LP RHYTHMIX® INSTRUMENTS
WIN OPPENHEIM AWARD

Latin Percussion is proud to announce that its Animal Shakers, 6 Piece Rhythm Kit, and Egghead Family, all from the LP RhythMix line, have won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award for 2002. The special Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal, placed on the packaging of all three items, signifies that they are all safe, well made, and educational. It also indicates that they passed the ultimate Oppenheim test: they’re fun!

This is not the first time that LP has won the prestigious award. It was also bestowed on LP RhythMix® Chick-Itas in 2001. At the time, Stephanie Oppenheim commented that the Chick-Itas were the only top-rated maracas they had found for little hands!

The brightly colored LP RhythMix® Animal Shakers are specially designed for small hands in familiar shapes that all children will love, and are ideally suited to accompany a favorite song or to create one’s own unique rhythms.

The LP RhythMix 6-Piece Rhythm Kit consists of a wide variety of musical instruments including everything a child needs to create a complete rhythm section. Perfect for solo playing or for a parade, this set includes a handled drum with stick, a jingle stick, a triangle with striker, a tone block with striker, two Chick-Itas, two mallets, and a kid-sized backpack for convenient storage.

And, finally, the beautiful LP RhythMix® Egghead Family, made from hand-painted hardwood, offers children both rhythmic and imaginative fun. This smiling family of four not only produces a fine castanet-like "clap" when shaken, but also provides hours of playing fun as a family of puppets.

All three sets conform to U.S.toy safety guidelines ASTM F963-96A and EN:71 for ages 2 and up.

The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, founded in 1989, is the only independent consumer review that exists for children’s media. Before a rating is assigned, a toy goes to various "peer groups" drawn from rural, urban, preschool, school, adult, and children, who "live with" the product long enough for the novelty to wear off. Points are tallied according to different criteria, which include safety, quality, and stimulus value. When the testing process is complete, the toy must be "wonderfully entertaining". The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio 2002 Gold Seal winners will appear in October on their web site, which can be found at www.toyportfolio.com, and in the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio 2002 edition book and newsletter.