Melissa & Doug 26-piece Wooden ABC Picture Blocks in a Wooden Storage Tray

by Melissa & Doug

Product Features

• 26 large solid wood blocks
• Comes in wooden storage tray
• For ages 2 years and up
• 8Hx13Wx2L"

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005RF5E
• Item model number: 549
• Our recommended age: 24 months - 5 years
• Manufacturer recommended age: 36 months - 6 years
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #264,397 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

This heirloom-quality set includes 26 large, solid-wood blocks with beautifully illustrated images for building early vocabulary. Smooth finish with rounded corners. Handy wooden storage tray makes clean-up a cinch!

Product Description

This heirloom-quality ABC Picture Block Set includes 26 large, solid wood blocks with beautifully illustrated images, and comes in a sturdy wooden tray for easy storage. Each block is smoothly finished with rounded corners, and each block features the upper and lower case letter as well as four letter-specific items for building early vocabulary. The classic style and superior quality of this handsome set is an outstanding value that will last for years. Size: 13" x 8" x 2", Blocks are 1.75" cubes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice blocks, but two quibbles, April 13, 2002

By A Customer

= Durability:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Melissa & Doug 26-piece Wooden ABC Picture Blocks in a Wooden Storage Tray (Toy)

We ordered these when we realized that our 2-year old had just about learned the ABCs already, and we thought these would be good for reinforcement as well as good old block-piling fun.

Our child loved them immediately and called out letters while pulling each block from the sturdy wooden tray that the blocks come in. The blocks are made from an attractive wood and the grain shows through nicely behind the letters and the pictures associated with each letter, that fill four of the six faces. We consider it a definite plus that each block shows the upper and lowercase form of each letter. We also like the fact that these are small enough for little hands, but big enough to give to a 2-year-old without worrying about a choking hazard.

One quibble: the blocks are not designed to provide any cues as to vertical orientation, either for letters or illustrations. The reason this matters is that the capital-M has spreading legs, which makes it basically *identical* in appearance to the capital-W, when either letter is upside down. It should have been possible to design the M with vertical sides, which would have reduced confusion and would teach the letter "M" in a form more likely to be found in other settings. Similar confusion applies to the lower-case "L" and upper-case "I", which look identical.

Quibble #2: some of the letter-related words that illustrate each block seem oddly chosen. For instance, "Ink" for the letter "I" -- how likely is it that a 21st century child will encounter an old-fashioned ink bottle anytime soon? Perhaps the problem comes because some letters are not used to begin many words familiar to toddlers, but across the 26 letters in the set, we find quite a few illustrations and vocabulary words that we don't think will be much help to our child learning the alphabet, or be useful in everyday speech later on.

Finally, an unknown: durability. Since these are brand new, we can't say, but the letters are painted onto the surface of smooth, flat blocks -- not cut into the wood, like some old-fashioned block designs. That makes these more attractive for now, but we suspect the paint will probably chip or wear off somewhat more rapidly. That's just a guess.

All in all, we are pleased with this set. We had been looking for something like this for a while, with no luck. So I suspect that it may be hard to find blocks that accomplish all the same things these do (uppercase, lowercase, word associations, size, attractiveness) without any of the quibbles raised here.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super Blocks for Building and Learning, January 23, 2004

By 

Colorado reader & parent (Colorado Springs, CO) - See all my reviews

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Melissa & Doug 26-piece Wooden ABC Picture Blocks in a Wooden Storage Tray (Toy)

My daughter is almost 2. She has had these blocks for several months, and enjoys playing with them, stacking them, throwing them, and trying to name the pictures. So far the dog isn't attracted to them.

These blocks have great pictures and clear letters. I agree, however, with another reviewer's comments regarding M/W and some of the word choices, but in general they are great. So, we'll just have to explain somehow what Ink is. I'll bet we can do it.

I particularly like that the block holding tray is durable, and that the dimensions of the box allow for extra room (2 blocks worth) to make re-packing easy.

The blocks are a nice size, and the size and shape remain consistent between the blocks for easy stacking. I have not found any rough edges or splinters. So far the pictures have held up well.

These are high quality blocks that should be a satisfying toy for several years to come.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best product ever!!!, November 21, 2005

By 

Nate Matthews (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Melissa & Doug 26-piece Wooden ABC Picture Blocks in a Wooden Storage Tray (Toy)

This is by far one of the best investments I have ever made- these blocks have been in my home for 5 years and have been thrown up and down stairs burried at the bottom of toy boxes and still are as good as new- they never fade, or wear I have two boys who love to play with them and what is even better is that they have both upper and lower case letters making it easy for my older son to notice and learn from, thanks for making such a wonderful toy.