Another birthday's coming up. Some special occasion. Or your preschooler just seems to be outgrowing too many of his toys -- too fast!

Oompa Toys - A superb web site with hundreds of European and American toys made from eco-friendly, non-toxic materials. We love the layout of the site because it allows easy searches by theme, age, brand, or country of origin. They have a rewards program, blog, and wishlist. Our wishlist is long indeed.

Planet Happy Kids -- Each of the toys offered by this Seattle based company falls under one or more of the following categories: all natural, organic, fairly traded, green (environmental awareness), responsible (labor), and multi-use. Need we say more?

Child Trek -- Another site that offers very lovely, natural, eco-friendly, educational toys. What sets it apart, for us, are a series of quite thoughtful articles on child development that introduce different sections of the site. Any toy site that asks us to stop and think for a moment before clicking on the next purchase has our vote.

Maine Toys - These toys are made by a family of craftsmen by hand using native Maine resources. They are made of wood and are buffed without the use of finishes. These are heirloom toys that are completely safe and encourage a child's creativity.

Maple Landmark Woodcraft - A 30-person , Vermont-based company makes the wooden toys found here from local components with natural finishes. The company has recycled since its inception, giving scrap wood as kindling and wood shavings to local farmers for animal bedding.