Customer Reviews

Melissa & Doug USA Map Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this for my son's 5th Birthday and he loves it! He wants to put it together every single day and is getting better and better at recognizing the states' names and their geographical locations. Next up...the capitals! I recommend this to all parents concerned that their children aren't learning US geography as they should. And I confess that this puzzle has certainly helped refresh my memory of the states and their capitals, too.

The only thing deluxe about this puzzle is the fact that it's made of heavy duty wood, so it's very durable. My son has had this puzzle since he was 3, and he is still enjoying it at age 5. He likes it very much and has learned a lot about states from using it. However, I think any states puzzle would be educational and fun. A person should rate the puzzle against other similar toys, and this one could use a lot of improvement.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the shape of Michigan (and Maryland) is cut wrong, many New England states are bunched together into big clumps, all I'm assuming so that the puzzle is easier for little tykes. The capitals are only shown under the pieces. They chose to put the nicknames of the states on the front of the pieces instead, and only some of the states merited a picture of something associated with that state. Many have no picture at all, or in the case of Hawaii, the picture actually obscures the shape of the islands that make up that state. The bold black outlines of each state just make for ambiguous or even inaccurate borders and no way to see which borders are actually natural boundaries like rivers. I find myself wishing I still had my little cardboard puzzle from my childhood, which had more accurate rendering of all the political boundaries, each state cut out separately, and all capitals located on the front of each piece with its star in the right location. I'm looking forward to when my son will graduate to a big boy states puzzle.

I bought this for my daughter two years ago, when she turned 5-years-old. Within a week, she knew her states and capitols. What a great learning tool. She was the only student in her Kindergarten class who knew her capitols - not because we drilled her with them, but because she couldn't get enough of this puzzle! She is the oldest of my 3 children, and her siblings, ages 5 and 3, are both learning states, too. It is a good, solid, learning piece, that doesn't rely on a bunch of bells and whistles to keep kids interested. Best of all, it may be the only puzzle my kids have loved enough to make sure they never lose a piece!!! It's probably the best toy I've ever bought my children, and has withstood the test of time. I highly recommend it.

My five year old boys received this puzzle for their birthday. They have really enjoyed putting it together and have even learned several of the states. It's a great educational tool and is very well made. It is something they will use for a long time.

This was just ok. I was disappointed that several states' shapes are not correctly represented and the New England States do not have separate pieces.

My 3 year old son spotted this puzzle while we went browsing in the store. He wanted it SO badly even though it was rated for older children. Within 3 days of playing with this puzzle, he quickly mastered all 50 states, knew exactly where they all go at a moment's notice. Then in a few days, he is able to clearly identify and pronounce each state accurately. He can read a little bit, and I had to show him North and South so he could place the Dakotas in their places. We had moved to Arizona from California a few months earlier, so he understood that his "small house" was in CA and that we now live in AZ. Two weeks after playing this puzzle, we went to California to visit our old friends and favorite places. Upon returning home, he demonstrated he really understood the map even more and even knows Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean and several cities. Because he has 2 other USA maps, he has said several times that "Michigan is a mistake! They forgot to cut out Upper Peninsula (Upper Michigann)"!!!! I was originally from Michigan and know that Michigan has 2 parts. What I'd like to see in this puzzle is 50 individual pieces, even though they may be small and that their cutouts reflect more accurate shapes (maybe make the states a bit bigger!). My parents still have the wooden puzzle from late 1960's with all 50 pieces. Now, where can I find wooden maps of other places: Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia, showing pictures of the countries, along with capital cities and other information? My son is already learning a few countries in Europe and is so eager and so ready to absorb more information in geography! We play the USA map puzzle practically every evening before he goes to bed! He's already map-literate far ahead of his peers and even amazed his summer camp teacher! Who says a 3 year old can't learn geography?! ;-)

I know it's meant for younger kids, but I bought it for my 10-year-old daughter when she just wasn't getting US geography in school. She had all the capitols down within a fortnight. I don't know why it's so much more fun for the kids to learn from a puzzle map than to read a map in a book, but hey, I'm not arguing with it. Now her younger brother (5) is playing with it & he's got a lot of the states learned by heart too. The thick, sturdy wooden pieces mean it'll last a good long time. Yup, mine are fanatics about never losing a piece too!

I agree with the other reviewers, but I just had to voice my one complaint. Alaska has the polar bear on the side of the state, so you can't tell what it is really supposed to look like. We live in Alaska, so my 4 year-old son is great about recognizing the state, but had trouble with this puzzle because of the polar bear. That said, I highly recommend this puzzle. My kids love it and it is a great learning tool!

I ordered this U.S. puzzle to keep at my house to use when my five grandchildren come over. We work on a few of the states each time they come. It's nice because under each piece is the capitol of the state so it can be used to learn those or just the state locations. I have found it quite useful, and the kids look forward to our little "game".

This puzzle is my 2 1/2 year old son's absolute favorite. He does it on his own, and is starting to know the state names. He will do it over and over and over again, and thinks it's great fun. I think it's a great way to help him learn! It's kind of nice when a learning tool has to be pried out of my child's hands....

If I had one complaint, it would be that Alaska is on the bottom left corner of the puzzle; it would have been nice if they'd made the puzzle larger so they could stick Alaska in roughly the right place. Not a big deal, though.