PAL Award Winners – 2016
Exceptional toys, games and books / media that encourage language, spark fun and invite creative play.
PAL Awards
Established by respected speech and language expert Sherry Artemenko, the PAL Award recognizes exceptional toys, games and books that, through their design, content, quality, and character, promote play that advances language. PAL winners in the hands of kids spark fun and creative play with lots of talk!
TOYS
GAMES
BOOKS / MEDIA
TOYS
Go! Go! Smart Friends Enchanted Princess Palace by VTech
Go! Go! Smart Friends is a great name for VTech's series of interactive play sets. Last year's Go! Go! Smart Friends' Busy Sounds Discovery Home was...
Kathe Kruse Monkey Carlo Towel Doll
Monkey Carlo captured my heart as I opened the box to find him clutching his blankie with the beautiful Kathe Kruse details we know and love--a...
ALEX Toys My First House Activity Cube
"My First House Activity Center" was one of my favorite new toys at the NY Toy Fair this year. It's loaded with potential language learning with the...
Jungle Train Journey Set by Hape
Hape's Jungle Train Journey Set was clearly one of my favorite new toys at the New York Toy Fair this year! I took a video of playing with this...
Bluebee Pals by Kayle Concepts
Want to soften technology with a cuddle and chat? Bring on one of the Bluebee Pals to oversee the learning! As a speech language pathologist, over...
Wonderhood Grand Hotel Creative Building Set
Pack your suitcases and get on the road for a visit to Chelsea who lives at the Wonderhood Hotel. But YOU get to design the hotel just the way you...
Wonderhood Corner Shops Creative Building Set
Who doesn't like to play with a dollhouse and better yet, design it first? It was fun to watch my friend jump right into designing and building,...
Touch & Learn Activity Desk Deluxe by VTech
VTech keeps upping the amount of learning in their toys and I think this activity desk is tops! First of all it is a 3-in-1 toy that transforms from...
Ring & Learn Cash Register by VTech
In my many years working as a speech language pathologist with preschoolers, I found that one of their favorite toys was always a cash register....
GAMES
Memory Palace by Peaceable Kingdom
Heads up everyone--Peaceable Kingdom has brought us yet another fantastic cooperative learning game that is loads of silly fun! Set out the 16...
Tell-A-Tale by Getta1Games
As a speech language pathologist I certainly love a cooperative story telling game! Set up Tell-A-Tale Fairy Tale Edition's slotted base, punch out...
Cheese Stack by Getta1Games
Cheese Stack is a fun beginning game for preschoolers with an element of pretend play as mice Pip and Squeak attempt some balancing feats! With 3...
SmartGames Little Red Riding Hood by Smart Toys and Games
"Little Red Riding Hood" is a favorite fairy tale that comes alive in SmartGames' new preschool puzzle game. With 48 challenges to solve, kids get...
Wonder Forge Dr. Seuss Thing Two and Thing One Whirly Fun Game
This game was so much fun, do I dare say that a 10 year-old wanted to keep it as the family played together? Wonder Forge, known for its creative,...
Disney Jr The Lion Guard Boulder Burst Game by Wonder Forge
Kids loved playing this game as they simultaneously built up the dam higher and added "water" balls through the storm clouds. Who can pull out a...
Suspicion™ Game by Wonder Forge
Pass out the invitations to the masquerade party at the estate of art collector Baron Whitetooth, and the game of suspicion, secret identities,...
Circuit Maze by Thinkfun
I told my 10 year-old friend that I had an electric current game for him to try and he was sitting outside my house when I got home, so excited to...
Alphabet Woods by SimplyFun
Take a walk in the Alphabet Woods, building trees with letters in alphabetical order. Kids put together the puzzle base and started adding their...
BOOKS / MEDIA
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt De la Pena and Christian Robinson
The cover of “Last Stop on Market Street” is filled with medallions for awards and it is no wonder. I’ve incorporated this book into many language...
Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea by Robert Burleigh and Raul Colon
Often parents ask me for suggestions for good biographies for their early elementary aged girls. Add the STEM trend for girls and “Solving the...
Ada’s Violin by Susan Hood and Sally Wern Comport
This extraordinary true story takes kids across the world to the rubble and trash of one of the largest garbage dumps in the capital city of...
Leaps and Bounce by Susan Hood and Matthew Cordell
"Leaps and Bounce" accurately describes the rhyme, rhythm and illustrations in this bouncy, joyful tale of growing up to be a frog! Spotted round...
Daniel Finds a Poem by Micha Archer
As a speech language pathologist, I look at books from a little different angle. Of course it needs a great story line, but I am looking for rich...
Rain Fish by Lois Ehlert
This simple rhyming text is joined by Ehlert's signature vibrant, collage illustrations of "rain fish" who appear in streams of water after a rain...
Little Scholar Mini by School Zone Publishing
My first reaction to Little Scholar Mini was "Wow! What a variety of learning content for kids!" Loaded with over 200 educational apps,...
Playroom Prep by Rosalyn Kemp
When I opened "Playroom Prep," I immediately recognized that a seasoned educator had laid out the fun (teacher mom and daughter team), engaging...
Parachute by Danny Parker and Matt Ottley
As a language therapist, I am drawn to books that have lots of strong vocabulary and text as well as those that have less text and beautiful...
About The Award
Learn about the application and selection process for the PAL Award.
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erika@playonwords.com