Customer Reviews

P'Kolino Little Reader Chair, Green

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This company is taking advantage of the good reviews that the old chair got to sell more of the new lower quality stuff. This product should really be sold under a different name and have its own reviews. It's smaller, lighter and less dense than the original, basically a totally different product. Not fair! And, it should sell for half the price of the original one. I'm not returning mine because my time more important. Just wanted to warn everybody.

This screams Bait and Switch!

05/14/2012 update
The manufacturer contacted me and offered to send a free replacement. I received it today and it is a lot better than the 1st one. I'm a happy customer now. I'm keeping my original review, because all the votes apply to it and it would not be fair for amazon shoppers to remove it. I am changing my rating from 1 to 4 stars though.

UPDATE (08.11.2011):
In talking with P'Kolino, there was a manufacturing problem with the chairs "Made in USA". They sent me one that was "Made in China", like my original one, and it is perfect.

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I purchased my first P'Kolino Little Reader Chair in Green on Sept 15, 2009. That is a 5 star chair; very happy with it.

With the addition of another child, we purchased another chair (in Purple) on July 24, 2011. This chair is much lighter than the older one.

The older chair has a high density foam in it, and weighs in at 1678g (3.7 lbs).
The new chair is less dense than the original one, and weighs in at 1004g (2.2 lbs).

The older chairs feel like they are more stable than the newer ones. I don't have any concerns about my kids climbing in and out of the old one. The new one, I could see someone taking a tumble.

Not too happy about it. I will see what Amazon / P'Kolino have to say.

P'kolino decreased the density of the polyurethan form to reduce manufacturing cost.
I bought a new one to give it to my second daughter, and previous one is MUCH harder and heavier, and I prefer the old one.

This is a cute chair but smaller than I expected. Also, be aware that the cover doesn't come off, so there's really no way to wash it. My 18 month old loves having a chair of his own though, so for us, this was a worthwhile purchase.

I've purchased both the P'Kolino Little Reader Chair and the P'Kolino Silly Soft Seating and I'm writing this review to hopefully help anyone who is debating between them. I'll initially review each item and will then compare them. The star rating above is specifically for the P'Kolino Little Reader Chair.

P'Kolino Silly Soft Seating P'Kolino Silly Soft Seating in Pipa - Blue:
I bought the P'Kolino Silly Soft Seating (in orange) for my 1 yr old son hoping he'd use it as a chair but also hoping that he'd enjoy building a tower with it, using it as a table, or whatever else he wanted to do. He very rarely sits on it as a chair but has had a bit of fun pushing the top of it around the house and occasionally throwing some of the pieces. He really enjoys sitting on the base sideways with one leg on each side as if riding a car and scooting around the house (or being pushed on it across the floor). The cover is fleece-like and picks up a lot of dirt easily from our hardwood floors and the foam is softer than I imagined, but it's a cute chair and we like it. While my son did have fun playing with it on occasion, I had hoped he would have shown more interest in it (particularly in sitting on it). This brings me to my 2nd purchase:

P'Kolino Little Reader Chair P'Kolino Little Reader Chair in Green:
I bought the P'Kolino Little Reader Chair (in orange) for my 17 month old son who loves to read (the same son who was 1 yr old when he got the Silly Soft Seating). He likes to sit in it while reading his books and enjoys putting books in and taking them out of the side pockets. When the product arrived I was surprised to see that the chair is meant for children 2yr+ since I hadn't noticed any mention of this on the Amazon description. I was even more surprised at the size of the Little Reader Chair because it fits my son quite well and he is very petite (~5th percentile). Although it's a small chair, I think it will fit him for a couple of years but I'd be surprised if these chairs were big enough for larger children. The cover is faux-suede and the chair is fairly sturdy (for foam).

Little Reader Chair vs. Silly Soft Seating:
I like both of these products but for different reasons. If you want a chair for your child that they will sit and read in, I would absolutely get the Little Reader Chair, but if you aren't looking specifically for a chair for your child and would like something more imaginative that they can be creative with, I'd get the Silly Soft Seating. It's much more of a toy than a chair. Also, it's not as sturdy as the little reader but is certainly sturdy enough. I'm glad we have both of these chairs because my son enjoys them but I think in the long run my son will get more use out of the Little Reader Chair.

I bought this chair for my son in October 2009. It has been a great chair and withstood the test of time with an active toddler. I used to recommend it to all my friends with kids. Now, I have just received a new one for my second child and it is really well, kind of crappy. The inner foam is less rigid and substantial. The outer fabric is thinner and flimsy. And, they have modified the design so that the zipper which before was relatively small and discreetly located underneath, is now located along the back of the chair and runs the entire length of the chair. As the instructions specifically state that the user should never remove the cover, this is clearly a cost cutting measure. Not only does the giant zipper make it uglier, but also seems to me like it will be a risky temptation for curious little hands and fingers.

I agree with the other reviewer. I think P'Kolino is taking advantage of their high ratings and has greatly decreased the quality of their product at the cost of the consumer, which in this case is a young child. Shame on them.

We bought a purple one years ago, and loved it so much that we got a 2nd one when we had another kid. But boy, were we disappointed! The newer version is slightly smaller, thinner, and just feels less well made than the purple one. Unfortunately, the price is about the same, so it's sadly a case where you really get less for more. =(

P'Kolino: Please bring back the quality!

This is one of my best purchases for my 16 month old daughter. I hesitated at first because of the price, but my daughter's reaction more than made up for the cost. She LOVES it. It is the only thing that got her to sit still for more than 30 seconds at a time. She actually sits herself in the chair and looks at books by herself. It's the perfect size for her now... and should still fit her well for another few years. It's foam & has a sturdy wide base, so she can't hurt herself with it. It has a handle in the back & is light enough for her to carry wherever she pleases. And the fabric cleans easily with a damp rag. What more could you ask for?

I contacted the company directly to ask about manufacturing changes based on the differences in reviews here. This is what they said: "The Little Reader chair used to be manufactured in China, but about a year ago we switched manufacturers to the US due to the high demand for the item. Initially when we switched there was a change in the chair - not on purpose however. The issue has been fixed but we think Amazon still carries inventory of the older production. So we cannot guarantee that if you order from Amazon that you will get the chair you want. We can guarantee if you order directly from us (P'Kolino) however."

We purchased a P'Kolino chair in purple 3 years ago for our daughter at a greater price from a warehouse store and LOVE it. It still looks great and gets daily use. We saw this on Amazon and were very excited to get the "same" quality chair in blue for out son. Big mistake. This is NOT the same chair!!! The design is very similar, but the fabric is thinner and more poorly tailored. The foam is thinner and much less dense. A child or toddler in this chair can super-easily lean back like a recliner, bending the backrest WAY back. In one day, the side pocket looks saggy, the armrests are slightly misshapen, and the whole thing just looks kind-of sloppy. The poor thing must feel humiliated next to the sturdier, neater, and just FAR-superior old purple chair!!! It's going back tomorrow. Shame on P'Kolino for decreasing their standards so dramatically. Was considering the Klick desk set, but now doubt I'll buy from them again...If you are considering this expecting previous P'Kolino quality, beware.