Musical playthings for little ones are a must, and Little Wonders Pop-a-Tune is among the most versatile and visually-appealing such children's products to cross our path. Not only does the keyboard play the first 6 notes of the C major scale (or silly sounds, depending on the setting), but pressing any of those keys also triggers a highly visible action-reaction youngsters find to be utterly delightful. Behind each color...Read more

With its exciting array of hinges, clasps, buckles, slide bolts and other locking mechanisms, the Lockboard offers an unusually appealing and beneficial series of hands-on activities for youngsters to investigate and learn through play. These fascinating manual activity stations are affixed to the front of a sturdy wooden board whose colorfully-illustrated surface looks like a cheerful farmhouse and whose windows and door...Read more

The Magic Sand Play Set serves up countless hours of creative fun in which kids use their hands and an array of play tools to mold the set's astonishingly shapeable magic sand. Amazingly, the sand does not stick to the hands or to the included plastic molds, yet adheres to itself so firmly as to produce shapes and objects with the sort of smooth, detailed appearance one would only expect of something machine made. The bui...Read more

That children find Sir William the Brave Knight to be utterly irresistible is no surprise given the abundant charm wielded by this adorable plush bear outfitted in knightly garb. But Sir William is more than a plush companion, as the kit's hardcover storybook attests. He is a guardian and protector from a magical realm with the real-world ability to comfort and soothe kids' nighttime anxieties. Helping considerably in thi...Read more

Kids respond with awe and delight to the unique creative play experiences made possible by Magnatab Free Draw. Pressing or swiping the magnetic stylus along the Magnatab tablet causes silver beads contained within to instantly pop to the surface along whatever path the child has chosen, making a satisfying click as they are pulled into place. Beads thus risen to the surface remain there, protruding slightly while still se...Read more

Majibu Ring is a game of skill, physical coordination, and manual dexterity that makes for fast-moving, breathtaking fun. It's about tossing, catching and, especially, what happens in between. The goal in each round is to get a specified number of variously-sized rings onto a post. The tricky and monumentally exciting part is that you must pick up one or more of your rings (the exact quantity depends on which round you ar...Read more

This astronomy-themed object and word recognition game puts a delightful spin on classic Bingo, a reimagining made all the more fun and exciting by the 5 progressively more challenging play options offered up in the instructions. Each player receives a double-sided playing board, one side of which displays 9 planets or other space-related objects along with their printed names while the board's flipside shows only the nam...Read more

This wonderful educational set consists of 26 phonics-based magnetic mini puzzles, one for each letter of the alphabet! Each of these colorful, eye-catching puzzles is designed in such a way that the first letter of the name for the object or animal represented (X for xylophone, F for flamingo and so on) will fit nestled within the illustration, thus completing the picture and the puzzle. Parents and caregivers can regula...Read more

Maths Bus is another wondrously-crafted educational toy from MierEdu, one whose imagination-stirring components and entertaining play inspire kids to explore and learn a variety of math concepts. The 4-wheeled bus acts as the set's storage container and functions as a vertical board that makes for an effective tool in helping children solve problems. Two movable number wheels on one side of the bus can be used to formulat...Read more

This robust 25-piece set sparks endless play activities in which kids act out their own spontaneous storylines and action scenes. Assembly is satisfyingly quick, easy, and requires no tools, after which the imagination-fueled fun unfurls full steam ahead. The Mighty Mag Force feature plays a recurring role in these creative scenarios by offering dramatic moments in which things move seemingly of their own volition. A gara...Read more

There are so many different ways for kids to laugh, play and learn with this wonderful educational activity set! First, there are the monsters themselves, a horde of 72 colorful mini figures comprised of 6 different shapes/characters that inspire an immense amount of imagination-fueled fun from the moment they're out of the box. The inclusion of 10 double-sided activity cards (2 of which act as an activity guide) offer up...Read more

Multiplication by Heart proved to be a wondrously effective way for youngsters to gain mastery of multiplication facts and come away with a genuine understanding of how multiplication works. That powerful efficacy stems, in part, from the abundance of exceptionally well-designed and visually intuitive flash cards that come with the set. Even more so, it hinges on the unusually playful and systematic approach Multiplicatio...Read more

It's easy to see why kids find this remarkably well-crafted cooperative board game to be hugely enjoyable. The setup itself is captivating: a colorful game board with a rustic path leading to a castle and an ever-changing cast of monsters heading steadily towards that castle! The object is to catch all of the monsters (represented by illustrated tokens) before one reaches the castle and knocks it flat. These captures are ...Read more

This is one of the best construction toy sets for younger kids that we have seen in our 12+ years of reviewing children's products. The blocks, wheels, gears and other components that make up this 114-piece set are sized just right for smaller hands to manipulate and connect firmly to one another using nothing more than gentle pressure. Children find each of the 8 models for which step-by-step instructions appear in the a...Read more