It's time to find Christmas gifts for our youngest grandchild and first great-grandchild so we ordered a set of these for evaluation, along with a set of iPlay 72 piece wood building blocks. In both cases we had two levels of expectation:
If we found them to be sturdy, well made products this is what we were looking for as a gift for our special young'uns.
If we at least found them to be safe and practical we have plenty of neighborhood ankle biters who we were certain would appreciate a surprise gift from the geezers in the big old house on the block.
Our hopes were easily met and exceeded by both products.
We are absolutely delighted with this set of blocks. First, this is what you get: a total of 24 blocks, 4 each of 6 different shapes, each shape coming in four different colors. The dimensions:
Every block is 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick
Square - 2 inches (5 cm) x 2 inches (5 cm)
Rectangle - 2 inches (5 cm) x 4 inches (10 cm)
Circle - 1 7/8 inches (4.75 cm) diameter
Half circle - 4 inch (10 cm) diameter x 2 inch (5 cm) height
Right triangle - 3 3/4 inch (9.4 cm) height x 2 inch (5 cm) base x 4 1/4 inch (10.8 cm) hypotenuse
Equilateral triangle - 3 7/8 inches (9.4 cm) each side
I have a reasonably well equipped woodworking shop in our basement and have made many toys and gifts for our entire family. Judged from the standards of a fairly competent toymaker I can say without question that these blocks are surprisingly well constructed. Joints are solid and smooth - often undetectable. There are no gaps or uneven joins. The wood is high quality, warm and smooth. Some reviewers say some of the colored panels were loose/rattling within their blocks - we did not find this to be the case at all. The construction is uniformly tight. I could not have made a better set if I tried - and it would have cost me a whole lot more in materials (let alone time spent) if I had tried than what we invested in this purchase.
We are certain that the special tactile feel and visual appeal of real wood blocks combined with the beauty of light shining through and reflecting from the color center panels will delight any child and provide for enjoyable play for years to come.
We have only two minor criticisms that do not affect our five star rating in the least but deserve to be mentioned:
1. The rather weird "Agirlgle" product name may lead some to conclude that this is a toy intended only for girls and it would be too effeminate for a little boy. Don't you believe it! I have absolutely no trouble at all imagining myself, 67 years younger, being enchanted by a set of blocks like this and spending hours on end building, examining, rearranging and creating with them.
2. If we could change anything at all it would be the choice of colors. The green is a vibrant, deep green and the yellow is a bright, bold yellow. At the same time, the blue is a pale blue and the red can only be described as pink. If I had made the set I would have opted for blues and reds as vibrant as the yellows and greens as this would have also had the benefit of offering examples of primary colors. I may also have made a set with more pastel shades such as the blues and reds offered here, but I don't think I would have combined the two as has been done with these blocks. That said, they are still a delightful, striking, surprisingly well made set of blocks and we have no hesitation giving them our highest recommendation.
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