Melissa & DougNational Parks Alphabet & Animals 24-Piece Cube Puzzle (Everglades, Arches, Yellowstone) - FSC Certified

My 3 yr old hadn't had any puzzles except the cardboard ones we made and she took to this real quick. Thanks to the provided pictures she can do them by herself too! (Double bonus) the only thing I don't like is the alphabet can't be completed in one go because of the number of blocks. Also I think instead of having pictures of the animals on 2 sides of the blocks they could have doen 2 more puzzles instead.

I bought this as a gift for a 2 yo. It’s really well made and I think the kid will be able to play with it for a while

This block puzzle is really an entertainment powerhouse for a young child, in a small package that can be neatly put away or packed to take to Grandma's.It lives up to the quality you expect from Melissa and Doug toys, meaning it's a quality wooden toy and it's made to last. It's nice to have a combination of alphabet blocks, puzzles, and animals all together so that it can entertain on many levels. My toddler is really at the age where he's just starting to appreciate blocks for more than putting in his mouth or throwing, and not really ready yet to do puzzles that are visual. But these blocks will be there with him when he is ready - and I wouldn't be surprised to see that one day he just solves a puzzle on his own. In the meantime we can look at and talk about animals and work on our letters as well.I expect this to be a puzzle/block set that can grow with him for at least a couple of years, and still have plenty of play left in it for another child if one comes along. And the biggest bonuses: it doesn't take batteries and it doesn't sing the same songs loudly over and over! I am happy to try to entertain my son with this kind of "retro" non-electronic activity, and it makes me both nostalgic and super happy when he does engage with it and choose to spend his time playing with me and blocks rather than demanding to do something with a screen.

My son is on the cusp of being able to do more difficult puzzles, and while he needs help doing these at this age he loves to use the puzzle pieces as building blocks! Having the tray is helpful for clean up, BUT the one downside is there’s no cover so the pieces can fall out if not stored flat.

This puzzle is wonderful for so many reasons. To start, it is made in a manner that is high quality and exactly what you expect for a Melissa and Doug product. Everything is made with real wood and the paint is glossy and vibrant. The box that holds the blocks is perfect to fit on a shelf and the blocks themselves are large enough to not have to worry about a choking hazard.I love that it includes cards that show what the puzzle should look like in tiled pieces and how everything is color coordinated. For example, the blocks that are for the Yellowstone National Park card are a blue color and that color matches the card that goes with it to help put the puzzle together. The card also shows where the park is located on a map and shows how many animals of each species will be in the picture. On the back it shows other animals that may be found in the park, but are not necessarily included in that complete picture. Those animals may be found on another face of the block. It even includes Spanish too for the animal names.The fact that this puzzle is well made and includes 3 different national park picture scenes, alphabet letters, and additional animals that can be found in the park tells me that it will keep my kids busy for a long time.I love that Melissa and Doug are also bringing attention to National Parks and the animals that call it home.Overall, this is a great product and will allow any child to stay entertained for hours while they learn more about the world around them.

I saw another reviewer had stated that there was no Y and Z. That is incorrect. With the Everglades puzzle done, the side of the blocks that is facing the top of the puzzle box has the first 24 letters. The side of the blocks facing the lower side of the puzzle box has Y, Z, and duplicates of various letters. There are a total of:4 A2 B2 C3 E3 L3 M2 N3 O2 P3 R4 S3 Tand then just 1 of each other letter. Some of the blocks do have the same letter on the opposite side (like A I know does) and some do not.Then each block has 3 sides that are for the 3 different puzzles and one side that is for the search-and-find game. I like how this set has such a variety of activities in it. I think the puzzles are definitely more for a little bit older kids (4+?) unless you are helping a lot, however playing with the alphabet blocks and doing the search-and-find could be fun for younger children and older children alike.The included cards are a big help in doing the puzzles. There is no good way to keep them with the puzzle so I ended up putting it all into a bag to put away. It would be nice if there was a way to attach them, but it is manageable without. Overall this is a great multi-activity educational toy for my 1.5 and 4 year old kiddos.

Very cute and nice toy, great for a 2/3 years old. They can use the imagination and play with the blocks in different ways besides the real puzzle.

The puzzles are cute but my Grandson like to to the alphabet and it has some design flaws. Some of the letters have 2 different letters on them. We were about 8 letters in when I couldn't find a letter. I then realized it was on the back of a letter that was already in place. When I turned the block over to use the letter I needed, I then had to find a replacement. example : G is on another side of the block that has B so if I take B out to use G, now I have to figure out which block has a B to replace it and B might be on the D block so now I have to find another D. It's actually sort of a fun challenge for me but not so much my 3 yr old.