NEW YORK, December 1, 2008 - The Toy Industry Association (TIA) released today its list of 74 nominees for the 9th annual Toy Of The Year (TOTY) Awards, which reflects the most exciting new products from a diverse range of toy companies.

The much anticipated TOTY Awards will be held at Pier 60 at Chelsea Piers on Sunday, February 15th at 6:30 p.m and will officially kick-off Toy Fair Week. Also this year at the TOTY Awards, Jack Pressman, founder of Pressman Toys, and Joan Ganz Cooney, the creator of Sesame Street, will be inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame. To purchase tickets online, click here.

Nominated products cover all aspects of the industry, ranging from "Game of the Year" to "Most Innovative Product." The TOTY ballot was overseen by the TOTY nominations committee, which is comprised of major retailers, TIA board members, toy trade journalists and academics.

Each TIA member and associate member company is granted one vote for each of the categories, as well as for the overall "Toy of the Year." Voting runs from December 1, 2008 through January 16, 2009. The list of nominees is below.

INFANT/PRESCHOOL TOY OF THE YEAR
KOTA THE TRICERATOPS - Hasbro
Tink's Talking Café - Jakks Pacific
Giddyip 'N Go Pony - Little Tikes
50's Diner - The Step2 Company
Sit to Stand Alphabet Train - Vtech
Elmo Live - Fisher-Price, Inc.

GIRL TOY OF THE YEAR
Pretty Pedicure Salon - Creativity for Kids/Faber-Castell USA
Barbie iDesign Ultimate Stylist Cards and CD-ROM - Mattel
Mrs. Goodbee Talking Dollhouse - Learning Curve Brands, Inc.
Disney Hannah Montana's Malibu Beach House - Play Along
Playmobil Horse Farm - Playmobil USA, Inc.
Clickables Fairy Charms Starter Set - Techno Source

BOY TOY OF THE YEAR
Handy Manny 2-in-1 Transforming Tool Truck - Fisher-Price, Inc.
NERF N-STRIKE VULCAN EBF-25 - Hasbro
EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles - Jakks Pacific
Legends: King Arthur Battle Action Castle - MEGA Brands
Sprig Adventure Series Discover Rig - Sprig Toys
Air Hogs Zero Gravity Micro - Spin Master
Bakugan Battle Brawlers Battle Pack Series 1 Spheres - Spin Master

GAME OF THE YEAR
Bananagrams LLC - Bananagrams
Haunted Ruins 3-D Adventures Pop-Up Board Game - Basic Concepts
The Cat in the Hat, I Can Do That! - I Can Do That! Games
MONOPOLY HERE & NOW: THE WORLD EDITION - Hasbro Games
PICTUREKA! - Hasbro Games
Rush Hour - ThinkFun Inc.
Zingo! - ThinkFun Inc.

OUTDOOR TOY OF THE YEAR
Crayola 3D Sidewalk Chalk - Crayola
Power Wheels A.T. Rex - Fisher-Price, Inc.
Cosmic Keep Away - Hasbro
Fropper - International Playthings
Junk Ball - Little Kids Inc
Backyard Safari Bug Vacuum - Summit Products, LLC
Banzai Skim Board Surfer - Toy Quest

EDUCATIONAL TOY OF THE YEAR
Computer Cool School™ - Fisher-Price, Inc.
Idbids Eco-friendly Starter Kit - Idbids LLC
LeapFrog TAG Reading System - LeapFrog
Zillions Touch Screen ATM - Summit Products, LLC
V-Motion Active Learning System - Vtech
Discovery Kids Smart Animals Scanopedia - Jakks Pacific
EyeClops BioniCam - Jakks Pacific

ACTIVITY TOY OF THE YEAR
Crayola Color Wonder Magic Brush - Crayola
Clipo Creativity Table - Hasbro
Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker - Jakks Pacific
Star Wars AT-TE Walker - LEGO Systems, Inc.
Circus Ring - Playmobil USA, Inc.
Pixos Super Studio - Spin Master
KidiArt Studio - Vtech

ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT TOY OF THE YEAR
Ultimate Wall-E Programmable Remote Control Robot - Disney
Fisher Price Imaginext Spike, the Ultra Dinosaur - Fisher-Price, Inc.
Fur Real Friends Biscuit My Lovin Pup - Hasbro
U-Dance - Tiger Electronics
KidiJamz Studio - Vtech
RS Tri-bot - WowWee

MOST INNOVATIVE TOY OF THE YEAR
The Pieceless Puzzle - Ceaco
Fisher Price Imaginext Spike, the Ultra Dinosaur - Fisher-Price, Inc.
KOTA THE TRICERATOPS - Hasbro
EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles - Jakks Pacific
Sprig Adventure Series Discover Rig - Sprig Toys
Air Hogs Zero Gravity Micro - Spin Master
Bakugan Battle Brawlers Battle Pack Series 1 Spheres - Spin Master

SPECIALTY TOY OF THE YEAR
Deglingos - All New Materials
Create Your Own Pop-Up Books - Creativity for Kids/Faber-Castell USA
18" Fancy Nancy Cloth Doll - Alexander Doll
Totem Boys/Girls from Kids on Roof - Kids on Roof
Circus Ring - Playmobil USA, Inc.
Sprig Adventure Series Discover Rig - Sprig Toys
Wind Power - Thames & Kosmos

PROPERTY OF THE YEAR
Barbie - Mattel
Fancy Nancy - Harper Collins
Star Wars The Clone Wars- LucasArts Entertainment
Disney Fairies - Disney
Disney's Handy Manny - Disney
Bakugan - Cartoon Network
Yo Gabba Gabba - Wild Brain