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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

The Hot Ones No Single Toy Will Hog Space In Santa’s Sleigh This Year

Lynn Gibson Correspondent

Toy experts are casting their votes to predict this season’s hot toys for the holidays. The final judges, however, are the millions of parents, grandparents and relatives who ultimately decide the true winners at the cash register.

Tis the season when every toy maker hopes to create the next Big Thing and spark a toy-buying frenzy as renowned as Tickle Me Elmo. In last year’s Elmo craze, more than 1 million of the plush dolls were sold, with parents using guerrilla-shopper tactics and the Tyco Co. smiling all the way to the bank. Two years ago, it was Holiday Barbie mania and before that, the Cabbage Patch Kids invasion.

This year, parents need not panic. No single toy is topping the holiday hotlist. Instead, a dozen toys seem destined for Kid Approval, such as the Sing & Snore Ernie ($28). Based on the lovable Sesame Street character, Tyco Co. has created this endearing Ernie doll to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” before he fades off to sleep and begins snoring.

Sing & Snore Ernie and Tickle Me Elmo represent a toy trend that industry watcher Joanne Oppenheim calls a kinder, gentler toyland.

“More kids are collecting Beanie Babies instead of action figures with violent agendas,” she writes in her book, “The Best Toys, Books, Videos & Software for Kids 1998” (Prima Publishing). “There are fewer gross toys this year.”

Oppenheim observes a second trend: toys that present positive role models for children. An example is Barbie’s pal Ken, packaged as a caregiver complete with diaper bag and baby carrier. Strong female heroines are popular in books like “Girls to the Rescue” by Bruce Lansky; and in dolls like Josephina, the newest addition to the American Girls Collection from Pleasant Co.

Look for open-ended play with plenty of Star Wars accessories, science and craft kits, and construction sets with names like K’nex, Toobers and Zots, and Interstar.

Still popular are classic toys like Monopoly, Legos, Play Doh and Hot Wheels.

And Barbie is still at the top. In a recent report of best-selling toys for 1997 developed by the Toy Manufacturers of America, four out of 15 on the list are Barbie dolls and accessories: Holiday Barbie ($32), Dentist Barbie ($19), Barbie and Goldie ($29), and Barbie’s sporty Sun Jammer 4x4 for a cool $230.

Parents also will see a convergence of toys and technology, such as the ActiMates Interactive Barney from Microsoft Corp. For $109.95, the purple-and-green dinosaur will launch into a preprogrammed routine of songs and games when you squeeze his stuffed appendages. Barney also becomes a wireless remote-control device when you plug him into a video cassette recorder or personal computer.

Ingenious perhaps, but playful? ActiMates Barney dolls are about as huggable as Virtual Pets, which continue their omnipresent beeping among preteen guys and gals. These V-Pets have names like Tamagotchi, Nano Pet and Giga Pet ($10 to $15) and attempt to turn kids into virtual caregivers.

It seems unlikely a child could connect with a Tamagotchi like he could a Sing & Snore Ernie, but in the end there are as many reasons to love a toy as there are children to play with it. Discovering the elusive formula that ensures the magical bond between a child and a toy - and results in soaring profits for the creator - is the abiding quest that drives toy makers to continue their elf-like tinkerings.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 3 photos