GravityGirl's Full Review: Curious George - Puzzles - Mood Puzzle
I purchased the Curious George mood puzzle over three years ago at the local Barnes and Noble. My oldest child is two years old. That's right- I thought that this set was so precious and darling that I bought it before I had kids to save for when I had kids.
Looking back, I am glad that I did. The Curious George mood puzzle is one of my oldest daughter's favorite things to play with. If it is not out, she will ask for her "monkey game".
This puzzle features the classic Curious George from the picture book, not the more modern cartoonish Curious George from the recent movie.
At two years and four months, she is able to put it together all by herself. This puzzle is quite simple and is intended for toddlers and preschoolers. It comes in an attractive and sturdy wooden box with George's silhouette on one side of the lid. The box contains 18 pieces- six heads, six tops, and six legs. The tops and legs make six matching outfits: there is a pajamas set, a clown costume, a carpentry outfit, a yellow outfit, a spacesuit, and a plain monkey outfit with no clothes. Then, there are six heads. Two of the heads match outfits, but the other four are plain heads. All of the monkey heads have a different facial expression- sleepy, two happy, surprised, laughing, and sad/crying. A head, top, and legs will fit into the silhouette, and this completes the puzzle!
Of course, with so many pieces, who is to say that you have to put the clown top with the clown legs? There is a lot of potential for mixing and matching because all the pieces are the same size.
The pieces fit into the frame very nicely. They will only fit into their designated place. It is easy to get the pieces in and out of the silhouette. My daughter can do it on her own without any assistance.
My daughter loves to play with her "monkey game". Sometimes she makes matching outfits, and sometimes she does not. She loves to show her father and me the monkeys that she has made. She will say, "Look I make a monkey!"
We also have conversations about the different faces. Is the monkey happy? Why is he sad? This is great practice for learning about the various range of emotions.
As I have mentioned, the wooden pieces are very sturdy. The side that does not have the picture is undecorated wood, but it has been smoothed, so they will not give splinters. The decorated side is a sticker, but they are very well placed; until I saw a slight bit of fraying on one of two of the pieces, I thought that the decorations were painted on. As long as there is no rough play, there should not be any problems with the stickers tearing- just some fraying with normal wear and tear.
My one complaint has to do with cleaning up the pieces. The box they come in is very sturdy, but unless the pieces are arranged and stacked in just the right manner, the box will not close. It should be noted that the lid does not close from the top; you have to slide the lid on from the side. My daughter is very willing to clean up after herself, but she gets frustrated when she can't close the box. I get frustrated at having to arrange the pieces so specifically!
I highly recommend the Curious George mood puzzle for toddlers and preschoolers. If your child likes Curious George, monkeys, puzzles- or all three- then this is the toy for you!
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