This set of soft fabric blocks was given to me at a baby shower and I had high hopes for them. Ultimately, I found that the Infantino set of blocks were much easier for my daughter to grasp and had better features that captured her interest, so this set was relegated to the bottom of the toy box.

As you can see in the photo, the set includes 8 colorful 3" wide blocks whose 6 sides all have different textures and colors. I particularly liked the ones with the soft corduroy-like fabric, rather than the fuzzy or satin fabrics. Several of these blocks have fabric doors/windows that can open to reveal cartoon girl/boy figures (of different colors!) and most also have other special features like rattling or crinkling.

While my daughter never really played with this set, she did occasionally grab one particular block. She liked the one with a clear "porthole" window that reveals a boy in a sailor hat--primarily because she liked sucking on the clear vinyl porthole window.

There are also 8 "half" blocks ("triangles" that form a regular square block when 2 are joined) that could be used as roofs when stacking the standard blocks. These are in black/white patterns like stripes, polka dots, and a checkered pattern. I remember reading somewhere that black/white toys are best early on as they appeal to newborns who can't yet see clearly and like high contrast. My daughter never even gave these a second glance. She wouldn't even grab them when I placed them in her hand. She'd immediately drop them and grab something else.

I've tried stacking these blocks for her, building houses, and even knocking them down, but she's just not interested. The 3" blocks with windows and doors aren't that easy to shake if you have small hands. Thus, most will likely try to do so by holding on to a door/window (except for the clear porthole window block I mentioned earlier), so my daughter preferred her other blocks with more sizeable, easy-to-grasp handles.

Thus, this was another one of those "great-on-paper" toys that just didn't appeal to my daughter.

Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): gift - $20?
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: 0 to 12 Months