolds ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great Toy!!!
I have had this for my daughter since she was about 3 months old. It has become her best friend, and we had to get another one, so she could have one at school to nap with. I think everyone with little ones should have one!

Great Fun!!
I first purchased the Winnie the Pooh Soft 'n Silly Tigger for my son when he was 4 months old. He is now 14 months and LOVES his Tigger. We now have 2 Tiggers, one as a back up, and he carries them everywhere he goes. It's a great toy for young children to sleep with, being soft and cuddly. Tigger has been a great comfort for my son and I don't know what I would have done with out them!! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Cute!
A friend of ours got this for our son and he loves it! It is SO SOFT and cushy! Very cute!

Do I love this donkey!
This Eeyore is my little one's favorite. She is the kind of baby who needs something to cuddle when she wants to sleep but the blanket is not first choice because she tends to pull it over her head. Eeyore is soft and cuddly, she can grab him, pull him over her head, chew on his ears or even use him as a pillow and I don't have to worry she might not be able to breathe.
But even when she's awake she just loves to play with Eeyore, he is just the right size for her little hands (she's 5 months by now) and so light she can easily move him around.
He's also very easy to wash, I have to clean him with some water and soap almost every day for my daughter will spit milk all over him or toss him on the floor (well, most of the time she does both) ;-) and he'll be just like new. The stains are easy to remove and the fabric won't suffer.
Soft'n'Silly Eeyore is great fun and a wonderful friend. My baby loves him and so do I... :-) ... Read more