Celestial Buddies, the only manufacturer of educational plush toys that depict celestial bodies in our solar system and beyond, will return to Toy Fair this year with all fourteen of its family of Plush Planetary Pals. Leading the way will be the newest Buddy, Polaris, the North Star, which is actually a “trinary,” or three-star, system. Also new to Toy Fair this year is Black Hole, a stuff sack that is capable of holding all of the other thirteen Buddies. All can be seen in Booth 6175.
Designed to both delight and enlighten, Celestial Buddies has been entertaining and educating children . . . as well as their parents . . . for the past seven years. Even professional astronomers love them, employing them in lectures for college students and for community outreach.
The Celestial Buddies made their debut in what was then the Toy Fair “Launch Pad” in 2011 with nothing but the prototypes for the first four Buddies: Sun, Earth, Moon and Mars. From those beginnings, with Time Magazine having named the Buddies as one of the “Top Ten Toys for Young Geniuses” that year, we have added at least one Buddy a year . . . first Jupiter and Saturn, then Mercury and Venus, followed by Comet, Uranus and Neptune, Pluto, and now, Black Hole and Polaris.
Polaris, the first of the Buddies to be illuminated from within, represents a big step forward for our company. It twinkles like its namesake, thanks to safety-tested, battery-operated LED lights inside its body, controlled by squeezing the on-off button inside Polaris’ left foot (it will also shut off automatically after 20 minutes.) And our Polaris Ab and B, one looking rather sleepy, the other looking like it just woke up, can cling to the supergiant’s hands, thanks to internal magnets.
Like all the Celestial Buddies, our Polaris comes with a hang tag that provides both vital statistics about this fascinating three-star system, and some Fun Facts as well. Suitable for ages 3 and up, it is a wonderful introduction to the northern sky.
Visit us in Booth 6175. Designer and President Jessie Silbert will be at the booth Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Have your photo taken surrounded by Buddies and register for a drawing to win one of the first Polaris Buddies.