Toy of the Year Awards Favor Playthings That Make Kids Think

It's all about touch-sensitive Rubik's Cubes, coloring books that play songs, and robotic hamsters that squeak when you touch them.

A few years back, an article The Atlantic coined the term Baby Genius Edutainment Complex to describe Baby Einstein and other toys and educational products that prey on parental anxieties about their little ones growing up to score highly on the SAT, get into an Ivy, and land a great job. That market shows no signs of contracting if the 2010 Toy of the Year...