JediKermit's Full Review: Fisher Price Little People: Noah's Ark
My boy recently had his first birthday. My wife and I decided, that since he’d be getting plenty of loot from our parents and siblings and strangers who saw how frigging cute he is, we would just get him one item. His play is becoming a little more sophisticated, so we thought it might be time for him to get some toys that Daddy loved growing up, and later on developed an obsession with: Fisher Price Little People. Long gone are the days of the simple “peg people” that you may have grown up with; I’ve got about 700 of them on my lame homepage quinnarama.com. Today’s Fisher Price Little People are safe from choking hazards and are more detailed than their ancestors. The question became, which set to get Miles to start him on his way?
The answer came (as these answers often do for me) in the toy aisle. Miles, like most babies, loves animals. And when we saw Noah’s Ark, stocked with 8 animals and loads of play features, we knew we had our toy.
At first I was taken aback that Fisher Price would release a biblical toy in this ultra-politically correct time; but realizing that Christians, Jews, and Muslims (and other religions) all believe in the story of Noah as either tradition or fact means that Noah’s Ark is a fairly safe bet. As opposed to say, the Crucifixion Fisher Price Little People set. The decision for us came down to four things:
1) Is it a toy Miles can play with right now?
2) Is it a toy Miles can play with a year from now?
3) Is the toy safe?
4) Do I want to play with the toy WITH Miles?
The answer to all of these questions has been “yes.”
If I could sum up the Noah’s Ark playset in one word, that word would have to be “cute.” As loathe as I am as a guy to use that word, it’s CUTE. HELLACUTE. Cute cute cute. It’s also well-designed with surprising details that help your child reenact the story of Noah’s Ark, and hundreds of other stories as well.
Here are some of the features that distinguish this from other Noah’s Ark toys I’ve seen in stores recently:
Although it is a boat, there are wheels on the base of the Ark that roll nicely on carpet or hard surfaces; I wouldn’t recommend it for the sandbox, but it would navigate any indoor surfaces wonderfully. The wheel mechanism also makes the Ark “rock” back and forth as it rolls, giving you that nice floody motion that the Ark needs.
The front of the Ark has the requisite loading ramp that folds open, but there are also three large windows on the back of the Ark, large enough to load animals in that way if the other methods are too frustrating for small hands.
The top deck of the Ark is removable, with a latch that’s easy enough for Miles to operate it; this provides easy access to the lower decks. After the top is removed, the lower half of the Ark folds open, becoming stables for the animals after the Ark has lit safely on Mount Ararat.
On the top deck is the little “house” structure, and it has an opening and closing door for Noah and the Missus to ride out the storm in. There’s also a trap door, which lets you drop animals into the lower decks (a third way to access the hold of the ship).
The main draw of this set beyond the Ark itself is of course the animals, and they’re great. Molded of plastic that’s durable but soft enough that Miles can’t hurt himself, they’ve also got rounded edges that ramp up the cute factor and keep Miles’ eyes in his head where they belong. What a great way to introduce him to animals! We get four pairs of animals with the Ark: Lions, Giraffes, Toucans, and Zebras. The females are distinctly different sculpts than the males, a little smaller than the males, and some of them (like the lions) have different features. The animals also had Avon call before they boarded the Ark, because the female animals have a bit of rouge on their chubby animal cheeks.
Noah and his wife (unnamed in scripture, so we call her Mrs. Noah) are both also CUTE (I think I’ve used that more times in writing this than I have in the last year) (except Miles is a darn cute baby, so scratch that). They’re sculpted so each of them has a hand extended out; they can be feeding the animals, or if you place them JUST right, they’re holding hands. Awww. Noah’s got the white curly beard you’d expect, and is holding a little shepherd’s crook with a white dove perched on it. Mrs. Noah is holding a food basket and has a long dark braid. Noah scored.
Also included (this is a LOT of stuff for a $20.00 toy) is a small barrel of water with two fishies in it, a food crate filled with veggies, and a tool chest for Noah to work on the Ark. There’s also a flag you can mount on the top of the Ark in four locations, which has storm clouds and rain on one side, and a rainbow on the other side.
As if this wasn’t enough, the Ark is filled with little details that Fisher Price didn’t need to put in, but did, and it adds to the play value of the toy and my appreciation of the piece as a Fisher Price collector. Things like a little wall hanging in the hold that’s a picture of Mr and Mrs Noah. The bales of hay sculpted into the floor of the hold. The little bed and food preparation counter in the “house” on the top deck. The mice and birds and bees seen in the nooks and crannies of the Ark.
Whether you’re religious or not, this is a fun toy for children ages 1 and up – I was babysitting a four-year old boy the other day (named Noah, ironically) who loved this toy, and was playing with it for almost an hour. Relatively quietly. This combines elements of the popular Zoo and Farm Fisher Price Little People sets, letting children pretend to care for exotic animals, and take them on a trip to boot!
Right now Miles plays with the Ark by dumping the animals into it and pulling them back out. He’ll hold up a Lion or Giraffe and make a big growling noise, and then put them back. He doesn’t know the story of the Ark yet of course, but that will come in time. This is a great toy, that we’ll have for years, and he’ll learn to play new ways with it as time goes on. If you have a little one who’s looking for new ways to play with animals, check this out—it’s inexpensive, durable, and CUTE as all get out.
Noah, using all he knew, built himself a floating zoo With lots of animals, all times two, ready to come and play with you! The ark includes Noah, two...More at eBay
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