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Melissa & Doug Wooden Bear Family Dress-Up Puzzle
by emmad5689
When we were coming up to Christmas I was quite short on ideas for my youngest daughter, as she had turned 2 just in September and already got a lot of new toys I began looking into toys for ages 3 and up. One of my favourite websites has got to be Amazon and I clicked on the setting for age 3 and off I went, needless to say once I had ... finished on there I wasn't struggling for presents anymore.
Like I say I bought this toy from Amazon and I have never seen any of the Melissa & Doug brand on sale anywhere else. The set cost me £9.50 but being on Amazon it does vary in price quite a lot and at the moment it is selling at £8 with free delivery which is a decent price for this toy.
The toy came simply wrapped in cellophane which was sealed so you would be able to see if the toy had been tampered with at all but no actual packaging which of course is good for the environment and I think a lot of toys come with a lot of unnecessary packaging.
The toy is housed in a light wooden box, the box is about 30-35cms in length and 15cms in height. The box has 3 compartments inside it to put the different pieces in, I think the idea is one for Mammy Bear, one for Baby Bear and one for Daddy Bear. The lid of the box slides onto the box itself which can only be done from one side and the lid has the shapes of Mammy, Daddy and Baby bear outlined on it which is where your child makes up the actual puzzle.
The idea of the toy is that there are 3 parts to each bear, a head, a top half and a bottom half and you can use the 45 wooden pieces to make up different looking bears. The bear shaped indentations in the box lid are made so that they are very easy to work out which is which, the ears of the bears are all in different positions and the arms are too, Mammy bear wears skirts and Daddy bear wears trousers along with Baby bear but of course Baby Bear is smaller than Daddy bear.
The wooden pieces make up different types of outfits for the bears, you have a grumpy set of bears where their faces are all sad and they wear smart clothing, you have a happy set of faces with the bears all wearing casual clothes, there are a set of surprised faces with holiday style clothes on, you have a grumpy set of faces with rain clothes on and finally there is a sleepy set of faces with them all wearing pyjamas.
The different combinations are pictured on the back of the box and there are also some little instructions for how to make more of the puzzle which are,
Ask your child to make up the 3 bears and then tell a story about what the bears are doing,
Identify a specific expression and outfit for each bear and ask your child to complete the bear to your specification,
Place 4 pieces in front of your child and ask them to remember them and then when your child closes their eyes remove a piece and ask them which piece you have removed,
Ask your child to make up the 15 different bears off the puzzle bear,
Trace the 3 pieces from one or more of the bears on paper and let the child draw their own faces and clothing.
I think the extra ideas on the back of the box are really good and they show you how to make the most from the puzzle set. As my youngest daughter is only 2 I have not tried out any of the extra games with her however I did play which one is missing with my eldest daughter who is 5 and she was actually really good at it when I used all four pieces the same for example 4 of Mammy bears skirts but she didn't find it so easy when the pieces were actually of different parts of the bears.
The puzzle pieces are really great quality, we found that there was a couple of rough edges on a couple of the pieces when we first opened it but we always have a piece of sandpaper ready when one of our children is getting a present made from wood so this was easy to sort. The pieces are coloured in bold colours and some of the clothing has patterns on which makes them more interesting, the pieces are detailed so you can pick out what each one is meant to represent and they are really nice and colourful.
Emily picked up this toy on Christmas day and I don't think we have gone a single day without it being played with, she really enjoys playing and making up the bears although she does sometimes get annoyed when she is trying to the wrong piece in the wrong place and it won't fit, I like the way the puzzle is constructed so that your child is unable to use the wrong pieces in the wrong places. Emily will tell me which bear she is dressing up and when a piece doesn't fit she will pass it to me as if to say "fix it Mam!" She is able to follow simple instruction with the puzzle if I hand her a piece and tell her it is Daddy bears head she can place it in the correct place no problem.
I have one issue with the set and that is that the lid is made up of a rectangle of wood and then a rectangle of wood with the 3 bear outlines cut out stuck on top of it, the two pieces of wood have begun to separate on our lid which I think is pretty poor for the length of time we have had the set. We are going to stick the lid back together so it won't be a major issue I just need to remember to do it before it comes apart completely.
I think this set cries out quality, the detailing on it shows that time and effort has gone into the creation of the set and the instructions on the back show just how much you can get out of the set. The set is for ages 3 and up although my 2 year old loves playing with it and there are no issues with her playing with the set either, I like the fact that there is so much more for her to get out of the set as she progresses a little more. I think the set is great quality and well worth the money and I would certainly recommend it.
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The Gruffalo Floor Puzzle
by Candyperfumegirl
When my youngest daughter was two her favorite book was the Gruffalo, we must have read it to her nearly every night. So for Christmas we decided to buy her lots of Gruffalo related toys including this 24 piece floor Jigsaw puzzle which I am reviewing today.
I bought the jigsaw puzzle from Amazon but can't remember exactly how ... much I paid for it. Currently it is on sale for £7.49 and I probably paid around that price for it. Free super saver delivery is also available for this product.
The Jigsaw puzzle comes in a very sturdy, durable cardboard box. This can be kept and used to store the puzzle in which is very handy and helps keep all the pieces safely together so none go missing or get damaged. The box has a green plastic handle so it is easy to carry about. The front of the box shows the image on the jigsaw which is one of the illustrations from the book. In the left hand corner there is a bright orange circle and within this is a simple black gruffalo drawing along with the words "The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson - Axel Scheffler". At the bottom of the box it states clearly that this jigsaw contains 24 pieces and is suitable for ages 3 and up. On the bottom of the box a warning is given to keep away from children under 36 months as it may pose a choking hazard. The side shows a photo of a little boy happily playing with the jigsaw and this photo also gives us an idea of the jigsaws size. Measurements are also given (490 x 685 / 19" x 27"). So, this jigsaw puzzle is a nice large size.
The jigsaw pieces themselves are strong and durable, my daughter has been playing with this for nearly a year now and the jigsaw shows very little signs of wear and tear. The backs of the pieces are just a plain cardboard grey colour, I think it would have been nicer to make them coloured but this is only a small annoyance. The actual illustration on the jigsaw is a side view of both the Gruffalo and the Little Brown Mouse which is featured near the end of the book. The sky is blue and the characters are standing on a sandy coloured floor with large rocks and trees in the background. There are a few flies buzzing around the Gruffalo's head. Whilst the image is nice, it is not exactly colouful and many of the pieces are of either the plain blue sky or the brown fur of the Gruffalo, I feel this makes the puzzle a little boring and slightly too difficult. The pieces are of a high quality and have a bit of a shine to them. Occasionally the pieces have become a little mucky but I have found them very easy to clean by simply wiping them with a damp cloth. The pieces are large making them easy for little hands. My daughter has had no problems picking up the pieces and slotting them together.
My daughter has loved this jigsaw puzzle and it has been well played with often over the past year. When she first got it she did find it a bit difficult but it was a good challenge for her and one I enjoyed helping her with. Now she is nearly four and finds this easy to do by herself so I feel she has nearly grow out if it. I would say this jigsaw is suitable for ages 3-5. There are plenty of jigsaws on the market for young children but if your child is into the Gruffalo or indeed any of the Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler book then this Jigsaw would be ideal and much loved.
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Ravensburger - The World - Puzzleball
by trayrope
A couple of years ago while doing a pre-Christmas trip to Smythes toy shop in the Meadowhall Retail Park I spotted a Ravensburger Puzzleball in the form of a globe for £25.00. I popped it in the trolly as I thought it would make an ideal extra for my son who was 14 at the time.
My eldest son has always enjoyed building models ... and playing with Kinnex and Lego Technics but at 14 was starting to feel too old for that sort of present. I felt the puzzle ball would combine his interest of making things with his interest in Geography.
The puzzle ball consists of 540 plastic pieces; each piece is numbered on the back to aid building. The pieces themselves are quite small, but the plastic they are made of is very strong. The pieces are curved so as to make a globe when finished building.
A degree of patience is required when building the globe and you can set about the task in one of two ways. The hardest way is for the puzzle purists and that is to start fixing pieces together using the positioning of the landmasses as a guide and slowly build the globe fixing areas together till you have a whole.
The alternate way is to flip all the pieces over and separate them into numbered piles; we put 20 in each pile and then set about fixing them all together. Sorting the pieces out takes a long time and at first you seem to be making no progress compared to those who just start piecing the globe together, but eventually as you go round and round fitting the pieces together you soon see the globe being formed.
As the globe is formed it becomes harder and harder to fit the pieces together without flexing and breaking what you have already built and a massive amount a patience is need to fit the last few pieces in as the opening is very small, the last piece is the most difficult to get in position and requires a small amount of manipulation with a pencil to gently click it down.
Once finished you are left with a globe a bit smaller than a football that can be displayed on the stand. Ours also came with a metal frame, like a banana hanger, that the globe could be sat in enabling it to be turned to be viewed.
I found the resulting globe to be quite accurate and my son and I enjoyed building it. A few times along the way he was surprised at the position of some countries.
The globe is quite tough and has been on my sons' bedroom shelf for over three years, it has needed very little maintenance, only when it has fell off the shelf has it needed a repair.
At the time of purchase I thought £25.00 for a jigsaw was a little excessive but I found the quality of the puzzle pieces to be without fault and the ease at which they fitted together excellent. My son has had many years of enjoyment out of the globe as a bedroom ornament, it was not something he ever desired to take to pieces and rebuild, but I still recommend it to puzzle enthusiasts young and old.
The Puzzleball is not suitable for children under the age of 14 due to small pieces, which seems an appropriate age guide as even I found it frustrating at times. I would also advise building it out of the way of pets with a penchant for eating small bits.
The Puzzleball can be found for £23.99 on amazon.co.uk and from other good toy retailers.
Thank you for reading.
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