NEW YORK --Oct. 4, 2001-- TOY WISHES Magazine, the celebrated resource guide designed to put the fun back in toy shopping, today announced the "Hot Dozen," the list of twelve toys it predicts to be the top sellers of holiday 2001.

Announced each year by magazine co-publisher Jim Silver, TOY WISHES' "Hot Dozen" has been touted as the 'official' kick-off to the holiday toy-buying season. Silver and the Toy Wishes editorial staff began the selection process more than a year ago on their annual quest to preview - and review - all of the toys and games hitting the market in 2001.

While Toy Wishes magazine features more than 500 new toys in 25 different categories, only those predicted to be the most impossible to find because of their popularity receive "Hot Dozen" status.

In addition to the unveiling of the "Hot Dozen," Silver also announced FAO Schwarz's first ever Toy Wishes Weekend, slated for October 13th and 14th. Over the course of the weekend, 15% of all sales of "Hot Dozen" toys will be donated to the American Red Cross in support of families affected by the tragedy of September 11th.

So, in an attempt to relieve holiday shopping jitters and frantic attempts to find the impossible, this year's Hot Dozen is as follows (in alphabetical order):

• ACTION EYE MIKE WASOWSKI & GLOWING BEDTIME SULLEY (Hasbro/Sulley $29.99, Mike $19.99) They're the monstrously loveable stars of the much anticipated Disney/Pixar film Monster's, Inc. Sulley is a horned but huggable pal who can say a variety of phrases. And, to keep your child safe in the dark, he features a special nighttime glow. Mike is Sulley's one-eyed, wise-cracking sidekick whose eye springs in to action as he recites fun sayings from the movie. For ages 3 and up.
  
  
• AQUATIC RESCUE COMMAND CENTER (Fisher-Price/$69.99) Fisher-Price has created the ultimate action figure headquarters for its popular Rescue Heroes characters. The Aquatic Rescue Command Center is the perfect environment for creating breath-taking rescue crusades! Voice Tech Rescue Heroes can also be connected to take the action to the next level! For ages 3 and up.
  
  
• SUGARPLUM PRINCESS BARBIE (Mattel/$19.99) Girls, get ready for a whole new kind of Barbie magic! This holiday season, Barbie fans of all ages can enjoy watching their favorite doll star in a full-length home video of the holiday classic, The Nutcracker. The classic fashionista can transform her beautiful ballet outfit into the whimsical costume of the Sugarplum Princess. Sugar Plum Princess Barbie also features a unique mechanism, created by Mattel, which allows this special Barbie to dance just the way she does in the home video. For ages 3 and up.
  
  
• BATTLEBOTS (Tiger Electronics/Custom Series $24.99, Pro Series $39.99) Are you ready to bring the metal-on-metal mayhem of Comedy Central's BattleBots into your living room? Tiger Electronics remote controlled BattleBots each feature the same basic chassis that can be customized into your very own ultimate destruction machine. The line features two different series. One radio controller can control up to eight machines at once! For kids ages 8 and up.
  
  
• BOB THE BUILDER ELECTRONIC TALKING SCOOP (Playskool/$29.99) Bob the Builder, one of the most popular preschool shows on television, features Bob and his friends as they work together to help the town's inhabitants solve their problems. Scoop, Bob's best friend, is a backhoe that loves to help. Press his smokestack and he'll lift his bucket, rear up on his back wheel and declare, "Can we fix it? Yes we can!" Electronic Talking Scoop also features a Bob the Builder figure who, when attached, recites encouraging phrases. For ages 18 months and up.
  
  
• E-KARA REAL KARAOKE (Hasbro/$59.99) Have you ever dreamed of being a popstar? Now you can bring that fantasy to life with e-kara Real Karaoke! E-kara is the first truly portable and affordable karaoke system. Just connect the e-kara microphone into the audio and video plugs of any standard TV, press the button and sing! Each main microphone unit comes with a music cartridge featuring five different songs made famous by today's top pop artists. Additional cartridges (sold separately) each have ten different songs and - for even more karaoke fun - you can link up to 11 'duet' microphones for a real 21st century sing-along. For ages 8 and up.
  
  
• HOT WHEELS FIREBALL RACEWAY (Mattel/$39.99) Daredevils beware. The latest Hot Wheels play environment from Mattel takes racing to the next level. Just rev up the Power Charger to send your favorite Hot Wheels cars racing into nine different high-speed crash zones right through the center of a meteor. Vroom! For ages 5 and up.
  
  
• GAME BOY ADVANCE (Nintendo/$99.95) For the ultimate in handheld games, check out Nintendo's Game Boy Advance. This exceptional gaming system features an ergonomic design that makes play faster and easier than ever. The Game Boy Advance boasts a screen that's 50 percent larger than Game Boy Color, an incredibly sharp picture and outstanding color. This system is compatible with all Game Boy and Game Boy Color Games and can be connected with up to three other units for simultaneous play on one cartridge. For ages 5 and up.
  
  
• IMAGINATION DESK (Leapfrog/$44.99) Leave it to the people at Leapfrog to create such a lively interactive learning center. Children can color, write, draw, imagine and learn as the special voice chips reinforce number and letter skills. The Imagination Desk comes to life with friendly characters, offers engaging open-minded play, interactive templates coloring books and numbers buttons for hours of fun. For ages 3 and up.
  
  
• MY PRINCESS CINDERELLA (Playmates/$49.99) Disney's Cinderella magically comes to life in Playmates My Princess Cinderella. This beautiful interactive doll transports children into the story of the fabled princess as she recounts her classic rags to riches tale. My Princess Cinderella comes with two sets of clothing -- her simple workday clothes and the enchanted gown she wears to the fated ball where she meets her prince. For ages 5 and up.
  
  
• GAMECUBE (Nintendo/$199.00) Nintendo's next generation video game console may be small in size, but don't let that fool you, it packs a whole lot of power. The GameCube has been designed to focus on game play and is an incredible platform for all of the Nintendo games. The game play is smooth and easy for even the youngest gamers. In addition, Game Boy Advance can be used as an extra controller. For ages 6 and up.
  
  
• XBOX (Microsoft/$299.00) Housed in a sleek black box, the Xbox is an incredibly powerful, versatile and exciting gaming system. It features an intimidating 733 MHz engine, an outstanding memory and superlative image rendering. For ages 8 and up.
  

All of the toys in the Hot Dozen will be available at most major retailers and toy stores and through many online e-commerce sites this holiday season.

TOY WISHES will retail for $4.99 and will be available on newsstands and everywhere magazines are sold on October 9th. For more information, check out the website at www.toywishes.com.