My baby boy got TONS of toys for his first birthday. He got big ones, little ones, noisy ones, quiet ones - he got soooo much. There are a few standout toys from this slew of new things he has to occupy his time. The Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Magnetic Cookie Puzzle is one of those standouts. Even though he has bigger and flashier things, he spends a little time with his Cookie Puzzle every day.

Product Description:

Fisher Price's Magnetic Cookie Puzzle is one of the many toys in their "Laugh and Learn" line. These toys are supposed to take regular objects that babies see around their homes every day and turn them into fun, educational toys.

The Magnetic Cookie Puzzle is a little toy cookie tray that contains 5 cookies. The gingerbread man cookie is really a large button that activates songs and has red and green flashing gum-drop lights. The rest of the cookies can be removed from the tray individually. Each one has a cookie-shaped indention on the tray that it sits in (making the tray somewhat like a shape-sorter), and each indention has a cute smiley-face picture that is the correct color and shape for the missing cookie that belongs there. Each cookie is a different shape, texture, and color. The breakdown is as follows:
*) Yellow rough square cookie - a yellow shortbread-looking cookie with sugary little bits on top to make it rough
*) Red bumpy triangle cookie - with white icing on top and multi-colored round "sprinkles"
*) Green squishy circle cookie - with a chocolate chip cookie on top
*) Blue smooth star cookie - with layers of white and pink "icing" and a little smiley face

The "top" of each cookie has the texture can have other colors, whereas the "bottom" of each cookie is just a single color and has indentions that emphasize the shape of the cookie (for example, the square cookie bottom has little squares around the edge, a big square outline indention, and different sized square indentions in the middle).

There are three settings - "off", "music time", and "learning time". When on the music setting, putting the cookies back into their indentions on the tray will trigger short little music snippits to play. Each cookie has 2 of its own music snippits (depending upon which side of the cookie is facing up/down) for a total of 8 short snippits. When on the "learning time" setting, what the toy does depends upon which side of the cookie is facing up. With the texture side up the gingerbread man will announce the texture ("bumpy cookie!", "rough cookie!"). With the shape side up he will announce the color and shape ("red triangle", "blue star").

The gingerbread man also behaves differently depending upon the setting. On either setting he might say "Hi there!" when pressed, but on the music setting he'll sing "Someone's in the Kitchen Making Cookies" to the tune of "Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah" (or "I've Been Working on the Railroad"). On the learning setting he sings a little song to the tune of "London Bridges Falling Down" where he lists the textures and colors of the cookies. Both songs are well done and the Gingerbread Man's voice is cute and childlike without being too annoying.

Each cookie has a free-floating magnet inside. This means that your child can pick up and carry the cookie tray without the pieces all falling out, which is very nice indeed.

This product is recommended for babies ages 9-36 months. It requires 3 "AAA" batteries (included).

Our Thoughts and Experiences:

Compared to many of the toys my baby got at his first birthday party, the Magnetic Cookie Puzzle is small and simple, however it is one that he must spend some quality time with every day. I think there are a few reasons for this. First, he loves the fact that each cookie "rattles" when you shake it (due to the free-floating magnet inside). He also loves putting the shapes into the tray and hearing the music or talking. Because the cookies are magnetic, whenever he holds the shape the right way the tray effectively "grabs" the cookie and locks it into place, so it is easy for him to get the shape into the slot the right way. He was really thrilled the other day when I showed him how the cookies will stick to our refrigerator. He did get a bit mad when I showed him how 2 cookies will stick together, but only because the 2 magnets were strong enough that he had a hard time getting them apart again. I think my son is at the perfect age and developmental stage for this toy -- it is simple enough for his just-turned-one mentality, giving him interesting textures to explore, shapes to sort, and fun sounds to trigger.

I personally think that what they've done with the magnets inside is genious! If what I think they've done is true, then because the magnets are free-floating inside each cookie you don't have the polarity issues you get with some magnetic toys and have the cookies oppose each other or the tray -- instead when you hold 2 cookies together they will always stick together, and no matter which side of the cookie you try to stick into the tray it will always catch and hold.

I'm really impressed with how simple yet fun this toy is for my baby boy, so my complains are very few and very minor. There is no volume control, but the volume is at a generally pleasant level so it isn't a big deal. If you put the red cookie in bumpy-side down the magnet won't hold it in the tray like the other cookies (but son usually has the texture-sides up so again, this is a very minor complaint). My biggest complaint would be that I wish they had a little more variety to the songs the gingerbread man sings. On any given setting he will only cycle through one phrase ("Hi there!") and one song (which differs depending on the setting). As a parent I get tired of hearing the same song repeatedly as my son triggers the gingerbread man over and over and over. His songs are cute and I'm glad they are different than what you usually hear on kids' toys, I just wish he had a few more things to sing.

Quickie Summary
Pros:
+) Pieces are magnetic, so they don't fall out when baby wants to carry the tray around
+) The magnets are free-floating in each piece, so you don't have polarity issues when bringing 2 pieces together or fitting them into the tray
+) teaches 4 shapes - square, circle, triangle, and star
+) teaches 4 textures - bumpy, smooth, squishy, and rough
+) teaches 4 colors - red, blue, green, and yellow
+) 2 settings, "learning" and "music"
+) Gingerbread man sings 2 cute and unique songs
+) The tray has big, wide handles on either side, making it easy for little ones to carry
+) Overall a colorful, cute, and fun toy for babies!
Cons:
-) I could use a little more variety in the music
-) No volume control (but the volume is at a good level)

Final Thoughts:

When I first saw the Laugh and Learn Magnetic Cookie Puzzle I thought it was cute but somewhat simple and wasn't sure how much my little guy would like it. I have been pleasantly surprised by how much he enjoys it. I love the fact that the cookies are magnetic and stick to the tray, and appreciate the way it teaches colors, shapes, and textures. It has been a really great toy for my little guy!






Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 10.99
Type of Toy: Baby Toy