Reviews (1)

PlayMobil Pirate Crew is a Favorite!!
Our son plays with PlayMobil Pirate Crew and the green life boat all the time. He knows which feathers, hats, etc fit on which pirates. There's no end to what his imagination can do with them. He plays with the pirate set on other toys such as boats, buildings, islands, even outside in the dirt. We just wash them up, they are so durable. He received the toy as a gift last Christmas and he has not gotten tired of it yet! We'll definately add to the PlayMobil toys this Christmas!
Bridget Jennings ... Read more

Editorial Review

These locking Lego-like blocks are the classic sort of toy that kids will play with every day and that will offer endless creative possibilities. Ideal for entry-level builders, these blocks are made of lightweight plastic that can't do too much damage if thrown and are jumbo-sized so as not to pose a choking hazard. The set includes 80 blocks of varying shapes, including a peaked rooftop and several knobs or wheels. The blocks come in bright primary colors that toddlers will find visually stimulating. In addition to inspiring creativity through play, these blocks are a valuable tool for improving fine motor skills, coordination, and manual dexterity. The set comes in a convenient clear plastic storage bag that keeps blocks contained. --Cristina Vaamonde ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The storybook comes to life
We just bought this toy for our 2.5 year old son because he is started to use his imagination more and more.It's a very cute idea to help kids be creative and use their imagination.You can build the characters in the book or make up your own.And the more sets you buy, the more creatures you can make.It also comes with it's own storage case that resembles a big book, so you just put it on the shelf when you are done.Except my son never wants me to put it away because he enjoys playing with the animals so much.Great idea from FP. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Super Blocks for Building and Learning
My daughter is almost 2. She has had these blocks for several months, and enjoys playing with them, stacking them, throwing them, and trying to name the pictures. So far the dog isn't attracted to them.

These blocks have great pictures and clear letters. I agree, however, with another reviewer's comments regarding M/W and some of the word choices, but in general they are great. So, we'll just have to explain somehow what Ink is. I'll bet we can do it.

I particularly like that the block holding tray is durable, and that the dimensions of the box allow for extra room (2 blocks worth) to make re-packing easy.

The blocks are a nice size, and the size and shape remain consistent between the blocks for easy stacking. I have not found any rough edges or splinters. So far the pictures have held up well.

These are high quality blocks that should be a satisfying toy for several years to come.

Awesome, Safe Block Set
We bought these toys when our daughter was 10months old, for her first christmas. She just loves them. She also recieved some of the old-fashioned "carved" blocks with the letters cut into them. Unlike these, she quickly chewed the paint off of some of the old-fashoined blocks. She has chomped on these pretty hard and they seem to put up with it with little damage. She bangs them together, chews on them and occationally stacks them. Though they are recommended for older children, i think we made a nice choice as she will be able to play with these for years in many different ways as her skills develop. Also, they are bigger than the standard blocks, so i dont worry about anything and she should be able to manipulate them a little earlier.

Nice blocks, but two quibbles
We ordered these when we realized that our 2-year old had just about learned the ABCs already, and we thought these would be good for reinforcement as well as good old block-piling fun.

Our child loved them immediately and called out letters while pulling each block from the sturdy wooden tray that the blocks come in. The blocks are made from an attractive wood and the grain shows through nicely behind the letters and the pictures associated with each letter, that fill four of the six faces. We consider it a definite plus that each block shows the upper and lowercase form of each letter. We also like the fact that these are small enough for little hands, but big enough to give to a 2-year-old without worrying about a choking hazard.

One quibble: the blocks are not designed to provide any cues as to vertical orientation, either for letters or illustrations. The reason this matters is that the capital-M has spreading legs, which makes it basically *identical* in appearance to the capital-W, when either letter is upside down. It should have been possible to design the M with vertical sides, which would have reduced confusion and would teach the letter "M" in a form more likely to be found in other settings. Similar confusion applies to the lower-case "L" and upper-case "I", which look identical.

Quibble #2: some of the letter-related words that illustrate each block seem oddly chosen. For instance, "Ink" for the letter "I" -- how likely is it that a 21st century child will encounter an old-fashioned ink bottle anytime soon? Perhaps the problem comes because some letters are not used to begin many words familiar to toddlers, but across the 26 letters in the set, we find quite a few illustrations and vocabulary words that we don't think will be much help to our child learning the alphabet, or be useful in everyday speech later on.

Finally, an unknown: durability. Since these are brand new, we can't say, but the letters are painted onto the surface of smooth, flat blocks -- not cut into the wood, like some old-fashioned block designs. That makes these more attractive for now, but we suspect the paint will probably chip or wear off somewhat more rapidly. That's just a guess.

All in all, we are pleased with this set. We had been looking for something like this for a while, with no luck. So I suspect that it may be hard to find blocks that accomplish all the same things these do (uppercase, lowercase, word associations, size, attractiveness) without any of the quibbles raised here. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Lots of play value!
We gave this to our six year old daughter last Christmas and she has played with it all year. Yes, it requires a one-time set-up, but the instructions are straight forward. I did pause over the price, but I'm really glad we bought it: its been played with all year. I love the Playmobil toys because there is so much room for imaginative play. Our daughter and a friend played with this toy for over an hour today!

My son loves this!
Because this toy comes in a "kit" form, i.e., has to be assembled, my son and I had a great time not only playing with it but putting it together! He is totally enthralled with all the parts and pieces, and the price is reflected in the amazing attention to detail. It's a great gift and I will definitely be purchasing other playmobil toys. (Keep in mind, with lots of small pieces, it's not the best toy if you have young toddlers)

overrated
I had no idea this toy had to be built. I was very disappointed about this. That was the last thing I wanted to do on christmas morning and the day after, was to be building this farm. It's ingeniously made, alot of detail, and really cute. My kids have fun with it. It's alot smaller than I thought it would be too. For that price, I thought it would be alot bigger; more substantial. Don't think I'd ever buy another set. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Boy is this toy annoying!
Any toy that makes music with no shut off is no toy that I want at home.While this is colorful and durable, it is hard to tell what the individual pop onz pieces are for.They aren't the kinds of components that a child can easily recognize and then utilize for pretend play.For instance there is some kind of piece that is supposed to represent a water barrel, but it looks so non descript that it is hard to identify how to play with it.The only quality that appealed to my daughter and her friends who played with it, was that it makes music when you touch it in the slightest manner.This is the very same quality that is annoying to the adult members of the household.This toy, thankfully we didn't purchase ourselves because we are selling it at our yard sale soon and we know that we will take a beating on the actual retail value.Oh well. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The best purchase I've made so far!
As an early childhood educator, I must say this product has the most for the money. There are at least 4 different educational uses. My son began using it around 13 months and continued until about 20 months. He loved discovering that the wooden dowels fit into the holes of the blocks and the table -early lacing skills! As he got older, he enjoyed the activities of stacking the blocks and the shape sorter. These strengthened fine motor development and eye-hand coordination. Cognitive skills can be worked on by counting, and matching the colors and shapes. It was also great that he found other toys, like plastic rings that fit on the dowels too. More than one child or adult can play so this encourages social skills. Clean up time was simple when the center is used for storage. The only thing that disappointed me was that the cover for the center starage area did not fit. As for the 4 star rating on fun - I'm not big on electronic toys but if you have them, you will understand that this may not be the first toy your child runs to. It also does However, if you kneel on the floor next to him to encourage and provide positive feeback, he'll learn much more than what an electronic toy can teach. Thank you Small World Toys! ... Read more