New toy alert: “Moana 2” is coming to land

Photo Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailer

As the toy expert on the site, I am the author behind it The strategist's “toy shop”. And Gifts for all ages — I get an early look at the latest and greatest new toys, often before they hit the shelves. There are dozens of new releases every month, so as the holiday season begins I'll be releasing a gaming-focused edition of “Not Dillydally.” Here are the new releases I'm particularly excited about right now, including a Star Wars marble run, chapter books for the Toniebox audio player, and a spooky remake of Exploding Kittens.

The sequel to Moana is launching over Thanksgiving, and there are plenty of tie-in dolls, dress-up toys, and playsets on the way — including an American Girl Moana doll, available for pre-sale now. Of everything currently ready to ship, I'm most excited about Mattel's Moana doll singing an excerpt from the new song “We're Back”; a LEGO set containing everything you need to build Moana's raft and a transforming island that houses the heart of Te Fiti; and a squishmallow version of her chicken pal Heihei.

This new addition to the Exploding Kittens universe features an entirely new deck of cards, including Zombie Kittens cards that can be used to bring previously exploded players back to life. But dead players can also continue playing to torture living players from the grave.

Gravitrax, maker of the complicated modular marble runs we've been recommending for years, has just released its first licensed toy. The action set modeled after the Battle of Yavin star Warsfeatures a Death Star-shaped baseplate; Marbles with the faces of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Darth Vader; and X-Wing Fighter and the TIE Fighter figures that can be integrated into the track.

Wondery's new STEM toy line is inspired by the popular children's podcast Wow in the world and created by strategist-approved toy brand Thames and Kosmos. Each kit explores different scientific concepts such as phosphorescence, geology and physics. Inside the box you'll find both printed instructions and access to step-by-step audio guides recorded by podcast hosts Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas.

The third and final Bratz x Mean Girls Collaboration Dolls – a two-pack featuring Gretchen and Karen – arrives this week on Halloween at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. Each character in the collection comes in a burn book-shaped box with their daily outfits and sexy Halloween costumes from the film. Compared to most of the toys I write about, these nostalgic Y2K dolls are aimed more at adult collectors than actual children. And even though I'm not a doll collector, if I were to buy one of these Mean Girls Bratz dolls, it would be this pair, as they are the comedic backbone of the original film. Like Regina and Cady before them, they are expected to sell out within minutes.

For even more nostalgia, Little Tikes just released a set Fraggle Rock Storybooks for use with the very popular Story Dream Machine – a retro-looking projector and audio player. My almost 2 year old His son loves his story Dream Machine and it was a nice little step to allow him to watch TV, which doesn't actually count as screen time. I love the craziness of this Fraggle Rock characters and can still sing most of the theme song, so that's big news for me.

Last but not least, there is a big introduction to the Toniebox audio player aimed at older children: chapter books included Captain Underpants, Ramona Quimby, Big NateAnd The questioners, aka Rosie Revere, Ada Twist and her crew. Each set contains four unabridged chapter books in the form of real books rather than toy figures.

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