Editorial Review

This colorful merry-go-round offers babies multifaceted opportunities for play. Three rattlesspin around in a kaleidoscope of sounds and colors.Each rattle can be removed and played with, so babieshave several enticing choices: the yellow rattle with its see-through container of multicolored beads; the redrattle with its set of clanging, spinning disks; and the bright blue rattle with its jangling, spinning cylinderof barbershop stripes. Parents may need to assist babies in removing and re-attaching the rattles. --Gail Hudson ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great Fun For Baby!
We bought our son this toy for Christmas. He is five months old and is very interested in rattles. We like how the rattles have two handles and that they are light for baby. He loves to shake the rattles and put them in his mouth. The colors are bright and inviting and the "go round" attachment helps to keep the rattles at close reach.

amazing toy!
it is amazing how parents can sometimes think they know best... when we got this toy i never imagined my baby would be so thrilled with one toy, which i believe expands his little world's frontiers showing him one toy can be whatever you wish it could be. with this one especially, not only he invents on what one toy can be, but on the many posibilities the toy has. and he seems to begin to understand how to separate parts and put them back together, a skill i haven't seen when he plays with other toys. this toy is very different from all crib toys. I definitely like it. But my baby likes it more, and that's what really matters in the end. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Fun Pretend Set
This is a nice garden set that my 3 year old carries around with ease. The pieces are easy to handle for his little hands when he is helping daddy around the yard. The set is more for pretend than for actual digging. The pieces fit nicely in the tote that is similar to my garden set.

this is a HORRIBLE DEAL
I cannot believe I paid [money] for an item that is falsely advertised. This pouch looks to be pretty large, even the picture of the little girl you use makes it look bigger...all in all this item was the size of my two fists put together, what a waste of time AND money! Now I have to go out and buy something for Easter regardless as I am returning this waste of time to you. Even the tool that are included are so small I am not sure WHO would enjoy this product. All in ALL I am VERY dissapointed in this product...I will not recommmend this to ANYONE EVER.

It's cute!
This is a great little present for the spring time....but it says 3 and up - it should be under 3! It's quite babyish! ... Read more

Editorial Review

This is where Calico Critter lawyers and doctors might choose to parkthe Calicadillac: a spacious three-story residence with dormer windows in theteal blue "tile" roof, a full porch, two bay windows that open and close, andother fancy features. The house is 18 inches high at the roof line, 18 incheswide, and 16 inches deep. Above the porch, French doors open on to a balcony.Turn the house around and you'll find that the back is open, revealing a spiralstaircase and white balustrades, making it easy to arrange and furnish the eightdistinct living spaces inside. --Richard Farr ... Read more

Reviews (5)

NOT FOR 3 YEAR OLDS
This set should really be for older kids and collectors. I purchased this for my 3 year olds birthday based on other reviews -Big Mistake. I also thought that becuase the accessories were realistic and colorful, it would capture my 3 year old interest better than the wooden sets.
The accessories for the rooms are really small (think of the smallest Barbie accessories-ie perfume bottles) that YOU have to put stickers on. I don't think any 3-4 year old has the dexterity to manipulate them. So I just put most of them away so we don't lose them. Some of them also have stickers on the back for permanent placement, which for a 3 year old is not a plus.
I also found it difficult to fit the furniture sets in the smaller rooms. I still haven't found a room that holds all of the bathroom furniture.
My daughter does like the critters themselves and the nursery/bedroom/living room sets. However she plays with this toy maybe once a month. Better to invest in one of the wooden doll houses ( she always plays with them in the stores).

Calico Critters ARE sylvanian Families
This house is really great. One of the few doll houses I do own, and I much rather collect miniature figures. Its massive, for one. Trying to find a place to put it was a little awkward (for kids, its easy. It goes on the floor in the middle of the room ^_^) Also, as both the editor & manufactuer mentioned, its highly detailed.

On other notes. This series IS Sylvanian Families. They are put out by EPOCH (the company that still sells sylvanian Families under their real name, oversea's in Japan and UK) Due to legalities (their old distributor, Coleco, went bankrupt & lost its assets in the 80's )they have been re-introduced under the new name of Calico Critters of Cloverleaf Corners in USA and Canada. As a note, they are totally unrelated to maple town. WHile similar, Maple town is a knock-off produced by bandai to snag some of Epoch's sales in the 80's. Bandai is notorious for that, unfortunatly.
This series is REALLY going strong in Japan. There are gameboy games, advance games, real restaraunts, and shops deticated entirely to sylvanian families. You know what that means, eventual popularity spill-over into the USA. I really do think this series is going to have a popularity explosion, once word gets around. ^_^

Calico Critters Deluxe village
This is an amazing value.. not only do you get the house, you get a kitty cat family, dining room, nursery and a bathroom set.

Pretty cool.. I wish they would've told me though, so I wouldn't have bought the accessories!!
LOVE IT

Definitely recommended
I used to have this set when I was a child. I am now 20 years old the only differnce is that this set was called Mapletown. I loved this toy and I actually still have the majority of the peices.I am planning on buying this for my neices for christmas. I recommend this set. After all these years I still want to play with it and how amazing the pieces held up amaze me.

Lovely toy!
You know...this series of toys sounds suspiciously akin to one of my favorite comic books, Silvania families. Anyway, on with the review.

It's a very fun toy, though pretty much plain without the accessories. Be prepared to spend a small fortune for your little ones. It's educational value is in it's lovely architectural design, as well as inner fixtures, etc.

Get at least one or two families and 2 sets of accessories and I guarantee that this house will entertain for years to come. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Grandkids love the game
I bought the game for Christmas for my 4 and 7 year old grandchildren. They love the game. It is simple enough to understand the rules, and is fun even for us grandparents to play the game with them. I am considering getting one for my home to be available for them when they come to our house.

For the little horse lover
I say this is a great present for any child who loves anything and everything about horses! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Get this toy!
Not only did my 1 year old love this toy when he got it, (as did his big sister) but he has been riding around the house on it for over a year and it is still in good shape! He thinks the trailer is great for sitting on and pushes himself around on it. (And he weighs 25 pounds!) The mechanism for moving itself forward automatically finally gave out recently due to his misuse, but he doesn't seem to mind. The animals are all included. (One person seems to have gotten an open package.)

A wonderful toy!
My son is nearly 2 and I bought this toy as he is really into farms & farms animals. He absolutely loved it! There has never been a toy that has captured his attention as much. He dances to the "Old MacDonald" tune, and loves the animals - he even takes them in the tub with him!

where are the animals?
The star ratings I put down don't express how much fun my 3 year old son and my one year old daughter are having with the toy. In theory it is great. One major problem though, where are the animals? Only the farmer is included and I don't know where to buy the anumals from. So there are holes where each animal is to be placed and buttons that makes an animal sound in the hole but no animals. Also, for [the money] I would think they would be included.

My son loves this toy too !!
My son receieved this as a 1st birthday gift and he loves it. IT was his favorite gift from that day onwards. He loves to push the buttons that make animal noises and copies them (oink and moo especially). He also loves when it sings "old macdonald has a farm" and the horn makes him giggle for some reason. He plays with it every single day and has done so for the last 2 months. Its the toy I grab when he's upset and it makes him smile every time !

My Son LOVES this toy!
I was quite surprised to see this toy on the BRU website because my son got it for his 1st birthday from his Aunt who lives in England. This tractor is so cool. It sings Old McDonald when you press on the farmer, the lights flash and horn honks when you press on the horn and it moves forward by itself when you press the orange steam valve on top. There are buttons on the tractor so when you put the appropriate animal in it's place is makes the animal sounds.

He immediately caught on, on how to make the tractor go. He loves the animals and this is the first toy he goes to every day. If it broke, I would have to purchase a replacement. Great Toy! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

HE'S LEARNING TO SPELL!
I recently purchased this puzzle for my toddler son. When I received it, I was disappointed with the small pieces and was going to send it back. I did, however, keep it because I thought the educational value may prove more important than the size of the puzzle.

Boy, was I right on that! My son truly enjoys putting together these mini-puzzles and on his own. He's only two, but loves his letters and shows interest in words. He's actually learning to spell! And I love the fact that the puzzle is self-correcting; he knows a word is spelt correctly if the puzzle is complete.

Toddlers who like puzzles will love this
My son started this puzzle at age 2 and really enjoyed putting every set of words together and would not stop until every one was complete. He has always enjoyed puzzles. I would put the letters in groups so that each pile would complete a word.
Now that he is a little over 2 1/2 I can just let him search the whole box for the letters and match them up himself. I highly recommend it because after each individual puzzle is complete you can have your child spell it to you to continue the learning!

Too many pieces
There are too many pieces to this puzzle..My son knows all his letters and can spell some words (he is 3) so I guess this was too advanced for him because the pieces were everywhere..I think this would be more beneficial if the letters were grouped in at least two to three per piece versus one puzzle piece per letter.

Visual & Tactile Learning
This set of 21 small puzzles (average size of each is about 4"x4") offer learning to spell in a unique and fun way. Made out of material similar to an adult jigsaw puzzle, each interlocking puzzle piece (size about 3x1.5) features a letter and a part of the object that the word spells. For instance, in the pig puzzle, the letter "P" also has the pig's head on it, the letter "I" has the pig's body, and the "G" has the pig's back end. The puzzle cannot be put together incorrectly, assuring that your child is learning the correct spelling and associating the word with the object. The 21 puzzles include 3 three letter words, 4 four letter words, 11 five letter words, and 3 six letter words. My two year old who knows his alphabet is enjoying playing with these puzzles (3 & 4 letter words) and beginning to learn the concept that letters make up words and how those letters are arranged determines what word is conveyed. The age recommendations on the box are 4-7, with a choking warning for those under three. Obviously each child is different but if you are beginning phonics and spelling lessons, and your child enjoys puzzles (and does not put them in the mouth!), this is a great tool. ... Read more