Several companies released new toys and games as well as children's product lines at ICRS.

Located at the STL Distribution North America booth, Alphabet Alley unveiled its first character-based line of books and toys for the toddler and preschool market. "Bible Train Adventures," which includes board books, puzzles and matching games, features conductor Nichodemus-who leads young children on adventures through the Bible with the help of the Bible Train.

Along with the new line, Alphabet Alley is launching a dedicated Web site, www.bibletrainadventures.com, in July featuring child-friendly games and activities. Alphabet Alley owner Marilyn Fontana said the new line "brings a fresh new look" to the company's product offering.

Meanwhile, Talicor debuted two new games, Chapter & Verse and Faith & Redemption. In Chapter & Verse, archaeologist Dr. S seeks help to decipher and uncover secret words, while sifting through ancient tiles and linking them to gain clues to a message. Faith & Redemption involves players who gain followers throughout their journey from the Garden of Eden to Judgment Day.

Rob Anderson, president of Cactus Game Design, said his company released four plush toys, including a Noah's Ark and Prayer Bear; Bible Taboo; and The Disciples: Redemption Card Set.

Creation By Design (CBD) took orders for its new products. Founded last year by Steven Kaye, CBD offers Bible-based trading cards, featuring 3-D, computer-generated artwork. The company rolled out more than 50 new products, including a second series of collectible trading cards; BibleStrike, a card-based strategy game; T-shirts; posters; postcards; artwork; and giftware.

Leading apparel company Kerusso debuted its "Righteous Racers," a collection of eight die-cast cars similar to Hot Wheels, but "covered with clever, faith-affirming content," company officials said.

Elsewhere, Friends and Heroes Productions made available for the first time to the Christian retail channel in North America an international-version DVD of Series 2 and 3 of its multi-award-winning animated Bible series. Each episode of the 25-minute series-which features both 2-D and 3-D animation-follows the adventures of 14-year-olds Macky and Portia, weaving in stories from the Old and New Testaments.

Following the end of its partnership with Tyndale House Publishers last year, the U.K.-based company launched Friends and Heroes LLC in Greenville, Texas, to distribute the 39-episode set, which released in 2007 and is now available in 10 languages.

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