It is with great pleasure that we announce the next batch of winners in the UKMums.tv Baby and Pre-school Awards 2023. Today we will be revealing the winners of the following categories: Best Books, Magazines and Printed Goods, and Best Entertainment Products.
These awards recognise the outstanding contributions made by companies within the Baby and Pre-School arena to entertain and bring joy to young children and their families. Be it through printed materials, video games, toys or otherwise, these award-winning items are wholly deserving of their accolades. Congratulations to all our winners!
Best Early Years Books
Storytime is invaluable to young children.
Not only is it an opportunity to broaden their imaginations and keep them entertained, but it’ll also help them progress in their reading and writing journeys.
But which are the best books to have on the shelf, this year? Here are the winners of this year’s Baby and Pre-School Awards programme….
Gold
(RRP £7.99), from Ladybird
About the product: Say hello to the noisy farm animals with this large touch-and-feel playbook! This sturdy board book is full of bright illustrations and adorable animals to engage your baby’s senses. Each double page has a chunky farmyard animal tab for little hands to grasp and is full of textured patches to touch, feel and explore. The perfect first book for babies, Baby Touch: Farm Animals aids sensory development, boosts motor skills and encourages interaction and play.
Our tester said:
“This is a lovely book and would make a great gift for a baby. The contents are lovely and it gives parents lots of great prompts for reading with their kids.”
Silver
(RRP £6.99), from Nosy Crow
About the product: Like other titles in the Felt Flaps this title features five spreads with friendly characters to find behind colourful felt flaps. In Where’s Mrs Panda?, you’re on the look out for Mr Elephant, Mrs Yak, Mr Leopard and Mrs Panda herself! Lift the final flap and there’s a surprise mirror – always a hit with the little ones. Parents adore these books because they are beautiful but tough enough to withstand even the most enthusiastic of young readers. And children love them because they are just so much fun. Ingela Arrhenius’ illustrations are a real bonus. They are bright and retro and sure to capture your baby’s attention. A perfect book to share with very little ones.
Joint Bronze
National Trust: Big Outdoors for Little Explorers: Farm
(RRP £6.99), from Nosy Crow
About the product: Explore the big outdoors in this action-packed animal board book with sliders on every page. Published in collaboration with the National Trust, this new series of board books will inspire a love of nature in even the littlest of animal lovers. With vibrant artwork printed on white board, robust easy-to-use mechanisms for tiny hands and a rhyming text with friendly animal facts, these are the perfect books to captivate curious little explorers time and time again. In this first farm book, there are cows hiding in the barn, lambs playing in the field, ducks paddling near the pond and many more farm animals to bring to life with the moving parts.
Joint Bronze
My First Lift-The-Flap Nursery Rhymes
(RRP £12.99), from Nosy Crow
About the product: From Humpty Dumpty to Hey Diddle Diddle, introduce little ones to the joy of nursery rhymes with bright, beautiful artwork and easy-to-lift card flaps revealing a hidden surprise on every page! Featuring 14 favourite rhymes to read together – and a QR code to scan with rhymes to listen to and sing along with – this gorgeous gift book will be treasured forever and reached for time and time again.
Highly Commended
Biff, Chip & Kipper: Read with Oxford Stage 1 – 24 books (Age 3+)
(RRP £24.99) from Books2Door, which offers a 79% on the combined price of £117.76
About the product: At Books2Door, we stock Biff, Chip & Kipper book packs to support the entire Read with Oxford syllabus, and with huge savings. This gives children and families a fantastic opportunity to begin reading with the joy of lovable characters and important phonics.
Highly Commended
(RRP £7.99), from Nosy Crow
About the product: Help the baby animals find their way home in this fun new sliding counter series! Meet rabbit, fox, bear and owl – four adorable baby animals who are lost in the woods! With easy-to-use moving parts and four unique tracks to develop hand-eye coordination and concentration, babies and toddlers will enjoy taking the baby animals home in this robust, satisfying board book. Scan the Stories Aloud QR code on the back cover to read along with the story!
Highly Commended
Jolly Learning Little Word Books
(RRP £25.30), from Jolly Learning
About the product: The Jolly Phonics Little Word Books provide a gradual and structured start for children who are just learning to read. It gives children the opportunity to apply their letter sound knowledge.
Best Early Years Magazines
Children’s magazines are another great way to familiarise little ones with the written word, whilst giving them hours of screen-free entertainment.
And here are the magazine titles that have come top in this year’s Baby and Pre-School Awards…
Gold
Fun To Learn Hey Duggee Magazine
(RRP from £4.74 – £5.99), from Redan Publishing
About the product: FTL Hey Duggee is a colourful and educational gender-neutral magazine brimming with engaging activities for children aged 3-5. It encompasses everything pre-schoolers enjoy – story-telling, colouring, sticking, playing, making and baking. Readers are invited to be part of the story and encouraged to earn badges. Children love rewards and each small activity badge they collect provides inspiration towards them achieving a bigger badge that supports the overall theme of the story. Published under Redan’s trusted Fun To Learn branding, the content is aimed at nurturing key learning skills and follows the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Our tester said:
“This is a lovely magazine that my daughter finds highly entertaining. There’s lots to do and she kept coming back to it time and time again.”
Silver
Fun to Learn Peppa Pig Bag of Fun Magazine
(RRP £5.99), from Redan Publishing
About the product: The phenomenal success of FTL Peppa Pig BOF is due to the creative expertise, originality and innovative style that superbly immerses readers in the magazine and keeps grown-ups buying it. This publication perfectly encapsulates everything pre-schoolers love. One story flows throughout and on each page there are several activities, which help to captivate the pre-schooler. The gift seamlessly links with the story and readers are invited to join in. Grown-ups respect the Fun To Learn brand and find reassurance in content that is based on the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Joint Bronze
(RRP from £4.99 – £5.99), from Redan Publishing
About the product: FTL Friends entertains pre-schoolers by combining inventive content ideas with the best and most popular characters from across the spectrum of viewing platforms. It offers readers opportunities to achieve and share special time with their grown-ups. Renowned for having the highest quality educational content with a workbook section that follows the Early Years Foundation Stage. The editorial richness is evident, grown-ups are reassured by the trusted FTL brand and recognise value for money in the 52 pages, which is still the highest pagination in the preschool sector.
Joint Bronze
Fun to Learn Peppa Pig Magazine
(RRP from £4.45 – £5.35), from Redan Publishing
About the product: FTL Peppa Pig has delighted pre-schoolers and their grown-ups since 2007. The popularity of this fun and educational gender-neutral magazine is a testament to the phenomenal editorial expertise, innovation and creativity that is evident in every issue. The editorial team always put our little Peppa fans first by creating stories, activities, recipes, cut-outs and crafts that will amuse them, support their learning, build their self-esteem and make them laugh. A pleasure amplified by immersing themselves in the world of their most favourite character whilst journeying through the activities.
Best Printed Goods for Young Children
The Best Printed Goods category recognises printed items that are designed to appeal to little ones. And here is the winner of the category, this year …
Gold
Guess How Much I Love You Official Card, Wrap, Tag & Bag Bundle
(RRP £9.49), from Danilo
About the product: From the heart-warming world of Guess How Much I Love You, comes this stunning official Birthday Card, Gift Wrapping Sheets, Gift Tags and Gift Bag set. The perfect way to celebrate your friends or family members’ special occasion. Featuring stunning pastel colouring along with sweet phrasing. The 2 x sheets of wrapping paper, the gift tags & the card all carry the message of ‘lots of love’. A beautiful set.
Our tester said:
“This set features such a beautiful design. It’s based on a popular licence, which will appeal to a wide range of ages – be they, little boys or little girls.”
Best Early Years Video Games
Video games are not only a huge amount of fun, but they also offer a host of key developmental benefits. So, which are the best video games for little ones? The results are in, and we are delighted to announce that the winners of the category are as follows:
Gold
(RRP £34.99), from Outright Media
About the product: Play in the wider world of Peppa Pig and bring your whole family into the story! Travel to cities like New York, Paris, London and much more for global adventures with Peppa Pig and her family. Create a home in Peppa Pig’s neighbourhood for you, your brothers and sisters, and your grownups. Be a family of cats, kangaroos, goats, or whatever you choose, and make your house dazzling by displaying the souvenirs and items you collect!
Our tester said:
“This is a perfect game for a very young audience but can be a bit repetitive and not challenging enough for older children. That being said, it’s a great safe environment that children can explore without much help from a grown-up. They can explore the world of Peppa Pig and also travel to various countries. There are tasks to complete and things in the environment you can interact with. The biggest hit for us was being able to build your family and a home that you can decorate.”
Silver
(RRP £34.99), from Outright Media
About the product: Players can speed around Cretacia across 15 tracks full of obstacles, including Gigantosaurus himself. The game features up to 4-player couch co-op for the whole family to play together and with 3 levels of difficulty for different ages, instant race mode which randomly selects a character and track, auto-steering karts and on-screen text tips read aloud by Mazu the brainy Ankylosaurus, to allow the youngest players to play and pick up the game at their own pace.
Bronze
(RRP £34.99), from Outright Media
About the product: The PAW Patrol are on its fastest mission yet – To win the Pup Cup! Race around 11 tracks across Adventure Bay, Jake’s Snowboarding Resort and the Jungle. Play as your favourite PAW Patrol characters, with up to 4 players couch co-op for the whole family to enjoy. This kart racer includes an easy control option for youngsters with auto-acceleration to guide them around the track, as well as a hard mode for experienced track stars.
Best Early Years Immersive & Interactive Toys
The products celebrated in this category are sure to keep little ones entertained time and time again. More than “just a toy”, these products will be loved by young children, with their irresistible interactive and immersive qualities.
Gold
(RRP from £4.99), from Trends UK
About the product: Painting needn’t be messy, with Paint Pop Paint Sticks. Their clever twist and paint design, and smooth, glide-on paint formula works without needing water or brushes. Plus, they dry quickly, reducing the risk of smudges and transfer. These factors combined mean that Paint Pop Paint Sticks offer a happy experience for all! They’re available in a variety of assorted super-bright, vibrant colours, which are all soluble and non-toxic. Pick from handy storage tubs and tubes, as well as 6-packs, 12-packs and 24-packs. There is even a Paint Pop Paint Sticks double-sides Creation Station, as well as a pack of 12 Paint Pop Face Paint Sticks available within the range!
Our tester said:
“Ingenious creative play item. Love the fact that they’re mess-free. Arts and crafts are rarely enjoyed by the adults in our household, but this takes away any pain associated with set-up and clear-up. Easy, enjoyable and fun for all.”
Silver
(RRP £27), from Just Play
About the product: The interactive CoComelon Learning JJ Doll, dressed in his “Learn with Me!” shirt, holds his light-up learning block and musical radio. Children will love playing with JJ as he teaches them their ABC’s, 123’s, and colours. Learn colour recognition by pressing the blue cube in JJ’s hand to watch it light up and hear him say the colour. Squeeze JJ’s left foot to learn letters. Squeeze JJ’s right foot to learn numbers and counting.
Bronze
(RRP £17.99), from Smart Games
About the product: Can you spy where these fun-loving animals need to go? Choose a challenge and try to stack the right cubes as shown on the challenge card. Peek-A-Zoo is a great educational game for pre-schoolers to practice language skills, learn about colours, animals, and concepts as above, below, inside and outside. This educational game is made of qualitative, durable cardboard and is easy to store and take with you wherever you go.
Highly Commended
Sesame Street Elmo’s Learning Letters
(RRP £37.66), from Just Play
About the product: Make learning fun with Elmo! Children can practise their ABCs and spelling with this interactive, bus-shaped activity board, which features an Elmo button that plays fun Sesame Street phrases to teach toddlers the alphabet, for example, “O is for Oscar. Oscar loves trash!” and a button that plays the “Alphabet Song”. Also included are 26 colourful, removable letters that reveal Sesame Street friends, which preschoolers can use to practise spelling words on the handy shelves.