Melissa & Doug Safari Wooden Chunky Puzzle (8 pcs), Educational Screen Free Activity for Toddler, Preschoolers and Kids Ages 2+ - FSC Certified

This puzzle is excellent quality and beautifully made. The colors are bright, the pieces are sturdy, and everything feels very safe for little hands. My 2-year-old grandkids absolutely love playing with it-they enjoy matching the animals and taking the pieces in and out. It keeps them busy and happy, and it's a great learning toy as well.

Setup/First Impressions: No setup needed—just open the box and it’s ready to play. The puzzle pieces are a great size for little hands and the colors are bright and cheerful. Quality/Performance: The wood feels solid and durable, not flimsy at all. The chunky pieces are easy for my toddler to grab and put back, and they don’t chip or peel like some cheaper puzzles. Experience: My toddler loves naming the animals and using the pieces as little toys outside the puzzle board. It’s both fun and educational, helping with hand-eye coordination and learning animal names. Would I Buy Again? Absolutely. It’s sturdy, engaging, and has already become a favorite toy. I’d buy this again as a gift for other kids too.

Next step fun vehicles puzzle for toddler. No finger holds on puzzle pieces, perfect for toddlers. Very nice looking images. Whole gamut of vehicles. 9 pieces, used to help counting to 10, colors, name objects, etc. Lots of fun for my sone. Excellent value, got in black Friday deal for $5, wow!

This was a fantastic purchase at a great price point! The puzzle is colorful and well made with just enough wiggle room for each smoothly rounded piece that they can be easily manipulate by little hands. I actually purchased this as an aid for fine motor skill development for an 8 month old. He loves manipulating and playing with the pieces and will grow into the puzzling aspects soon enough. This is a definite “yes”!

Excellent quality, the pieces fit nicely into the frame, the colors are bright, it's engaging for a wee one, even a child 9 months old if they are ready will enjoy this. An older child will also likely play with the pieces (like use the animals to talk to each other, making pretend stories). I wasn't sure if I would like that the pieces didn't come with those little silver colored hand-holds, but yes, I do, there is no need (at least not for this set) for hand holds, and then there is no choking hazard either for babies still putting everything in their mouths.

I have been searching for good puzzles for toddlers. I am a developmental specialist and work with infants and toddlers with special needs. I look for easy puzzles that have pieces that are easy for toddlers to pick up. I have always loved Melissa & Doug puzzles because they are always so well made and typically very age appropriate. I need puzzles that are sturdy and hold up well. I toss them in bags and in my trunk so they have to be able to take a good beating. When this puzzle arrived, I was beyond excited. Here are the things that I really like about this puzzle and using it for toddlers: - The puzzle has bright colors. This is great when using with young children to keep their attention. - When you take the puzzle piece out, it has the same picture underneath. This makes it easier for toddlers to figure out where the piece goes. - The pieces are thick chunky pieces so even though it doesn't have the little knobs on top, small, uncoordinated hands can get them in and out. - The entire puzzle piece is painted so that there is not any raw wood showing. - The animals are the colors of real animals. I have too many puzzles and kids' books that have animals all crazy colors. At this age, it's important that the animals are as realistic as possible. The animals on this puzzle are the colors that real ones would be (pig is pink, sheep is white, etc...). I have been using this a ton and the kids really seem to love it. I can use it to not only work on the fine motor skill of putting the puzzle piece in but also the cognitive skill of matching the animals, the language skill of learning animals sounds, names and colors. There is just so much I can do with this puzzle with really young children and ones with delays.

This is a great puzzle for a 1-2 year old. Helps them learn animals and a great starter puzzle

5+ stars! What an amazing toy! I purchased this Doug and Melissa chunky puzzle for my grandson's second birthday, and it immediately became his favorite toy--so much so that he insists on taking some of the animals with him wherever he goes, whether it's to the supermarket with his Mommy, playing outside, or visiting relatives. At this age, he loves animals, so he was extremely excited to open the package and find all the safari animals he loves. Also, the colors were very bright and grabbed his attention. Additionally, each animal piece is very easy for a toddler to pick up and place back into its space, the matching pictures under each piece allow animal and color matching activities, and the pieces stand on their own, so the puzzle also serves as an imaginative toy that children can create their own scenes and stories with. This fun, intellectually stimulating puzzle is extremely sturdy, had no missing pieces, and is an incredible value. I have since also purchased the Doug and Melissa farm animal chunky puzzle for my grandson for Christmas, and intend on purchasing the sea animals and vehicles puzzles as well. Just buy it! I highly recommend it and the toddlers and young children in your life will thank you!