Customer Reviews

Melissa & Doug Construction Wooden Chunky Puzzle

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

We have several Melissa and Doug chunky puzzles that my son loves, so we ordered this one to add to the collection. Sadly, this particular puzzle (and the dinosaur one) are not the same quality as other puzzles in the series. The older chunky puzzles have an image painted on each piece. Even the back and sides of each piece are painted in primary colors. The newer chunky puzzles are pressed wood cut outs with raw (and somewhat rough) edges and backsides with decals stuck on the front. My son is still teething and sticks everything in his mouth. Within five minutes of opening this puzzle the decals are already coming off. For a product that is supposedly hand made, it is shoddy. Be warned, this is not like the older version of this puzzle!

If you order this puzzle, you will not receive the one pictured. I know because we already have the one pictured, and I ordered another from Amazon as a backup. The puzzle I received from Amazon is made entirely of particle board and the pieces are only painted on the front so your child will be handling exposed particle board which is rough and unsafe for child play. The colors are faded and not nearly as bright as the picture above. The manufacturer even took shortcuts on cutting the truck shapes so now they are more blocky and have sharper edges. This puzzle is one of the worst quality toys I have ever seen, and I have doubts that the "crafted by hand" label is true any longer. I am so disappointed that Melissa and Doug took such shortcuts in their products.

I GOT THIS FOR MY 20 MONTH OLD GRANDSON...HE LOVES IT!
THE FAT PIECES ARE GREAT FOR LITTLE HANDS AND THE COLORS ARE GREAT ALSO...

I bought this puzzle for my 17-month-old son because he loves to play with an earlier version of it at our local library. Although the one at the library is a bit worn from many little hands playing with it, it's a beautiful puzzle. Each piece is painted all the way around with bright colors, and the edges around each piece are smooth.

The puzzle we just received seems like a cheap knock off. The puzzle background and pieces are not painted, but decorated with stick-on designs. The stick-on only covers the front of each puzzle piece, so the edges and back are just plain plywood (not nice quality wood like the puzzle at the library). I absolutely do not believe that it is handmade.

All this being said, my son does love the puzzle. He's too little to notice the huge difference in quality and he's totally obsessed with vehicles. For that reason alone I won't be returning it - but I also won't be buying another new Melissa & Doug puzzle.

As a helpful hint to parents out there looking for puzzles, I did manage to find a very high quality Melissa & Doug dinosaur puzzle at our local thrift shop. That's probably the only way to get a good quality puzzle from this company, by finding an older version of a puzzle that has been sold to a thrift store.

// Edit: 7.28.11 After finding a hand-painted Melissa & Doug puzzle at a local kid's store I decided to call Melissa & Doug to see what the story is. Turns out they have changed the way their puzzles are made. All of them are the plain-backed plywood variety now. So the only way to find a good-quality puzzle like they used to make is to search the thrift stores or find one on a fluke at your local store/online. The one I found at our kids store was probably from an older inventory. It's too bad because the older puzzles with pieces that are painted all the way around serve as both puzzles and stand-alone play pieces.

There's no problem with the colorful, durable nature of this puzzle, but it doesn't have much value for a child over the age of 2. Except for learning to recognize which piece of equipment is which and having to manipulate the pieces in order to fit them in the proper places, there's little to hold a child's interest and not much room for expanding the application of skills. It's the least used puzzle we have; all three grandchildren, even the youngest, reach for other toys.

You really can't go wrong with Melissa and Doug products. I purchased this for my almost two year old son and he immediately loved it because it was "cars". He can easily do the puzzle and enjoys driving the pieces around on the couch. The colors are vibrant and the design of the puzzle is very sturdy and high quality.

I got this for my son for his 2nd birthday, not sure if he'd be into it or not. Both he and his 3 1/2 year old sister love it. The chunky pieces are great to stand upright and "drive" around. A great simple toy!

Bright wooden puzzles with chunky pieces that are sized perfectly for toddlers. Our little one LOVES this puzzle. The pieces are larger sized and thick, so he not only uses them with the puzzle, but likes to slide them around the house and pretend play on a construction site.

Note that other reviewers are correct-- this toy is no longer painted with car. The individual construction vehicles are wooden pieces with stickers on them, not paint. This means they are bright and attractive, but MUCH less durable. If your kiddo likes to munch on toys, the paper stickers will wither and peel right off. This is a problem primarily for younger kids.

13 month old enjoys playing with stand up pieces as well as putting the pieces back in their pictured "homes".

Our son received this when he was two. He is now five and still plays with the little trucks. His three-year old sister likes to play with it too. Fun bright pieces.