Customer Reviews

Melissa & Doug USA Map 51 pcs Floor Puzzle

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I bought this puzzle for my father who has Alzheimer's Disease. He's now living in a care facility where the caregivers work to keep the residents alert and engaged in activities. Some of the residents don't track well enough to do even this level of puzzle but Dad and several others enjoy it greatly. Today 4 residents (including Dad) and I worked the puzzle and they were thrilled to be successful in placing the states where they belonged. While doing the puzzle each participant would add bits of their personal history when a state name was familiar to them. Once the puzzle was complete each participant stated (and located) the state in which they were born...the state where they attended university...and other states they'd lived in or visited. To get this level of interaction required my assistance but they all had a great time! A plus is that the next time we do the puzzle most of them will have forgotten they've already done this and so will experience the success of using it all over again. (Family members of AD victims look for the small victories.)

I'm going to take them the solar system one next.

I have to disagree with the review that says that this puzzle is not good for little kids. I have a daughter who just turned 4 a couple of weeks ago and is also autistic. She loves this puzzle and has learned how to use the box cover to properly place the states. I am glad that they are in the individual shapes of the states. It's not a jigsaw puzzle. It teaches kids where the states are located and is terrific for little ones and older ones. Even I have a good time with this.

My 3 year old received this puzzle as a gift for his 3rd birthday. I wasn't so sure if he was ready for the puzzle at the age of 3, but within couple of months together with his cousins he started putting the pieces together. He is now 3.5 yrs. and knows how to complete it all by himself. it takes him less than 10min to complete the whole puzzle. I give ten stars.

I agree with the person who said it needs a cardboard backing or border. Since the puzzle is so large and it doesn't interlock, the pieces move when my son adds a state which makes him angry--he is not yet 3. I have to hold down the pieces when he adds the states and if I'm not available to help he gets frustrated. In addition, because some of the pieces are so large (oceans and texas) they tend to warp more than Doug and Melissa's other floor puzzles.

The puzzle's saving grace is my son has learned all states in a week.

This puzzle is colorful, sturdy, and the pieces fit well together. HOWEVER, the use of blue all around the United States gives the bizarre and totally inaccurate impression that the US does not share any borders with other countries. My son who is only three noticed this immediately and was confused. This is even worse than the beige expanse of nothingness used to depict Canada and Mexico on our other USA map puzzle (Crocodile Creek).

Another annoying aspect, but for which I can imagine practical reasons, is that several smaller eastern states are lumped together into one piece, and NY State actually appears on two different pieces. The "51 pieces" includes many pieces of ocean.

I've bought quite a few Melissa & Doug toys for our kids and I'm usually impressed by the quality and durability of their products. We even have a bunch of their other puzzles and they're fantastic; big, vibrant, durable, with a snug fit between pieces. My preschooler absolutely loves the T-REX 48 pc Floor Puzzle and the Dinosaurs 48-Piece Floor Puzzle.

I bought this U.S. Map puzzle with high expectations, but was sorely disappointed. With this puzzle, it is critical that the blue border surrounding the states stay together, because the individual states are shaped like, well, states so they won't stay contained unless the enclosing frame stays put. It doesn't. The big blue edge pieces are slightly warped (maybe this is because they are so big) and they don't stay together at all. Not even on a hardwood floor. And with the outer pieces just itching to spring apart at the slightest touch, arranging the states inside is a challenge even for me. It's hopeless for my kids.

It's a shame that this flaw in completely ruins this puzzle, because otherwise it would be great. It's big and colorful, with interesting and educational pictures on the states that engage my kids. My kids and I tried to assemble it a few times before giving up on it altogether. Now Texas is a frisbee and Maine is exploring the dusty recesses under our hallway bookshelf.

I bought this puzzle for my son a few months ago and left it in the closet for a while, I thought that at 4 1/2 he might be a bit young for it. I brought it out a few weeks ago and was thrilled! My son absolutely loves it and begs to play with it! He does not have any problem with the fact that it is not a jigsaw puzzle. In fact, this puzzle for the most part divides pieces on state lines and is a great tool for learning geography. My son likes to find Florida where his grandma lives. We often discuss people we know who live in other states as well. We love this puzzle and recommend for the over 4 crowd, although my 2 year old daughter can't wait to get her hands on it too!

I bought this puzzle for my 4 year old twin girls. They absolutely LOVE it. The pieces are cut along state lines, which makes this puzzle a great learning tool for geography. They currently know at least a dozen state names and where they are located within the continental US. After half a dozen times putting this puzzle together using the box as a guide, my daughters were able to put it together from memory. We have great conversations about each of the states and learn a little about each one. For example, the Washington state piece has a picture of an apple on it, so my kids now know that Washington is known for its apples. They also understand when I travel where I am going and how far I am going relative to where we live. I highly recommend this puzzle.

My 3 year old mastered this puzzle in 3 days. She loves it. I wish someone would make a puzzle that shows Alaska bigger than Texas! Also, I would prefer to have each individual state a puzzle piece unto itself. It's great for a 3-4 year old, 6 may be too old to have states grouped together in 1 piece.

We used this puzzle in conjunction with The Scrambled States of America to help my second grader learn the names of the US states. This puzzle has well constructed pieces, and big pieces. Each states is its own piece (almost). With the "Scrambled States of America" each state had a personality. My son would then use the pieces in this puzzle to act out the characters. It made a topic, memorizing the names of the USA states, usually a boring task, into a fun enjoyable activity.