 Evaluation Summary - Category Ratings
Category ratings based on scale from 1 to 5 [3] = Meets Passing Criteria [4] = Excellent [5] = Outstanding / Best
( Only scores of 3 or higher are published. )
Product and service final rating is averaged from the sum of all evaluation category scores.
( With a total of 323 evaluation categories, only 6 of the applicable evaluation categories are featured for public view. )
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Critical Skills Development |
Educational Value |
FunFactor™ |
Innovation Level |
Marketability |
Visual Appeal |
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 Safety / Quality Classifications |
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CE Marked | UL Approved | JPMA Certified |  | | | | | ASTM Compliant | eco-Friendly | eco-Conscious |  | | |
| CPSIA Compliant | Independent Lab Tested | Independent Lab Name | | |
| | LeadSafe™ - Surface Coatings/Paint
(Complies with 16 CFR 1303/CPSIA 101) | LeadSafe™ - Content / Substrates
(Complies with CPSIA 101) | PhthalatesSafe™
(Complies with CPSIA 108) | | | | |
| BPASafe™ (Complies with CPSI EN71) | Soluble Heavy Metals
(Complies with ASTM F963/CPSIA 106) | Mechanical/Physical (Complies with ASTM F963/CPSIA 106) | | | | | | Flammability - Solids/Textiles (Complies with 16 CFR 1500.44/CFR 1610) | Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials (Complies with ASTM-4236/16 CFR 1500.14(b)(8) ) | iWatchDog™ Approved (Complies with ICCS™ Certification Standards) | | | |
| UPC | Manufacturer SKU | Age Grading | | | | |
| Manufactured In | Safety Hazard/Warnings | | China | Choking hazard, small parts not for children under 3 years |
"The Two Tuba Switch", A Critical / Cognitive Skill Sensation
The Two Tuba Switch is a genuine marvel, the likes of which we have seldom seen in our product evaluations. This product is produced by "Toys 'N Tayls Ltd.". Children's challenges in interaction with others are in abundance. For many, they often times can seem unbearable, but Toys N Tayls has taken on this challenge with "The Two Tuba Switch".
This is a delightful combination of a book and 4 toys which when used together help a child to learn to overcome being shy. Best of all, parents and children can create their own new stories to use with the 4 toys that come in the package. The Two Tubs Switch is a real "SWITCHEROO" that kids will find most delightful to play with and promises to be a sure sell product in stores.
A Most Unique Combination Of Story Book and Toys
When you first look at "The Two Tuba Switch", you simply see a box, but there is so much more within, eagerly awaiting your child to pull the contents out and begin their wondrous journey of learning and fun. What makes "The Two Tuba Switch" extra special is what lies hidden within the horn.
The folks at Toys N Tayls used a most unique approach with the design of this product by using the horn as a place to store the various pieces and characters in the book! Less space used not just in packaging but at home as well. Just imagine convenience for Mom and hidden surprises for your child, all rolled up into one product!
When you open the box you discover the horn, gently nestled within the box with the book surrounding it. Such a simplistic idea, yet so effective! Having a design such as this makes "The Two Tuba Switch" more than just a story or a toy, but rather an adventure which begins as a child first opens the box.
A Greater Understanding Of "The Two Tuba Switch"
“The Two-Tuba Switch” is an educational product that includes a story picture book and a set of toys. A delightful tale, with illustrations brilliantly drawn to engage and entertain the child, while the story deals with shyness and self-acceptance.
The hero of the story is Mitch, a boy who switches into objects whenever he is shy. In this story, he switches into a tuba. Mitch learns as he experiences being various objects more of who he is and his importance to the lives of others.
The Book
The book gently delivers its messages to both parents and kids:
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Parental support and acceptance are major contributing factors in children’s well-being.
- We can accept our imperfections while recognizing our abilities.
- Book – Tells the tale and contains fun activity ideas.
The Toys
- The toys are a set of stress puppets of the main characters.
- Children experience tactile pleasure while holding, playing or hugging the toys.
- A child uses fine motor skills while assembling the toy and/or playing “Switchairoo” turing the chair in a spinning motion.
- A child enjoys creativity and role-playing, playing with the toys interactively with the book illustrations, walking Dad along his way in the story, placing tuba Mitch on his pictures, etc.
The Interactive Web Site
The Web site is designed for "The Two Tuba Switch" is for both adults and kids. Adults will find relevant articles while children will find “fun info” pages and fun activities. Kids can create or write a scene, send it to the Web site, and get published online (a very important feature for shy kids). http://www.toysntayls.com/auth.asp
It is important to recognize that this product is not just for children who are challenged by shyness, but also for all kids who love to hear a good story. It can be read at home, in school and as an educational aid in institutions that deal with kids’ social issues. It provides a diverse cornucopia of tools that encourage a substantial level of critical and cognitive skill development in a child.
Consumer Hands-On Evaluation Of The Two Tuba Switch
Now The Two Tuba Switch proved its worth all too well both in Chicago and Las Vegas. In both cities, the kids looked at the box, asking what it was and what it does. I simply replied that they need to find out for themselves as if they just bought it from a store. Having multiple pieces as well as the book, the kids were all immediately putting their creative minds to work, imagining the characters in their minds, becoming eager to see what was going to happen of the next page of the story in the book.
The responses from the kids and parents were so close to a duplicate that I decided to meld the results from both locations into one. The kids in both cities like how the characters were "spongy" so their instinctive reactions were to press and squeeze the various pieces that come with The Two Tuba Switch. One of the girls in Chicago at the Navy Pier even said she thought that "the little man is cute".
Parents in both locations inquired what stores carried The Two Tuba Switch but I was unable to answer that question. It is too new and it was a weekend so no way to call and inquire. Instead, I provided the website address for everyone to learn more about The Two Tuba Switch. Without a doubt, The Two Tuba Switch was the favorite of all of the products I had brought out for consumer hands-on review so far. Popular as well as fair priced it is bound to be a hit in both consumer and educational environments.
A Breakdown Of Each Individual Category Scores
While other organizations will define their ratings in a "blanket" method which simply defines each rating in an overall usage, we choose to take a different approach. Each individual rating that was assigned to this product, based upon our evaluation process, is briefly explained as to how that specific rating score was reached. The ratings for this product are listed below.
CRITICAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT: Rating Level 5 - The level of critical skill development in a child when playing with "The Two Tuba Switch" is quite high. The design of "The Two Tuba Switch" is quite visual and interactive with the characters and such which causes a child to exercise their creative thinking skills. That was just the beginning, so many other developmental skills are clearly stimulated to develop at a substantial level of improvement. "The Two Tuba Switch" ranked the highest score available in this category.
EDUCATIONAL VALUE: Rating Level 5 - The educational value for "The Two Tuba Switch" is well established and will prove quite popular in use in an educational environment as well as home school. Having a variety of pieces of different shapes and sizes, combined with the storybook, a child's attention is transfixed upon "The Two Tuba Switch" and the interactive story it delivers. In reference to actual value in functionality and learning potential, the high rating of "5" in this category was appropriate without a doubt.
FUNFACTOR™: Rating Level 5 - This was the easiest category to handle above them all. Without even considering the evaluation guideline scores and just relying upon visual perception of the response from the kids in both cities, it was a slam dunk for a perfect score! With "The Two Tuba Switch" kids are immediately drawn into the storyline and an interactive experience that they are completely engrossed in. Getting a score of "5" in this category wasn't even an effort for "The Two Tuba Switch".
INNOVATION: Rating Level 5 - Once again, the scoring was so easy. Virtually every angle of judging innovation level with our evaluation guidelines fared nothing but the highest in score for "The Two Tuba Switch". It is a truly amazing masterpiece of innovative design.
MARKETING VALUE: Rating Level 4 - The marketing value of "The Two Tuba Switch" is literally beyond measure. This is based upon a compilation of the scores from the product evaluation ratings and results from the hands-on evaluation testing. "The Two Tuba Switch" is well above average in the potential sales value yet it fell short of a perfect score by a single digit.
The reasoning behind this is that although it scored the highest in all other categories, ignorance can be fatal in regard to a product having strong marketing value. Unless a consumer picks up the box and reads what it is all about, their first impulse upon a cursory glance is to assume that "The Two Tuba Switch" is just a single object and nothing special to really draw them to buy it. However, with consumers now beginning to pick up products and read before they buy, there is still a high probability of good sales for this product. The small question of how the consumer will respond when seeing "The Two Tuba Switch" on a shelf brings the score down just one digit from perfect.
VISUAL APPEAL: Rating Level 5 - When it comes to visual appeal, "The Two Tuba Switch" overall. This was especially so with the various colorful pieces within the Tuba. The consumers all made compliments on the visual appeal being quite high in their feedback forms. Compiling all scoring in this category, it was an easy perfect score of "5".
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| Seal of Approval:
Approved |
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| eco-Recognition™
Seal:
Not Eligible |
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| Award of Excellence:
Approved
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THE TOY MAN® PRODUCT GUIDE AWARDS
"The globally recognized awards that are received by a limited few...
and give a product the well earned recognition it deserves!" |
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The
products and online services which become recipients of "The Toy Man® Award of Excellence" acheived an evaluation category rating average of [5] Stars, the highest level of rating available on a 1-5 scale evaluation model. The average is based upon the overall average from all applicable evaluation categories, not just the 6 evaluation categories featured in this summary. |
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"The
Toy Man®  Award serves as an emblem of recognition for products & online services that contribute substantially to positive skill growth and/or productivity. |
| ( This includes books, CD's, DVD's, consumer electronics & accessories, recreational games and equipment, home furnishings, juvenile, software, toys and specialty. ) |
This distinguished award is exclusive as well as unique, with the editor's signature which represents a product being selected as an  . |
PLEASE NOTE: The eChoice™ Award images which were used from 1971-1984, 1984-2007, 2007-April 2010 have been retired. Although the former versions of the eChoice™ Award have been retired, they still remain valid. |
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