Wonderment

• Little Farmer gardening tools. Schylling
• Children's Garden Tote w/tools. Toysmith
• Nature Quest Butterfly Net. Toysmith
• Explorer Net. Schylling
• Bug Bungalow, Critter Cabin insect houses. Toysmith
• $12–$25 kites. New Tech Kites
• The Original Tree Swing. The Original Tree Swing
• Role-play wooden bows, arrows. Fantashion
• Tiny glass animal figures. St. Petersburg
• Kids' magnifying glasses, binoculars. Carson Optical
• Rubber play balls. Crocodile Creek
• Qwirkle. Mindware
• Set. Set Enterprises
• Sophie Giraffe teether. Calisson
• Bubbles, bubble wands. Beeboo, Toysmith, Schylling

Outdoor products are all the rage right now among Wonderment's regular clientele, with kites, bubbles, gardening tools and backyard exploration toys (like bug nets, bug houses and magnifying glasses) topping the list of hottest items, according to co-owner Joyce Olson-Kapell. "Those are selling really well for us," she tells Playthings. Wonderment also counts some unique items produced locally as well as distinctive offerings from Europe among its recent top sellers. For example, The Original Tree Swing, sourced from Minnesota craftsman William Pine, is very popular, says Olson-Kapell, as is Beeboo's specially designed bubble solution and wands that create gigantic backyard bubbles. Meanwhile, Fantashion role-play weapons from Germany continue to sell "consistently" well, alongside Russian glass animal figures and the Sophie Giraffe from France's Calisson.

Toy Castle

• Morphibians. Kid Galaxy
• Ty Girlz soft dolls. Ty Inc.
• Webkinz. Ganz
• Wooden puzzles, play foods, stackable blocks, role-play costumes. Melissa & Doug
• Slides, kids' picnic/play tables, play houses, sand & water tables, sandboxes. Step2
• Ride-ons. Peg Perégo
• Flybar pogo stick. SBI Enterprises
• Gardening tools. Schylling
• Hula hoops. Toysmith
• Punching Bag Set w/boxing gloves. Schylling

Established brands are holding their own right now, Toy Castle co-owner Teresa Ashmore tells Playthings. "Of course, Webkinz always sell," she says, noting that she also gets a lot of mileage out the Morphibians; both brands sell through whether the offerings are the newest releases or not. In addition, "I always sell Melissa & Doug like hotcakes," Ashmore says. "Right now we sell a lot of the role-play costumes, but I always sell the puzzles and the stackable blocks." Other hot items are particularly seasonal, like Step2's slides, play houses and sand & water tables, as well as the Flybar, for which Toy Castle is one of the only suppliers in the local area. "We sell tons," she says.