Javelina's Full Review: Melissa and Doug Playful Pets Wooden Jigsaw
Around age 2.5, my daughter really got into puzzles. She wanted to do them first thing in the morning and during the day and also before bed. However, a lot of the puzzles weren't holding up well, and another problem we had was doing the puzzles on the carpet (they would fall apart). Pieces were bending, breaking, and folding - from everything to being pushed together to being stepped on.
"No one is allergic to the lovable pets in this 12-piece wooden jigsaw puzzle! Comes packaged in a sturdy, wooden tray for puzzle building and easy storage. This is the ideal introduction to jigsaw solving...once the corner and edge pieces are in place, the puzzle is almost finished!" (MelissaAndDoug.com)
The Puzzle
Assembled, this puzzle measures 0.5" x 8.5" x 11". The recommended ages is for 3+ years. I bought this puzzle at Kohl's for about $7.99, and I haven't seen this puzzle anywhere else. I have tried other Melissa & Doug products and generally find that they are nicely designed and are high quality.
My Thoughts
The main reason I bought this puzzle is because we have carpeting upstairs in our house and it is a struggle to put a lot of puzzles together on the carpeting, and my toddler just gets frustrated. I wanted to get some puzzles that she could do pretty much anywhere (bed, carpet, etc).
This puzzle has 12 pieces, which makes it one of our simpler puzzles for ages 3+ (since most seem to average 20 or 24 pieces). The pieces are nice solid wood and so I don't worry about them getting bent or damaged. My toddler is always stepping on puzzle pieces and they either bend or break, so it is refreshing to have a puzzle that is much more durable.
The picture on the puzzle is colorful and glossy, and has held up well. It consists of numerous pets, from a fish in a bowl to a bunny to a puppy. The great part about this puzzle is that a single piece doesn't have just one animal on it - it has a part of an animal, so I can point out to my toddler that we need to look for another part - like the "rest of the bunny" or, "let's find the bunny's ears" or the "fish's tail" type of thing. I have some toddler puzzles where a single piece has an entire image on it and then it is difficult for her to mentally connect what she is looking for.
The wooden pieces aren't just durable, but they snap together nicely, and don't fall apart. In fact, you can pick up the whole puzzle when it is done off the board and it will stay together if you are careful. I do love that this has a wooden board to go with it (underneath the puzzle pieces). This way, you can do the puzzle anywhere, and I will say my toddler does this on her bed quite often without a problem.
Overall
I really like this puzzle, and although I bought it a lot based on durability, it is well designed and fun to play with. It is very versatile since it can be done on a couch, bed, carpet, etc, and also travels well.
Melissa & Doug: http://www.melissaanddoug.com/
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 7.99 Type of Toy: Puzzle
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
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