The Disney Princess talking kitchen is a bright colourful make-believe toy suitable for little girls aged three years and above and comes with lots of fun accessories.

The kitchen itself comes boxed and assembly is required. The instructions are very clear and identification of the component parts is easy, and you only need a crosshead screwdriver to put it together, as a lot of the joins are snap together interference fit. I was initially afraid to apply the required pressure to these joints for fear of cracking the plastic but it all went together OK in the end. The unit requires 2 AA batteries for the sound effects and these are included in the box.

The thing which takes the longest is applying the stickers to the assembled kitchen - if you don't get them aligned correctly first time do not attempt to re-peel them because they rip. Given that one or two of them are quite fiddly re-peelability is an essential. It took me about 45 minutes from start to finish and the assembled product measures approximately 100cm high x 65cm wide x 35cm deep, so isn't as bulky as some of the other products on the market, and is easily moved to hoover underneath.

The kitchen features a talking hob which is activated by turning the control knobs on the front or by putting a pot or pan on the hob ring. The tap makes a running water sound when turned and the recipe book talks when the pages are turned. At the front of the unit is a large oven with a pull down door - this also makes sounds and talks when the knob is activated. In total there are 11 "fun" phrases and kitchen sounds. My daughter thought the sounds effects were great, I thought they were typical American Disney World ultra twee, saccharin - like, polished with pixie-dust phrases, which quite frankly got on my nerves after ooh about 30 seconds.

Accompanying the kitchen are 18 princess themed accessories including a Mrs Potts teapot, cups, saucers, spoons, plates, tea tray, frying pan, phone, cup cakes and cookies. The phone and the spatula are stored on hooks on the side of the kitchen and the rest of the bits and bobs easily fit in either the shelves or the side storage cupboard.

It isn't the biggest or most robust child's kitchen I have come across and it is made of the sort of plastic that will crack quite easily if treated to a little abuse (which small kids have a habit of doing!) My daughter is now 6 and although she still plays with her kitchen I feel that she is too big for it as she towers over the hob which is 53cm from the floor so I would say it is best suited to children aged 3-5 years.

Compared to the competition, from a little girl's perspective this kitchen is one of the most visually attractive on the market with its pink, purple and white colour scheme which fits in so well with the décor in a girl's bedroom. From a Mum's perspective it is good that the accessories can be stored in it to minimise the clutter.

As for value for money, I bought mine half price at £29.99 which is just about acceptable given its small size and the fact it is a bit flimsy - had I paid any more I would have been gutted. Ideal for short-term use with small children, if you want something substantial which will last a few years go for a Little Tykes, Smoby or ELC kitchen.