My son was given the Plan Toys Solid Drum for his first birthday last month. I love the look of traditional wooden toys so this was a lovely gift. It was just about one of the only wooden toys he didn't already have which was lucky.

- The Drum -
This is essentially a hollow wooden drum. It is 16 cm in diameter. The light coloured wood is lovely and smooth and the side of the drum has an attractive, colourful triangle pattern in blue and red. The top of the drum has a wiggly cut out line which divides the top into different drum sounds. The bottom of the drum has three black rubber feet so it doesn't move about too easily when it is set down on a surface. The drum stick is made from the same wood and has a yellow rubber ball on the end to hit the drum with. It looks really attractive, cute and a little old fashioned. The quality is very good.

- Making Music -
My son was instantly interested in the drum and after watching us hit the drum with the drum stick he knew exactly what to do when it was his turn. The sound of the drum is a nice woody sound and has a few different notes depending on where you hit the drum stick onto the drum. My son will sit for a while happily bashing the drum and when we clap him he gets really excited and throws the drum stick! We already have a wood and metal xylophone and plastic maracas so this adds nicely to the set so we can all make music together! There are also many musical instruments available in the Plan Toys range. I think it is quite educational as it teaches the child about musical instruments and improves motor skills.

- Age Range -
This toy is recommended from 19 months. This seems a bit random to me, usually toys say 12, 18 or 24 months. Also I don't see why this wouldn't be suitable from 12 months, if not younger. My son was certainly interested and able to play with it at 12 months. I carefully checked the drum stick to see if the ball at the end could be a choking hazard if it came lose but I think this would be near enough impossible.

- Price and Availability -
My cousins said they bought this in a toy shop but I can see it is also available from Amazon priced at £15.07 including postage. I think this is reasonable price to pay as the quality is very good.

- Would I Recommend? -
I would definitely recommend this wooden drum as it is a lovely, fun, high quality, attractive toy. It makes a lovely gift.