Just For Fun

By Maryanne Murray Buechner, Lev Grossman and Anita Hamilton

PLANE AND SIMPLE

Even the most cautious backyard pilot must eventually preside over a radio-controlled air disaster or two. For some enthusiasts, that's the best part. For the rest of us, there's the Power Air Surfer, a new radio-controlled airplane that's almost impossible to crash, thanks to an innovative design. The Power Air Surfer's two 32-in. wings and double propellers make it ultrastable at altitudes up to 100 ft., and it always glides in for a feather-soft landing--no matter how hard you try to make it crash. INVENTOR Hasbro AVAILABILITY Now, $75 TO LEARN MORE www.hasbro.com

DOUBLE THE BUBBLE

All good things must come to an end--but do they have to end so soon? A new bubble-blowing formula called Catch-A-Bubble extends the lifespan of the average soap bubble from a few dozen seconds to about five minutes. The secret of Catch-A-Bubble is a chemical that toughens when it comes in contact with air, producing sturdier, more resilient bubbles that can be touched, handled, tossed and even--with the right delicate touch--stacked on top of one another. INVENTOR Spinmaster Ltd. AVAILABILITY Now, $4 TO LEARN MORE www.spinmaster.com

BLOND AMBITION

She may look like a casting reject from Village of the Damned, but Cindy Smart is no creepy alien-girl. Well, she is a little creepy. With two 16-bit microprocessors, voice-recognition software and a digital camera lodged in her chest, she takes interactive playtime to a new level. The doll can do simple math, recognize basic shapes and colors, respond to 70 preprogrammed questions and read flash cards (as long as they're within her vocabulary of 650 English words and a smattering of German, Spanish, Italian and French ones). If all this gets to be too much, you can always switch Cindy off and braid her white-blond hair. INVENTOR Toy Quest AVAILABILITY Now, $99 TO LEARN MORE toyquest.com