Nothing like an old favorite.

This year's movie and television hits invariably will bring a horde of tie-ins to flood the shelves of toy and department stores. By next year, these dolls, action figures, etc. will be relegated to a dusty corner of the closet, discarded and forgotten as the latest "gotta-have-it" takes preeminence.

While everyone in the toy industry frantically scrambles around for the newest hot winner, the old favorites maintain their loyal audience, the beloved stories passed down from generation to generation with quiet bedtime readings of classic tales. Eden Toys, New York, offers an entire line of such time-tested characters.

Among the irresistible stuffed animals ideal for cuddling at bedtime or keeping watch over sleeping tykes are Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit (approximately $30), resplendent in his blue jacket with brass buttons, a fat carrot in his paws, and Paddington ($35), the Peruvian bear rescued from the lost and found office of London's Paddington Station. Jauntily dressed in blue raincoat and yellow rainhat, he sports the luggage tag familiar to all...