Golden Bear are very excited to be making the toy range for the new CGI Bananas in Pyjamas. Producing the original range in the 90′s B1 & B2 are now having their Golden Bear makeover and will be available as various plush and plastic toys which will be in store for Autumn 2012.
The new Bananas in Pyjamas is shown daily on Five Milkshake and Cartoonito.

The team will continue with more construction fun as it expands in 2010 with new faces being added.

Marty Mixer is joining Joey JCB and friends as the joker of the pack who loves to mix things up! Also new is Tommy Truck who is the coolest member of the team as he can carry his digger friends -”Its time to hit the road”. Both characters have their own unique phrases, sounds and movments.

 JCB fans can have real digger fun with the Sit n Ride Talking Elvis Excavator. With 10 fun phrases, horn, engine sounds and lever scoop, children can re-enact Elvis Excavator’s scooping and digging – “no job is too small”

The famous characters have also been transformed into a new wooden range, with various puzzles and Digger Dominoes featuring one or more of the team.

Bathtimes are now set to be more fun with the My 1st JCB Squirters!

Watch this space for the arrival of Ben, Holly and friends in the Autumn of 2010………..

The My 1st Talking JCB range from Golden Bear has been awarded a Gold Award by  Practical pre-school. The Practical Pre-School Awards identify and reward excellence in educational equipment, childcare, books and toys. All products reviewed are suitable for children from birth to eight years old for use in professional childcare and educational settings. These include: private and state nurseries, pre-schools, playgroups, childminding settings, infant schools and after-school clubs.  Click here to find out more….

Children and their carers tested each product in at least two separate settings. This is what the testers said:

” They are absolutely brilliant! Robust, Colourful, moveable, portable durable and a definite favourite with all of the children. Their suitability for indoor and outdoor us makes the versatility of these toys even more apparent. Children played with them daily, finding them to be completely engaging and stimulating pieces. This lovely set of My 1st Talking JCB Toys, is large enough for small hands to enjoy. The children loved the different characters, and quickly learnt to repeat the words they say. A fabulous set which are cross curricular”.

Thank you Practical Pre-school magazine for such a fantastic award!

Here at Golden Bear we’re all very excited to get hold of Shaun’s bid for the Christmas Number 1 spot, ‘Life’s a Treat’. And it looks like the wait is almost over with Dancing Shaun the Sheep ready to bop away for the Christmas season.

Shaun’s theme tune, sung by Vic Reeves, is set to be released today and includes a range of extras to keep you entertained long into the New Year. Each copy of the single comes with a free Shaun the Sheep poster and several re-mixes including a karaoke version, so you can sing along too. The enhanced section of the CD has lots more to do – including a Shaun the Sheep game and picture gallery.

The video features Shaun and the gang having lots of fun in the Farmers house with some great dancing by Shaun, Bitzer and the flock! See if you can spot all of your favourite characters.

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Thomas the Tank Engine has been around for years and is as popular as ever. But how much to we really know about this lovable blue train and his friends? Where can we buy Thomas toys and when can we see the live show?Don’t worry, help is at hand – the ‘Golden Bear’ has the total guide to all things Thomas.

The best starting point to finding out more about Thomas and Friends has to be the Thomas and Friends website. Its jam packed with the latest Thomas news, games and more information about your favourite characters. The Tours and Events page is a really useful way of finding out when Thomas and Friends are coming to a heritage railway near you. Here at Golden Bear, we love the activities section where you and your children can enjoy hours of fun on the colouring pages and creating e-cards to send to family and friends.

This is also how I found out about the Thomas and Friends Live Show. Once again in 2008 Thomas and Friends is coming to a theatre near you with a new 90 minute musical extravaganza, Thomas Saves the Day. If you’d like to find out more about the live show please visit the Thomas and Friends website or, for ticket information, visit Ticket Master.

You could encourage your children to take along their Thomas and Friends toys to see the show. At Golden Bear we have a great selection of Thomas and Friends toys for all ages including a drive away talking Thomas. Check out our full range of Thomas and Friends toys at the Golden Bear website.
Wikipedia is another useful source of Thomas and Friends information. You can read all about the history of the Thomas the Tank Engine story and the television series. Also, there is some great Thomas trivia for you to enjoy. Did you know that Ringo Starr narrated the first few series of the original Thomas the Tank Engine Television programme? On the subject of the television programme, you can now view it online at the internet movie database or purchase the DVD from many good retailers.

And of course the great thing about a blog is you can add your own Thomas trivia and useful information sources you’ve found – just click on comments below!

It has been revealed this week that Shaun the Sheep will take on the X-Factor winner in the race to be top of the chops this Christmas.

Shaun’s single, Life’s a Treat, has received great reviews and has already been tipped as the main challenger to the X-Factor franchise. Our favourite fun-loving sheep, who already has his own CBBC TV series, will also star in his very own animated promotions video.

Shaun the Sheep is the latest in a string of kid’s television stars to try for Christmas number 1. Kermit the Frog and Roland Rat both had Christmas hits and let’s not forget Bob the Builder built his way to the top spot in Christmas 2000 with Can We Fix It.

Here at Golden Bear we’re already big fans and are stocking up on Shaun the Sheep toys in preparation for the Christmas season. Why not stock up on Shaun goodies and show your support for this lovable sheep. Golden bear have a great range of Shaun the Sheep toys including the Shaun the Sheep bag at the Golden Bear website.

The release date hasn’t been announced yet but keep checking the Golden Bear blog for more exciting news about the Christmas single or visit the Shaun the Sheep website.

It’s official; we all love Shaun the Sheep! Due to the un-baaa-lievable success of the first series! Shaun returns to our television screens at the beginning of September with a fantastic new second series!! Tune into CBBC to see Shaun the Sheep set out on some new and exciting adventures.

In the June issue of TV Hits the Shaun the Sheep Shoulder bag is featured as a ‘Gimme that’ product for June. Well done TV Hits, we totally agree!

On the 14th of May the Golden Bear team headed north, to Harrogate, to exhibit at the annual Toymaster show

The show was held at the Majestic hotel in Harrogate until the 17th of May and was open to all Toymaster and Youngster members. For our enthusiastic sales team it was an opportunity to meet the customers and put faces to names, showcasing our fantastic new ranges and meeting old friends in the toy trade!

New Business Development Manager, Michelle Fox says:

“ The Toymaster show is a great opportunity to meet the group members and help us to understand their business needs, as well as simply catching up! Golden Bear values the custom of each Toymaster member and  getting to know them better enables us to provide a better all round service”.

The show was a huge success for Golden Bear with our fresh Thomas the Tank Engine, Shaun the Sheep, Charlie & Lola and Noddy product ranges leading the way. We hope the other exhibitors shared our success and will return along with Golden Bear next year.

Well done Toymaster, Keep up the good work.

The Golden Bear