Reviews (10)

A Big Hit in the Tub!
My daughter loves this bath toy. She loves Sesame Street, and this is just perfect. We ask her where each character is, and she picks them up and shows us. What's great about it is that the toys don't have holes in the bottom of them, so no water gets in them. She is also fascinated by the palm tree and the water that showers out of it. I use the palm tree to wet her hair down to wash it. Definetly a great bath toy!

Great fun in the tub!
My son, wo loves Sesame Street, has this toy and loves it. He gets so excited to take a bath with Elmo and the gang. He even hates getting out of the tub. I used the flotable toys in the pool, which he got a kick out of and only added to his creativity.

It's a great bathtime toy!

Hours of bathtime fun!!
My son got this for his first birthday and we've had fun playing with it every bath since! He loves to put Elmo and Telly and Ernie on the edge of the tub and make them dive! It's a durable bath toy...doesn't get all coroded like some others. I would highly recommend!

Fun for the Sesame Street Fan
I recently bought this toy for my 19 month old daughter who I was having trouble getting into the tub. As a huge Elmo fan, I must admit, I had great success after putting this in the tub with her! She loves to pour water into the spinning palm tree, kisses Elmo endlessly and just overall loves this toy. I inspected each figurine prior to putting it into the tub for fear of cracks in the seams which could lead to mold issues, as stated by other parents but fortunately there were none. Overall a cute toy.

Great toy!
My son has had this toy for over a year now, and he still loves to play with it in the tub. It's durable, and fun. Haven't had any mold problems with it. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Little kids (and their dogs) will love cooling off in this63-square-inch wading pool. Parents will appreciate the fact that it comeswith a detachable, inflatable roof that acts as a sun shade. Holding 102gallons of water, the pool has a blue interior, a red band around the rim, andwhite exterior walls decorated with colorful fish. The pool and roof canbe inflated using a small mouth valve or a larger valve designed forfoot pumps. The roof is attached with Velcro at the corners of the pooland its top is about 4 feet from the pool bottom. Made of heavy-dutyplastic, the pool should last for a long time, but a patch piece isincluded for emergency repairs. --Richard Farr ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Great 'first timers' pool
This was our first pool purchase. Beforehand, I read the reports here about the sun shade blowing off but felt I really needed one for my 2 year old. We live in a windy area and found that by turning the shade so the wind would blow through it, rather than into it, we had no problems with it blowing off. The problem I did have with it was an air leak in the lower chamber and a cracked plug upon purchase...Summer of 2002 we'll try something different. My son loved it though and so, for the money, it was all worth it. But what a pain having to put more air in it every day.

punctured in one day
We received this pool as a present for our 1 year old. She had so much fun with it. She was able to get in and out of the pool on her own (she figured out you could hold on to the corners while swinging your feet in). She loved the inflatable sides- she would hang over them and splash in the water. However, this pool lasted only one afternoon before it got a hole in the lower chamber. I tried patching it twice but the pool was deflated the next day. As for the sun shade, our daughter thought it was a game pulling it off the velcro. It was not sturdy at all. I am going out tomorrow to buy a hard plastic pool!

Sun shade pool
When I purchased this pool I thought it would be great to keep the sun off the kids. I blew up the 2 pieces with a electric pump and the canopy would not stay full of air and it was too heavy to stay up. They only have velcro to hold it in place. I ended up throwing the canopy away because it was a waste of time. The pool itself was awesome. It held up to a typhoon when it was full of water.

This was a great buy!!!
We bought this pool in the summer of 02 for our 3 kids. It was the first inflatable pool I have ever bought that made it through the entire summer, and we still had it to put back up this year. The shade stayed on great, and kept the kids from getting so hot in the sun. This was a great buy, I would recommend it to anyone. When mine wears out, I will buy another one just like it!

love it
we have had this pool for three years is roomy enough for my twin daughters and a few friends. It withstands alot of horse play. Good value and the shade portion was great when they were little. ... Read more

Teacher Review

Little ones with a knack for building and creative play will be drawn tothese lightweight and durable cardboard building blocks. A staple item in many preschools, this set can spark endless imaginative play as children buildlarge, life-size structures. Builders practice mathematical skills as they addthe number of blocks stacked on top of each other, and the various-sized blockscan facilitate a conceptual understanding of fractions. When kids aredevelopmentally ready, parents can encourage them to discover that one large redblock is the same size as two medium yellow blocks or four small blue blocks.Made from 50 percent recycled cardboard, the blocks have a smooth, water-resistant coating that's easy to clean. These blocks won a Parents' ChoiceClassic Award and a Dr. Toy Classic Award. One word of caution: Make surethere's enough storage space to hold all 40 blocks once assembled. --LaurenBernard, mother and elementary school teacher ... Read more

Features

• Durable cardboard construction
• Water-resistant coating

Reviews (15)

YOU assemble; other factors still unknown
I found it amazing that no product listing or review mentioned an obvious question that we had when considering this purchase. YES, as you might suspect, these cardboard blocks come as individual, precut flat pieces that you must assemble yourself. Also not mentioned is the distribution of sizes. In this set of 40 total, 24 of them are the small size (blue). Even with practice, assembly takes time. Plan on an at least an hour to do all 40 of them, unless you are very nimble-fingered.

Our 2-year-old found them instantly intriguing, but quickly became frustrated by the difficulty of stacking them without knocking them over. We are not worried about that, as we expect this to be a skill-building process in dexterity, balance, large-motor coordination, and so on. But it is worth mentioning that some children, depending on age or taste, may not instantly love these blocks; and we can't say for sure that our child will either, until more time passes.

I think it also important to note that the stackability of these blocks will depend somewhat on the precision with which you fold each one during assembly. There always seem to be a couple of blocks that don't fit together quite as well as others, leaving a bit more tilt than one would like to blocks piled atop it.

However, one does get a very sturdy block when all the folding is done. The design creates "walls" of cardboard within the body of each block, making it strong enough that a small toddler can lean or even sit on one without flattening it.

We will have to wait a while to find out if our child "grows into" the specific skills required to really enjoy these blocks, or if they remain piled in a corner somewhere. The immediate reaction has not been as glorious as we were led to expect from other reviews,

And we really felt that the "assembly required" issue should have been mentioned quite clearly. Although we assumed that these came in "knock-down" form, a clerk at the local [store] (where we would have bought the blocks if they had been in stock that day) said she thought these came pre-assembled. I think that example alone proves that the information should be included in the product listing.

Questionable purchase
The idea of these blocks was brilliant. But the reality is a different story. I just purchased the "Giant Building Block 40-piece Set" for my 2-year old who loves building. The blocks were significantly smaller than I had envisioned. And 40 blocks may sound like a lot, but its not! Also, I believe that I read that they can support up to 200 lbs. My child is only 40 lbs and stepped on one and it began to give (yes, I did follow the directions and put them together correctly). (...) This product should be twice as big, double in quantity, and "durable" and then it would be perfect.

"Slightly" disappointed.

Great!! But make sure they are old enough
This blocks set is wonderful...my 22mo twins love them and have played with them on and off for quite some time. The only problem is, they received them when they were 18 mo old and my little boy still but things in his mouth. They are made of strong cardboard, but several "bites" have been taken out of them. I would recommend your children be out of the "oral" phase before purchasing these.

Best Building & Toy For all ages!
-Sometimes Basic is Best!

Team this wonderful toy up with a set of bean bags and you have loads of fun for all ages! I found these blocks when my son was 6 (he is now 13) and four children later I am now ordering two more sets because they have finally given out or been lost over the years. All my kids at every age and both my boys and my girls love these blocks! The have been used to stack and knock over with bean bags; army men, cowboys and indians, dolls, stuffed animals - you name it. We have created little windows in the blocks as targets and practiced tossing the bean bags through (Even us parents love this! While we are watching tv we toss our bean bags at various targets etc.)My girls have made Barbie castles, Care Bear houses, Dora the Explorer adventures and Blues Clues dog houses as well as baby play pens, and all sorts of creative play with whatever doll that happens to be the latest hit. This classic set of blocks takes all types of play to a 3-dimensional level.

They are sturdy for in the house and outdoors and have even survived a rainstorm or two. I highly recommend them! You will be pleased!

Classic Toy!
My brother & I had blocks like these (slightly larger)as kids. We played with them for years. This is one toy that will grow & evolve with your child's imagination. Now I have a couple of sets for my grandchildren. They love to stack them up & knock them down(they're durable enough to take it). They build towers and bridges and castles and "falling domino" lines around the dining room table. The possibilities are endless. You can amost see their imagination and hand-eye cooordination growing! ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Great fun, but....
OK, my son loves Thomas. He really, really loves this starter set. STARTER SET! I had tried to avoid the whole Thomas thing because it is kind of a money pit, but my husband said, "it's just a train, he won't need any more than this" - famous last words. Truth is - he loves it, he plays with it, he wants all of it, every accessory, every car - EVERYTHING!!! It is another in the long line of toys that require fifty additional purchases at 30 bucks a pop - but it is durable, fun and has alot of repeat play value - and collectibility. Someday we can sell it all on eBay! :)

A great educational toy
This was bought this for my little boy at 18months and whilst he was fascinated he hadn't yet developed the patience to use it as probably intended. As such the pieces were often pulled apart or he got frustrated when pieces were knocked out of line. However, the train going under/over the bridge proved an enormous attraction.
Now, a year later it is coming into his own and he constantly plays with his 'Choo Choo truck'. He has learned how to move around the track and keep it in one piece, pretend to start and stop, make various noises and generally capture his attention for at least an hour at a time. He is also keen to get me to play with him at the same time.
So:
An excellent educational toy as evidenced by his use over the past year. It has encouraged hand/eye, patience, construction, imagination and sharing his track with others.
It is great fun to play with. There is a great variety of colours, actions, etc. etc. for my son.
Its only minor issue is durability, particularly when used by a very young child. The pieces do last, but become a little battered around the edges. If you have a table then this can be minimised, but if it's set up on the floor it inevitably gets taken apart and pieces go under sofas etc. etc
Nevertheless, I cannot rate this too highly as both a fun toy and an educational means. And, you can buy all the extra bits to make a truly great train set.

A lot of fun.
I brought this toy for my 3 year old daughter after, a little boy I knew liked Thomas. We went to his house and there was Thomas stuff everywhere. Well she fell in love it. And when ever we go to his house all she wants to do is play with his trains. So I got her her own.

W e Love Thomas!!!
My son got this train set for his 2nd birthday.At first I wasnt sure if he was old enough to enjoy it.After we watched a few Thomas videos he totally fell in love with it and all the Thomas characters!!!We play with it everyday and I think it is safe to say that it is his favorite.I wanted him to have a train and this one is great because his grandmother can add to it for specail occasions!!!With all the different engines/vehicles and locations it will be something to collect for years to come!!!!

Great for 18 months to ages 8 or 9!
We bought this set for our son when he was 18 months old. He immediately loved it. Three years later, he has enough track and cars to occupy our entire dining room table. He plays trains every day--no kidding.

The Thomas train collections are durable toys. Their real value, though, is that playing with the toys allows children to act out the great Thomas and Friends children's stories they read and watch.

Purchasing recommendation:
* Choose which type of Thomas trains you will 'standardize' on. There are three kinds: This size of wooden trains from Learning Curve; larger, plastic, battery-operated trains from Tomy; and smaller, die-cast metal trains from Ertl. The wooden trains have the most products and accessories available.

* The clickety-clack (grooved to look like real railroad) track in the Thomas series is great, but it's expensive; ...

* Buy the Thomas and friends engines separately--and wait for sales. The kids care about the characters, so no short-cutting (ie., Brio or generic trains) here.

* Look for trains bundled with VHS videos. You can get a video and a train (on sale) for about what a train costs all by itself. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

J.C. joy
My son is only 2 years old and he loves his motorcycle. This toy was the only thing that came close to being like a real motorcycle. The only complaint was that one of the back motors went bad, but so far the company has been working with me to get it replaced. My son has learned how to steer and how to control the bike very well. J.C. loves his kawasaki!!!
Thank you power wheels we hope to see a different model next year!!

Correction (...)
(...) Those side wheels are where the motors are connected. The regular front and back motorcycle wheels do not have motors on them. The plastic side wheels will wear quickly. There is a guy on ebay that sells rubber slip-ons to give these power wheel toys more traction. Definitely recommend. As far as complexity of assembly. This was one of the easier to assemble products I've done. Took an hour at the most. Some of the Cap nuts are a little challengine to hammer. I would recommend a couple of bricks or pieces of wood for backing up one end while hammering the other.

Tip: The battery charger comes stored under the seat when first purchased. I thought mine was missing when I opened the box.

my 2 year old loves this
I bought this for my 2 1/2 yr old son and he loves it. This is really a nice built toy. Putting this together is of med difficulty, I suggest doing it at night for your kids will want to ride it when it is done,but you'll need to charge the battery.If its dark out the will be more likely to understand why they can't ride it yet. The battery needs to charge 14-16 hours right out of the box and after every use(says the instructions). I charge it almost every night for my son rides every day. We have had it over a month and he still lights up when he gets on it. The only thing you will have to really teach your kids is to get on from the side the peddle is not on. My son got on the other side once and it took off and he stayed put.It scared him good and I then made sure he only gets on the other side(it took a day of reminders). This bike goes pretty fast on the high speed setting, fast enough where I have to walk really fast to keep up. I put the high speed on right from the start. There is a throttle that controls the high speed and the foot is the low speed. The foot needs to be pressed in order for the throttle to activate the high speed and my 2yr old picked this up instantly. He only drives fast so I bought a dirtbike helmut like daddy's for him to wear.Overall this is the best money spent in his 2 1/2 years. I mean that.When he first rode this he had tears of joy in his eyes. I felt like the best dad in the world.Buy your kid this toy if he loves dirtbikes. You will not be disappointed.

BEST PURCHASE YET!!!!
My son is 34months old (not quite 3) and LOVES, LOVES, LOVES this "dirt bike". He rides it everyday and we keep an extra battery on charge at all times, which works out perfectly. He figured out the hand throttle without even being shown, and has started to do "tricks". Several neighbors have stopped to watch him zing around the yard and comment on how amazingly cute it is. Educational? You bet - teaches coordination, care of owning something, etc.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS FOR ANY MOTORCYCLE LOVING KID!!!

Favorite toy!
This birthday present is a -huge- success for 3yr old son. Have had this for over a month now and is still by far his favorite. Each time he jumps on this I'm impressed at the style and quality of this cycle. Was very skeptical that he would have a control issue and I'd be involved w/full-time supervision. Not the case. Since controls are so easy and it's got a handle bar vs a steering wheel he controls this with ease. The neighbors jeep ride-on toys are much harder to control because of small steering wheel, poor turning radius and child is confined inside vehicle. This is so durable my wife even jumps on this thing and takes it around the cul-de-sac. My double-car garage is packed with various toys and this is by far the favorite. Bikes, pedal tractors, trikes all take back burner to this. I would shop no further and buy this Kawasaki at any price. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Expensive, but great quality
I was really torn over whether this table justified it's price; especially since it doesn't include the play top, which you have to buy seperately. Despite the price, I do have to say, I'm very happy with the quality of the product.

When the table arrived the box was dinged, but thankfully the contents inside were well packed with styrofoam and cardboard protecting each piece.

The wood is high quality with easy to connect fastners. Very stable. The train images on the side of the table and on the legs are great. They weren't stickers, but actually some kind of high quality painted image that has a very durable finish on it. Some of the train images even have a full plastic face piece for Thomas and each of his friends.

The table is well designed for a toddler's height and the allows them to reach to the center.

Needless to say my 2 year old son loves it! He wakes up in the morning, says choo choo and runs out to go play at the table.

Not a sturdy table
My sister in law bought this table for her 2 yr old son for Xmas....it is way overpriced for what it is....i wanted to buy one for our sons but could not see spending that much money on such a cheap table. So my husband ended up buying plans to build your own train table and built our sons their own with built in drawers and (...) and it is way nicer and sturdier than the Thomas one. Yes they can all stand on it...! We painted it in Thomas colors and decorated it and it is the nicest looking table i have ever seen and all the kids love it!!!! you can build one in about 8 hrs or so....worth it!!! this will be handed down to the next generations...

Substitute for the table/frame/
We admired the table for really long time and saw that it's worth spending money but decided to figure out smth cheaper. So we painted our old coffee table almost the same Thomas blue color and attached the board to it. Our 2year son loves it and doesn't really care if it's the same table/frame/or not. We spray painted the table and hope it will work for a long while.

AWESOME TABLE!
Toys r us had a super deal where you buy the table and get the top free. With the price being so high, we feel we got a GREAT deal. My son loves this table. We got for him for his 2nd birthday. It was simple to put together and is so durable. Not like the other cheap pine/particle board tables you see. The graphics are so bright and my son is always pointing to the sides and saying choo choo. Great investment.

Expensive - but worth the money for it's durability
I umm and aahh about spending this sort of money on a train table for my children but after doing my homework I decided this is the one I would buy.

Other train tables I have seen in stores are often wonky and seem quite unstable - and this is after they've been played on in the stores. So after seeing poorer quality tables for similar prices I decided to save up for the Thomas branded one (also bought the one-sided play table board to go with it).

Yes, it's expensive, but as with all any "brand", it's the name you are paying for. If you want a Thomas collection of trains and accessories you are going to have to pay. I'm just starting our collection and am buying the "Thomas" trains and buildings, but found a compatible generic track for less than half the price. I was lucky enough to get this table at almost half price at a after Christmas sale. It's worth waiting for sales and price comparing.

Having said all that - we have found the table to be excellent. It's at the right height for all our children (4, 3 and 1 year old) and me when I'm sitting on the floor playing with them. There is also plenty of room underneath to have some good sized storage containers for all your pieces of train track and other accessories.

The table frame is packed very well to protect the 3D train faces that are on two sides of the table. It's beautifully painted and when it's put together is extremely strong (although I wouldn't recommend standing on it).

Now that we have this table I no longer have to nag the kids about getting their train tracks off the lounge room floor, they can leave their "town" up for days until they want to change it. We also have a great table for their other car/train sets, or Little People towns or Duplo Creations.

It's up to you to spend to decide if you want to spend this sort of money but I see this as something I won't ever have to replace and it's something my son can keep for his children. Toys like this will last! ... Read more

Reviews (22)

discouraging
I bought my 4 1/2 year old this set for Christmas. I noticed that time after time he was getting very frustrated trying to build from the diagrams that came with the tinker toys (Junior set). He always came up a few parts short to build the Space Alien and just about all the rest of the examples. At first I thought he had managed to lose a part or two during the Christmas unwrapping, playing on Christmas day. I then took the canister and took an inventory of the parts shown on it and to my amazement all the parts were there. I then started counting the parts necessary to build each of the items on the example sheet and it became apparent that no one could build these examples (or at least most of them) as the examples were showing more parts than was provided by the Junior set. It has been a totally bad experience with this toy and I don't even try to get him to play with it anymore.

Oddz On and Hasbro should be ashamed of themselves for tricking these children into thinking they can build the examples. It is these two companies that are not playing with a full deck!

I like this for my older kids :)
I bought this set when my girls were smaller (around 3), and they never played with it. It was hard for them to put the pieces together and just became another annoying toy with a thousand pieces. I was disappointed as I loved them as a kid. However, now that the older ones are 6 and 8, they are asking for them. I am sure now they will have lots of fun putting them together and will understand the concept and can clean up the toys themselves also. Just thought another review might help if you have younger children :)

An Old Toy for a New World
We love this toy. We wish we had more pieces, not because there aren't enough to follow the instructions, but because you're inspired to keep building when you're playing with it. My four- and eight-year-old kids are equally thrilled with it. In fact, the last thing we want to do is follow instructions! A great toy for the mad visionaries in your house.

Regarding Missing Parts
I just read the review saying that the diagrams included with the set couldn't be created because the set did not include all parts. Just to set the record straight, I have personally constructed EVERY one of the diagrams (including the space alien), and ALL parts were indeed included.

My only complaint would be that it is often difficult to see from the pictures which parts to use in where, but that is certainly not a complaint with the toy itself.

Anyway, it's a great toy, and again, it has all the pieces necessary to complete all of the various creations shown for this set.

This is a great toy.
We got my son this set last Christmas when he was 3 1/2y.o and he plays with this all the time still. It's great if your kid likes to build. This is the one toy of his that has sustained the test of time - it is constantly all over our family room. The only down side is that we are constantly cleaning them up. Kids seem to love to pour them all out. He can make more complicated things then we can now. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

GREAT GAME!
Our daughter, Mary, age 4, received the Leapster system and the Dora game for her birthday in June, and she absolutely LOVES them. They are great learning tools, but they are fun as well. We already had to replace the batteries, so I can't wait for the rechargable battery thing to be available in stores!

2-1/2 year old son zooms through level 1.
The 3 year old listed by LeapFrog is accurate. Our son was zooming through level 1 at 2-1/2 years old. Maybe our son is above average. Haha.

The Leapster products are AWESOME!

Thanks, Brett

Cute, a must for your Dora Fan!
This is a good cartridge if your child likes Dora the Explorer. My 4 year old son loves the show, so he really wanted this for his Leapster. I have liked all the cartridges so far, and I will keep buying them for him. The Leapster is a great idea for young children.

Great Game
My 4 year old GRandddaughter loves this Game for her leapster! I love the leapster game to BUT it's very fragile! I've returned it 3 times now. My granddaughter gets very upset when it just stops. No it's not the batteries. She's only 4 so she's not rough on things yet but it has been dropped on the carpet on one of the occasions. The others were just a mystery.

My 3 Year Old Loves This!!!
I have a 3 year old who is not ready for a Gameboy (NOT that I would rather her be playing with a Gameboy), but I bought her the Leapster, and WOW! She loves it! It's easy to use, and she is even using the Kindergarden software already (she has Dora, Spongebob, Drawing, and Kindergarten). These games are very educational and keep her entertained for quite awhile. What a great alternative to the computer, Playstation, Gamesboys, etc...even my 8 year old loves it. I can't wait for new software to come out! It's well worth every penny! ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Returned it to the store it was so bad
I bought this title because I wanted my two children to practice writing their letters correctly. However we could never get the lines to correspond to where the pencil was. In order to trace a letter you had to actually draw the line an inch inside the line you were supposed to trace. Two calls to the company couldn't solve this problem and since we didn't have any problems with any other leapster software we were sure the calibration was right. This was very frustrating for my children especially because Mr. pencil cuts you off and makes you do it over if you go out of the line at all. There is no margin for error, very bad for kids just learning.

We have 5 other Leapfrog cartridges and we love using the leapster but Mr. Pencil is a DUD.

Absolutely wonderful
I have 5 year old twins who received this leapster toy for Christmas. They have since received many of the cartridges appropriate for their age group. They have learned an awful lot from all the leapster games. My son went from spelling simple words and not really reading very well to now reading 5-6 letter words. Not just this cartridge but the Kindergarten and some of the other game cartridges have helped with my kids' reading level. I felt really good about spending the money on the leapster and have not regretted it in the least. It is well worth the money and new cartrideges are becoming available all the time

Mr. Pencil - very problamatic
I have a 5,3,2 year old. We bought leapster for the oldest and realized the others would benefit too. So we bought each one their own module. We purchased all the cartridges. I highly recommend the leapster and its games. Very educational and fun. However, Mr.Pencil is very frustrating. I thought it was due to lack of skill for the kids, but even I and my wife could not make MrPencil happy. I took my time and tried my hardest and could not do well. Very disappointing for the kids that are learning, because when they are actually doing it right, they recieve no credit from Mr. Pencil. Anyways. we love Leapster and want new games.

Our favorite cartridge!
We bought the Leapster for our 4 1/2 year old son for christmas. I have nothing but positive things to say about it. Our son LOVES video games...borderline obsessive! We bought this because he had seen older kids with gameboys and was fascinated. I wanted something that kept his interest like the video games, but was educational. This is perfect! Now, upon saying that, we have Mr. Pencil cartridge, Dora and Spongebob. I asked my son which he liked the best, and he said he loves them all. I have to say that personally, Mr. Pencil is my favorite. It goes right along with what my son is learning at preschool...how to write his letters, both capitol and lowercase. I do agree that the pencil is sensitive, but I think it just forces the kids to go slowly and write the letters correctly. There are times that he has to retrace the letters, but he doesn't become frustrated, because Mr. Pencil is very encouraging. ("almost, try again!") I like that it draws the letter for you, then shows you the starting point for each line, and has an arrow for the direction to trace it. It's just like the preschool worksheets. It waits until they've drawn the first line, and then goes on to the next line of the letter. It's been a great tool. We also have a writing leap pad, and it just doesn't hold his interest like the leapster. We couldn't be happier! My 3 year old also loves to putter around on it as well, but the software is a little above his head still. Soon enough, I'm sure!

Mr Pencil has so much fun to offer!
While the other reviewer are right that the pen is a little sensitive, there are so many other great things about this game that I would still gladly give it 5 stars. My 3 year old actually loves mixing the colors and seeing what colors mix to make what, and then painting with the colors. She likes using the stamps and changing their size and rotating them. She like the color drop game where you have to pick the right 2 colors you need to mix a secondary color, and the maze game where you have to make it through the maze without touching the lines. My seven year old loves to paint pictures on it, and she love the learn how to draw animals and objects. She likes how you can save your artwork till later so she can pick up and work more on a picture, or animation. She likes the game what picture is it, where they start to draw a picture and you have to figure out which of the pictures at the bottom is the one they are drawing and see how many you can guess in the time frame. My son who is 10 even likes it. He thinks the maze game is cool, and he likes doing animation/flip books on it. This is a great cartridge and so many kids of so many ages love it. It even has cool things to learn about shading objects, making fun looking alphabet letters, lessons in color mixing and so much more. If you are buying it for just the learning to do letters with your young toddler, then you need to know that the first few times you have to be prepared to sit down with them and draw with them, because they just don't have that steady of hand, but don't ever disqualify this one because of that, it has way too many other things to offer. I even think it has more on that cartridge to do then any of the other cartridges, plus it's fun for all ages. ... Read more

Reviews (66)

misunderstood toy; great when you follow the directions
It is funny to see one parent saying that her 1 year old's feet can't touch the "petals" (smirk) when the intended age is 18 months and up. Another funny thing is to see how many parents say the "parental" handle doesn't lock in place--I got news for you it does!! All you have to do is put the yellow pin which locks the handle in place in "rocker" mode behind the handle when it is in "parent" mode. Our two year old loves this and enjoys rocking, riding, and pushing the parent handle. He hasn't quite caught on using the pedals because his feet get in the way but hey, that's what two year olds do. :) I see this as a long term learning toy to help our son transition to a bike later on. It was a very smart purchase. Lots of stores have them to try out--go decide for yourself.

great toy
i just bought this for my 2 year old daughter and she loves it. wherever we go this toy has to come. It has a place for little ones who are not quite big enough to ride on there own to put there feet up while mommy pushes them around, and while we are at home she loves the rocker. This is a great toy.

Great for Grandma's House as they will get years of use
We have three of these as each of my boys received one for their first birthday and I think they are great. The only problem is I wish they were all at the same house - two are by their Grandparents 3000 miles away while my three fight over the one we have at home. Makes we want to go buy one or two more. My six year old still loves to ride it even though he has moved onto a big boy bike because he can really zoom around the corners without getting nervous. The little foot rest doesn't do much but not a huge problem. Found that it worked best in the rocking mode when off the carpet. The handle is great as not only am I able to push them but they push each other. It really manuvers well. My almost 2 year old tries to pedal it but is not quite big enough so he just zooms around with foot power. All in all a great toy that after 5 years of constant use shows no signs of "decay" - how many toys can you say that about?

Fun fo Less the Price
I wanted to buy my daugther a more expensive Trike, but my husband I could not see paying over 80 dollars for a Trike she would outgrow. So we bought this trike and boy I'm glad we did. Our daughter likes the fact there is a foot rest since she is too young to petal and we love the stearing rod even though it is some times tough to use....but I'm still getting use to it. We also like the fact if we have another child it can turn into a rocker. Plus it is very durable. We have rolled it in grass, concrete, sand, etc... and the wheels are in like new condition along with all the other parts. Very Happy with this product!

WONDERFUL FIRST TRIKE!!!
We never used this as a rocker, my son, now almost 2 got this last Xmas, and LOVES it! Only downfall, my son zooms around the carport on it, and it tips frequently, so just be close to catch if it falls~ A great first trike~ ... Read more

Reviews (98)

Baby Annabell for My Granddaughter
Well, I bought Baby Annabell for my 3 year old Granddaughter and she absoultly loves her as do I!
I think she is just darling. My granddaughter found her early, as in before Christmas!
Yes she was her Christmas present and she found it in Grandma's spare room a couple of weeks ago and just knew that it was for her. Any way, we both just love her.

Baby Annabell Doll
I received the baby Annabell for my daughter in the mail today. The doll is in good condition, however the way it was packaged was terrible. The box was mangled and I am surprised it was okay. I think my daughter will love this doll, but she will have to wait until Christmas :-)

New Mommy
I just got this baby today i loved it i guess its kinda silly for a 13 year old to play with dolls but i think its fun(dont tell my friends)anyways this doll isnt what i expected i thought it would do more stuff i couldnt chooose between rock a bye chou chou or annabell but when i found out annabells mouth moved i was set i think its fun to act like you have your own baby if you have old brothers or sisters who like to annoy then its not good like me my sister likes to yell and hit it right when it falls asleep but i think this is a great baby, overall.

BABY Annabell
I got Baby Annabell in the hopes that I would get a very modern doll.When I opened the pakage I wwas somewhat disppionted. Yes she was modern like she giggled and cryed. She really makes realistic mouth movements.BUT sometimes when you try to read a story to her she justs keeps on giggling.I can't really take out of my rooom or my family will go insane. Even when she sucks it's super noisy. I wish you could feed her or have to change her diaper because it's wet.It's perfect for the LITTLE mother HINT BETWEEN 3-7 but, maybe we older mother 7+up need something more than bottle feeding or rattling a rattle . Over all I think she is perfect for younger mothers. Also, I thinnk she is over priced. I do have a recomendation for older mothers though, Baby Born.

A great doll!
This doll is great--she cries and laughs like a real baby. I have a 5 yr old and a 2 year old and they both love to play with her. The crying is a little annoying after awhile, but you can turn her off with a switch on her back. She also comes with a bottle, pacifier, and toy bear. Well worth the money! ... Read more

Reviews (40)

Love this!!
my daughter rec'd this as a present when she turned one. She is now 14 mnths and is still enthraalled with it. it is a very sturdy toy and has great educational value. I would definitely recommend this toy.

Doesn't hold attention
My twins got this when they were 18 months and loved it the first day then got bored. They are 2 now and still won't sit and play with it. I'll try it again in a few months to see if it will hold their attention and help with their ABC's.

Boring toy
My 2 year old daughter played with this toy exactly 5 minutes and has not picked it up since. It was a Christmas gift and I almost returned it and I wish I had. She would much rather use her imagination or sing the alphabet than use this. It has no learning value except repetition.

Can't leave the house without it!
My son is now 16 months old, but he received this toy as a gift a couple of months before his first birthday and he plays with it all of the time. When he's fussy in the car and won't get in the carseat, I hand him the radio and he sits right down and plays. It's been dropped in the van countless times and is still working fine. I also received the Leap Frog Alphabet Pal (catepillar) and we keep it in the house (which is also a 5-star toy) and the radio is kept in the car. We also have a "Melissa and Doug" alphabet board; with all of these educational toys, he's already learning his letters. He picks up the 'P' and says 'pa' and picks up the 'D' and says 'doggy.

Excellent Educational toy!
After reading the reviews I had to purchase this for my year old son. Not only does it withstand the 5 foot throw, 2 foot drop, and the walking on all that happen daily.. it is a great learning toy and I do not regret the pruchase. I highly recommend this to everyone. On another note.. it has been on every day since receiving it and on the same batteries...I wish more electronic products would be this reliable! ... Read more

Reviews (7)

I was not sure about the tryke when I bought it. I acctually
I was not sure about the tryke when I bought it. I acctually went for the look. This trike is so cute and so girly that I took my chances. My Husband put it together in no time. Our first ride was at the zoo. I was told that bykes were not aloud in the park, but my daughter, only 2 years 8 months, could not ride it yet. I told them that it was a stroll-cycle.
A little bit hard to manage as a stroller, specially on the curves.
My dauther's first ride was very exciting, she felt so proud of her new trike. We got a lot, I mean a lot of people's attention and compliments. I acutually think my Daughter makes the trike look incredible. HE HE..
If I was selling this trike, i would be making nice money. Many asked where I had bought it.
She loves her trike, it's a great excercise even tough she still does not push hard enough on the pedals, it's good for coordination. The canopi is cute and very helpfull. She does not seem to get tired on the seat. The pouch hanging in front it's great, she is a lot in to collecting whatever "treasure" .If I did not have a minivan, it would be hard to transport it. I don't really know how durable this trike is, since is practicaly new, but so far so good. I hope this was helpfull.

The Cadilac of trikes
My daughter (2) loves this bike!!!! It's a great training bike and it's nice to take on long walks. It really makes her feel in control, yet when she gets tired I don't have to carry it home. It has the convenience of a stroller and it teaches her to ride on her own. The seat is cushy and the seat belt eases my worries about her falling off since she can't touch the ground yet. Great way to teach advanced gross motor skills (pedaling) at a young age!

LOTS OF FUN
My daughter loves her new bike. She just turned 1. This was the best gift she received for her birthday. She does not want to get off it. We take it to the park and to the mall! We push her all over the yard too.
This is a must have for little girls!

Great Bike!
This Bike is great! I have 3 children who love to go on bike rides. My youngest, at 2 1/2, could not keep up and hated sitting in her stroller. This bike allows us to keep up with the older kids. She loves it and I'm constantly getting compliments on it. It is well worth the money.

Great Trike!
We bought this for our daughter after she saw it in the store and was riding it. It is great, the seat is awesome with the seatbelt, she loves to put it on herself! And being that she is younger (15 months), the foot rests are great too. I also like the fact that when she is old enough to pedal it herself, the handle (which is comfortable and at the right height) can come off. She loves the color and the pretty pictures on it, and adores the sparkly streamers! We cannot wait until she figures out the bell...

This is definately something that I got for her that I feel was worth the money that we spent. I agree with the other review, the instructions for assembly are a little difficult to understand. I basically threw them aside and figured it out myself, was easier than trying to understand the directions.

This is a great product, I would recommend it to anyone looking for an alternative for the back breaking non-handled trike! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Bubble Bust!
This toy was wonderful (since I hate to blow bubbles manually for my 2 year old!), but it just stopped working after only 5 or 6 uses. As the other reviewers mentioned, it must rust out very quickly and the machine just ceases to work. I reluctantly threw it away. If you do purchase this, you will have to perform a lot of maintenance. Empty it completely after each use and do not let your toddler ever grab at it, as this is what causes the bubble solution to get into the battery compartment. Also, it's quite frustrating that the bubble solution can be found in just about any store (Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Toys R Us), yet I still am unable to find a store that carries a replacement bubble machine!!!

I'd have to agree with the other reviews
I got this for my son just last week. HE LOVED IT, for 3 days, then the battery compartment rusted and now, it doesn't work. I don't know who's more heartbroken, him or me...
I totally agree with the previous review, save your money until it is better made.

A great party addition!
I picked up this bubble machine for my nephews 2nd birthday and it was a huge hit. All the moms had to know where I got it and were going to go to the store the next day to get one. The kids absolutely love it. I brought it home for my grandchildren to play with and their mom wants one for their house.
It's even a hit with big kids (i.e., adults!) I had a party and we put it out on the patio and no one wanted to come back inside to play our game.

save your money!
My son got this for his birthday and loved it! Unfortunately after using it a few times the battery compartment rusted and the machine was no longer usuable. Save your money until it is redesigned!

Poorly designed!
My son got this toy for his birthday and loved it! Unfortunately after just a few uses the battery compartment rusted and that was the end of it. Save your money until they redesign it! ... Read more