Mattel Inc. said Thursday that it is recalling nearly one million toys in the U.S. due to the presence of lead paint.

A contract manufacturer in China manufactured the toys, according to Mattel. Mattel says it was able to prevent more than two-thirds of the 967,000 affected toys from reaching consumers by stopping them in its distribution centers and by contacting retailers. The toys are sold at Wal-Mart, Target and Toys ‘R’ Us.

The recall includes many toys based on Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer character and Sesame Street’s Elmo and Cookie Monster. The recall covers 83 products made from April 19 to July 6.

However, more than 300,000 of the toys have been bought by consumers in the U.S., according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The toys have a date code from 109-7LF to 187-7LF, which is printed directly on product or the packaging.

Shares in Mattel were down 40 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $23.18 in afternoon trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.