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A richer, greener Monopoly game, a “cool” dinosaur set and a child-friendly MP3 player are among the top toys this year, as chosen by kids.

The Canadian Toy Testing Council, a non-profit group that ranks toys by farming them out to youngsters, has a list of 11 choice playthings this year.

Among them is Monopoly Tropical Island. It's the inflation version of the Hasbro-Parker Brothers classic, with all the traditional values, rents and payouts multiplied by 1,000.

But it has new twists. The old-style utilities, the water and electric companies, have become a solar station and a wind farm. Boardwalk and Park Place have become Vista Beach and Gentle Sands.

There's also a DVD to move the action along.

The Playmobil Dinosaur set was also a hit.

Its hefty reptiles, human action figures and other accessories won top marks from seven-year-old Malcolm, one of the testers.

“It has cool dinosaurs and a realistic volcano to play with,” he said. “The volcano, you press the little button and it explodes.”

The eruption pops off the top of the mountain in four pieces.

The human figures are “paleontologists and they're searching for stuff and they're figuring out stuff about dinosaurs.”

The company Step 2 has produced a 1950s-era diner, complete with juke box and retro tunes. One side is a kitchen, where kids can pretend to whip up burgers and fries or sundaes. The other side is the diner booth.

“They're incorporating the old theme of the kitchen type, but it's also for boys and girls,” said Leigh Poirier, executive director of the council. “They've incorporated electronics with it.

“The kids really love that, right to the juke box.”

The Vtech Kidijamz is a junior DJ set, which combines the familiar electronic keyboard with other features that allow kids to mix their own music.

It goes well beyond just the keyboard.

“They've jazzed it up, and they have the turntable and they have the headphones for it and they have the different music and the kids really enjoyed that,” said Poirier.

“It's the same kind of idea where you have the old, but it's got the new techno to it.”

Emilie, 14, another tester, liked the Kidijamz.

“There's all kinds of songs you can play and you can also change the style; hip-hop, reggae jazz rock or techno.

“You can record your music and listen to it whenever you want.”

SweetPea3, the council's battery-operated toy of the year, is a sturdy, simple MP3 player that lets parents download up to four hours of music and songs.

The council also produced a list of recommended books, ranging from the time-honoured The Little Engine That Could, to Alien Invaders, a handbook on invasive animal species around the world.

The council has been producing its annual lists for 55 years. More than 40,000 children have tested toys over the years.