An engaging mix of cute and bizarre, Bossa Nova Robotics' first two products--the aggressive, break-dancing Prime-8 and the super-cute Penbo--could fit neatly on any 4- to-12-year-old child's wish list this holiday season.

Prime-8 is a yellow-armor-wearing gorilla. Its massive arms are actually wheels that can spin in tandem or separately to steer, dance or just act crazy. Hidden inside its yellow body are two plastic feet that glide out when Prime-8 wants to stand up. This remote-controlled robot includes infrared sensors on its front and back that it uses to "see" other Prime-8s and navigate its environment and guard your home. If you attach its spring-loaded rubber dart guns, it'll shoot at anything that moves.

The robot, which runs on eight AA batteries, can even play laser tag with other Prime-8s. While Prime-8 is programmable (up to ten remote-driven items), it won't remember a thing once you turn it off. Prime-8 also has two modes: "Happy" (normal) and "Gone Bananas" (crazy), though in both cases, most of what the robot does seems pretty random and loony.

Where Prime-8 is muscular and aggressive, the adorable pink Penbo is sweet as pie. Looking a lot like an anime version of a penguin, Penbo speaks "Penguish," a language that sounds like a mix of gibberish and broken English. Like Prime-8, it gets around not by toddling, but by spinning its two legs in circular motion either together or one at a time to turn and dance.

Penbo is slightly more sophisticated than Prime-8, adding a capacitive sensor on its head (you can pat it or rub it and Penbo will respond) and an IR emitter and receiver on its chest. Things get a bit creepy only when Penbo lays a plastic "egg." Actually, it doesn't lay it so much as dump a it out of it stomach hatch. Inside the egg you'll find a tiny green baby Penbo that communicates with the "mommy" robot via IR signals. The baby also doubles as a furry remote control for the full-sized bird.

Obviously, these Bossa Nova products do not exactly raise the robotics bar. WowWee robots, like RoboPanda, have already mastered the concept of stuffed animal/robot relations, and all are mobile, though none move quite as fast as the Prime-8. Still Bossa Nova founder Sarjoun Skaff said his company plans to build upon the Prime-8 and Penbo platforms and to eventually create new robots that "leverage mobility in a big way."

Prime-8 is designed for children ages 8 to 12 and list for $99, while the furry Penbo is for tykes from 4 to 8 years old and lists for $79. Since it's targeting young consumers, Bossa Nova built in numerous safeguards to protect small hands from Prime-8 and Penbo's moving parts. Prime-8's feet, for example, won't slide all the way into its body if small fingers are on top of them. The software senses the tension on the motor and slides the feet back out.

Both products, which begin shipping next month, are available for pre-order now via Amazon.