I brought this for my son for his first birthday and it is a really good toy although it does have its downfalls. I have not seen it in very many shops but I purchased mine from Argos while the sales were on.

There are 2 parts to this lion that makes play fun for little one. On the top of the toy is a friendly looking lion with two rattles in its hand that shake when little one pushes the lion. If baby pushes the lion side to side it starts to play a song there are a choice of many popular nursery rhymes that rotate so it is always a surprise for little one which will play.


The second part of this toy is the bottom half of the lion there are 3 holes with sensors on them that little one balances the balls on. They then take the toy hammer provided and bash the balls into the holes where they role out the bottom back to little one. When the balls are pushed through the holes music is played to reward little one for correctly making the balls go through.

With a combination of these two different modes of play and the choice of songs played by the lion it really does stay interesting for little one and now 8 months in all 3 of my children still love playing with this toy. The balls are very easy to balance on the wholes they are supposed to go through and little one can easily bop them into the whole with a small hit of the hammer. Sometimes the ball can go flying off the platform but I believe this is all part of the fun as then little one has to go get the ball bring it back and try again.


There is an on off button and of course the all important volume button. Even at full volume this toy is not too noisy but it is very sensitive so if we forget to turn it off I often knock it and it makes me jump. The toy is made of solid plastic and that makes it very sturdy which it needs to be as when you give a child a toy and a toy hammer you can expect a lot of noise and a lot of rough play.

The only downside to this toy is it is very top heavy so while little one is bashing the balls the lion can tip backwards sending the balls flying and this can be very frustrating for my little boy. He used to laugh at first but as it kept happening you can see him getting annoyed as he just wants to bash the balls with a hammer.


All 3 of my children love to play with this toy they think it is very good and when the lion lights up and play its different songs they always smile which I think makes this toy a winner. It is recommended from 6 months plus but I think this may be a little young for the motor skills needed of balancing the balls and then hitting them with the hammer it would be quiet difficult for a younger baby. Also when the balls run out of the lion they often roll away and it would be frustrating for a younger child to constantly have to retrieve the balls.

We brought this lion while it was on sale for just £8 which for a toy that retails at £30 we thought was a bargain. To be honest for the price we paid it is a really fantastic toy but for the full retail I would be disappointed as it is small simple and with its cons on being top heavy I would not pay full retail for it.