Review on 🧩 Wooden Activity Play Cube for Toddlers - Country Critters by Hape, Learning Puzzle Toy with Animal Friends, Shapes, Mazes, Wooden Balls, and Shape Sorter Blocks - 5-Sided Activity Center, 13.78 x 13.78 x 19.69 inches by Andre Noel

There are many activity blocks on the market and it can be difficult to know which one to buy, especially with different price points . . Hape's Country Critters is well worth the price (we paid $115). It's incredibly well built - no sharp edges or protruding nail/screw heads. In fact, it has a board that prevents the shapes in the shape sorter from going too far into the cube and a rod that keeps the shapes inside until pulled. This is handy for moving the cube. It also has a handle that makes it easier to lift the cube. And the handle doubles as a pretty piece of bead maze. Beads, balls and other elements are brightly and beautifully colored. The paint is water based and safe. It shows no signs of chipping or fading, and we've had the cube for several months now, and yes, my son has put everything else in his mouth (as a side note: none of them are small enough to pose a choking hazard). mine is 10 months old). Also, the shared cube is heavy enough that it won't tip over if a child uses it to lift themselves up. However, they could probably slide it across the carpet while standing. This can be fun for an impromptu rollator toy; It might be something to watch out for though, if you're a kid don't expect it to slip! We put ours on the table so it doesn't slip. In addition, all pages are interesting for children, but obviously grow with the child. The favorite party at the moment is definitely the balloon maze. However, it does happily nudge the shapes if I hold them in the right place. When he grows up he will be able to connect the shapes himself. Also, there are some great discussions about sorting by color and discussing shapes (how many sides does a triangle have, etc.) as it grows. Now he can also turn the wheel from a third party. To be honest if I had one complaint it would be that the steering wheel is a bit boring. Unrelated to. But he likes it, that's the main thing. The last page (not shown in the promotional images for some reason) is a maze with animals. There are different animal heads of different colors and you can move them on different wooden paths to match different colors. At the moment my son can move them to train fine and gross motor skills. As we grow, we can work on matching colors.