East Lyme – This just in: Yes, parents, there’s a toy left to buy your child that does not have a screen. Or buttons. Or sound effects. Even better, it’s the brainchild of a local guy, a husband, father and former pitcher at East Lyme High and UConn-Avery Point.

Meet Tom Chantrell, the dreamer who dreamed Dreamup Toys, an idea whose simplicity belies the intricacies of its depth. Dreamup Toys, a wooden railway block platform, encourages inventive play with wooden trains and building blocks, a staple of many playrooms. Essentially, if you have Legos, Duplos and train tracks, Chantrell has the toy with connectors on each end that makes them newer and fresher than ever.

“The idea started out of play,” said Chantrell, who graduated from Western New England College with an engineering degree in 2002 and works for Legrand. “I wanted to push the kids to do a different type of play with wooden tracks and bringing Legos into it. But things were unstable and wobbly as the train came around the track and the track would fall. I thought of how to integrate the two.”

Chantrell called a friend of his from Legrand, Richard Schlueter (“Uncle Richard” at Chez Chantrell) who helped with the design that allows for building on the ground or elevated, with Legos or Duplos. Pretty soon, there are trains, tracks, bridges Legos, Duplos … and a means to occupy your children’s time without feeling guilty.

It’s a family affair, too. Chantrell’s wife, Kristen, who also graduated college with an engineering degree, takes the orders and packs them in the basement before schlepping off to the post office to ship them all over the world. The Chantrells also have three built-in product testers: Their children Tyler, Ethan and Lila.

“Kristen is a huge part,” Chantrell said. “I have a day job. Orders come in, we all have our responsibilities. In the morning, I’ll enter orders into the system and later in the day she’ll go downstairs, package everything and ship it out.”

They are made in Portland and designed in East Lyme and Clinton. Chantrell launched the idea last year at the Children’s Museum in Niantic, where Dreamup Toys are sold (as well as the Niantic Toy Shop). This is an undertaking that is of Connecticut and by Connecticut.

“It appeals to parents who want to extend the life of the toys they have,” Chantrell said. “Classic Legos and Duplos and train tracks, it brings new life to them. They’re timeless toys and you can do creative things with them.”

Chantrell’s idea underscores the underrated concepts of effort and simplicity. Effort: He’s up between four and five every morning before work, working his idea. Simplicity: Go to dreamuptoys.com and see what they look like. You’d never believe something that looks so innocent could inspire the creative mind.

It’s not a news flash, particularly to parents, that kids are going to play with toys in ways they’re not necessarily intended. But after spending money and watching attention spans turn toys obsolete in alarming periods of time, there’s Tom Chantrell to the rescue.

“It comes down to having the idea first and then really, it’s the work you put into it,” he said. “If you believe in the idea and tested it, you kind of just have to jump in and put the work in. It’ doesn’t take a brilliant idea. But we get posts every day saying it’s brilliant and genius, but it doesn’t feel like that. It just wasn’t in the market.”

And, glory hallelujah, it’s not electronic.

“We love the fact that it’s a toy that has educational value,” Chantrell said. “You are creating something with your own hands. When we designed the product, our kids (before Lila came along) were five and three. A perfect age for them. We love the idea that it’s simple, doesn’t break, made in the USA, easy to use and opens up infinite possibilities.”

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro. Twitter: @BCgenius