In the first month that product has been on shelf, PowerTouch is already performing very well against competitive product in the highly successful learning category. Many retailers are reporting weekly sales volumes that are double that of last year's #1 new preschool learning toy, Kasey the Kinderbot(TM). And Learn Through Music is emphatically carving out a new niche in the category. Sales at retail are brisk, with some retailers reporting difficulty in keeping the product in stock.

"Our mission has been to bring a new level of innovation to the learning category," says Neil Friedman, president of Fisher-Price. "Clearly, we've been able to answer a need among parents and children for the kind of learning products that are most intuitive to the way children really learn."

"Both new platforms are proving their appeal with consumers, showing very good velocity right out of the gate. We are excited that Fisher-Price is adding real value to the learning category with both innovative products and strong marketing initiatives," said Wayne Yodzio, vice president, divisional merchandising manager, Toys 'R Us.

Both of these products represent the next generation of educational toys with the application of electronics to enhance learning in a way that's fun and engaging, according to Jim Silver, publisher of The Toy Book. "The introduction of PowerTouch has taken learning toys to a new platform with its hands-on approach and unique auto page detection capabilities, and Learn Through Music breaks new ground all together, with its emphasis on rhythm, repetition and rhyme to help toddlers develop language acquisition," he says.

The PowerTouch Learning System uses breakthrough technology to provide the most natural way for children, as young as three years of age, to tap into reading and learning activities. Many teachers encourage early readers to follow along with their finger as they read or hear a story, a method called "finger-point reading." The PowerTouch System uses this same approach, using easy finger touch activation to let children learn reading skills by simply touching words and pictures with their fingers. This advanced technology eliminates the need for any tool or stylus to activate the electronics, allowing for an intuitive and seamless interface between the child and the book. The system features more than 60 learning activities in reading, phonics, spelling, music, math and more. Additionally, an interactive alphabet board built into the base of the system further enhances the development of early literacy skills for preschoolers.

The PowerTouch Learning System brings additional innovation to this type of book-based learning system with its "auto page detection" feature. An optical reader built into the base automatically recognizes which page the child has turned to, without requiring the child to remember to press a secondary button. This ensures that the child will always receive the appropriate response to the corresponding page they are exploring.

Learn Through Music helps preschoolers, as young as 18 months, learn fundamental lessons through the repetition, rhythm and rhyme of musical sounds and lyrics. Incorporating a wide range of lyrical and rhythmic devices, from songs and nursery rhymes to poems, raps and cheers, Learn Through Music has been developed for the years when a toddler is just beginning to understand the building blocks of learning. Featuring children's favorite characters from Barney®, Blue's Clues(TM), Dora the Explorer(TM) and Sesame Street®, Learn Through Music helps preschoolers grasp and retain letters of the alphabet and counting, sharpen observation and deductive reasoning skills and more.

Fisher-Price, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. and located in East Aurora, New York, is the leading brand of infant and preschool toys in the world. Celebrating over 70 years of excellence in children's products, some of the Company's best known "classic" brands include Little People®, Power Wheels®, Rescue Heroes(TM) and View-Master®. The Fisher-Price brand includes some of the most popular and widely recognized character brands - from Barney(TM) and Blue's Clues(TM) to Disney, Dora the Explorer(TM), Sesame Street® and Winnie the Pooh. The Company also develops and markets juvenile products called babygear that are designed to help families get the best possible start in life. The Company's web site can be found at www.fisher-price.com, providing valuable articles and resources to new and expectant parents.