Customer Reviews

Melissa & Doug Under The Sea 100 - Piece Floor Puzzle

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My two girls (aged 4.5 and 3) love puzzles. They have different likes and dislikes so we have in our house "my puzzles" and "your puzzles." But this one is the first "our puzzle." It is challenging enough that both girls have to work together -- one on the tropical fish and the other on the dolphins, for example -- and what a joy when the patches would come together. The different areas on the puzzle would take on a different hue of blue (as the ocean goes deeper the color darkens, of course), so that the girls can sort out the pieces and start different "foci" on the floor. Therefore this puzzle really helps them learn multi-tasking, organization, and team work. It is definitely a step forward from the 24-piece or 50-piece sets, while still remaining manageable for preschoolers. My only minor, minor complaint is that one stretch of the puzzle (the sperm whale area) is dark, a bit simplistic in design, and somehow not preferred by either of the girls -- so I would always be assigned to complete that portion; just a little warning that you may find yourself putting together a giant sperm whale a couple of times a day. The bonus -- a chart that teaches the children names of all the sea creatures on the puzzle!

I purchased this puzzle, along with the similar Rain Forest puzzle, for my 4-year old daughter's birthday.

My purchase was based on other favorable reviews and my previous experience with Melissa & Doug products. I was not disappointed, and neither was my daughter.

The pieces are large, bright and not terribly complex. My daughter needed quite a bit of help due to the complex image, but that's not a bad thing. I got to teach her patience, plus watch her work a complex problem and learn spatial thinking skills. And, since since she loves animals, I can tell she won't get tired of the puzzle(s) for quite some time. Even after she can do it herself, the chance remains to teach about the interesting/uncommon animals depicted.

One small issue -- probably just for me -- is what I expected the pieces to be made of. All my other M&D purchases have been solid wood items for my 2-year old. For some reason, I assumed these would be too. Instead, they are cardboard, albeit good solid material. I made the mistake of starting out on the floor, and then worrying about pieces getting stepped on and snapped.

All in all, this and the aforementioned Rain Forest puzzle, are of the same high caliber as I've come to trust from Melissa & Doug. I'll be buying their remaining similar puzzles.

Our daughter received this puzzle for her 3rd birthday. She's a puzzle nut! This became an instant favorite and had to be left together for all to see. The picture sheet in it labels all the sea creatures and it becomes a great way to discuss the different levels of life in the ocean. The coloring is beautiful - Mom and Dad enjoy it as well. It is extrememly well built, sturdy and can really be wiped off with a damp cloth.

The only negative, as another viewer pointed out, is the darker bottom pictures. Harder for young ones to distinguish designs and not as visually appealing.

This puzzle, like most Melissa and Doug jigsaw puzzles, is very well designed. There is a good mix of easy and tough regions (small regions of similarly-colored fish vs. large swaths of nearly-featureless whale body). The picture is beautiful and stimulating; my three-year-old son learned terms like "manatee" and "manta ray" while doing the puzzle for the first time.

My three-year-old can now do this puzzle without help, and gets a great sense of accomplishment from doing so. I think many children younger than the rated age could get use out of the puzzle, as its elongated shape makes it less tough than a square puzzle might be.

My 6 year old loves underwater animals and this beautiful puzzles captures them all. Both my 6 and 4 year old have been making this puzzle for a year and they love making it over and over. It has nice big, strong pieces that won't bend easily.

I was surprised at the quality of this puzzle. It was a little too hard for my young niece and nephew, but with help, they got it together. It was just beautiful, and they asked a lot of questions about the premise, i.e., from sea surface animals to those way down in the deeps. We had fun counting all of the different animals, and imagining how they lived. Sparked some lively discussion. Make sure to have adequate space though, as this is really BIG when completed.

My son first discovered Melissa & Dougs dinosaur puzzle at a kids museum. After that day I took note of the makers and ordered one then two, and now he has this underwater one and that makes 5. He loves their puzzles and is always asking to do puzzle time.
Its easy enough that a 3-4 year old can figure it out but challenging enough to keep them occupied and feel accomplished when they are done.
It also has an instructional foldout to serve as a guide for the puzzle but also explaining what the underwater creatures are.
So when visitors come and say look at that pretty fish you can have a 4 year old correct them and inform them that the proper name is "lion fish". :)

Very good starting point to have a child interested in puzzles.

This is a great, sturdy and colorful puzzle. My 3 year old son has already mastered the Melissa and Doug Solar System puzzle so this is a great and more difficult puzzle to challenge him. This keeps him busy for a while and he quietly enjoys putting the pieces together. I highly recommend this and other Melissa and Doug puzzles.

we had our grandsons visited here in florida and after an ocean trip we built this puzzle. They loved it. I lovrd the sheet that was included naming each sea creature. Very worth the price!

My daughter and I spent time with her two small children putting this puzzle together. We are going to find a piece of wood and put it together and glue it to hang on the wall. We all loved the beauty and peacefulness of the picture. We taught the 2 and 6 year old the names of the fish with the helpful list that was included and they were amazed at some of the names which brought about many questions from both children. We can't wait to finish it and hang it up.