The best toys for 8 year old boys in 2009 are those that allow them to expand on their imagination.  By the time your son has reached this age, his imagination has been stimulated by a multitude of sources. You still want him to learn, but toys that are repetitive are going to be a little boring for him now. So you are going to want to mix in a little fantasy with the educational toys.

Boys will be boys and all boys like the old favorites, such as trucks, cars, airplanes, and so on. Give them a length of track and a couple of match box cars and they will race and crash until you have to call them to dinner.  They will be just as fascinated with the Tonka trucks that you grew up with, so give them a dump truck, a tractor-trailer, or cement mixer and watch their imagination takeover in the sandbox.

With the recent release of the movie Transformers 2, you are going to be hard pressed not to find these robots which transform into various vehicles on the store shelves. There seems to be an infinite number of Transformer action figures, and play sets available.  Rest assured there will be more than one favorite for your 8 year old boy.

Tech Deck skateboards

Another new hot item on the shelves in 2009 are the Tech Deck skateboards and skateboarding accessories.  These are tiny skate boards that have replaceable wheels, and some have figures attached to them.  With the various stunt accessories available there will be no limit to the imaginative stunts these toys will inspire.