Enhance Playtime with Melissa & Doug Animal Rescue Shape Sorting Toy Review

This animal safari truck can be used for building figures into the back of a truck or as an animal figure for play. I'm so happy with it that I bought another one to send to my granddaughter who lives far away. I know she will enjoy it here as much as my grandchildren.

I bought this toy because my 2.5 year old saw it in a YouTube video and was fascinated by it. He LOVES safari animals. It's well made, durable and he loved it. However, we had this toy just over 24 hours before we had to break it apart to get my son's hand out of one of the holes in the puzzle piece. Although part of the description says "not suitable for children under 36 months". The toy clearly shows 2+. This toy is not to be used without adult supervision.

We love this toy! My son has been playing with this since he was 12 months old and now he is 3 years old and still playing with it! When he was younger he loved naming animals and loading/unloading them into trucks; Now he loves just driving this truck through his imaginary street :) The quality is great and I feel like this toy is as new as the day we opened it (despite the bite marks from accidental chewing). We love gifting this to friends as we know it will be a toy that will last for…

We have had this toy for about 3 years now. He is rarely played with. It has never been used as a shape sorter as all the animals can fit through almost any hole if you put them on their side so it's not that difficult. None of our children played with animals much. They prefer small plastic animal figures to these block figures. It's a shame because they are so cute. Sometimes they push the truck as a push toy. And it's big enough for one-year-olds to sit on and sort of ride on it. However, I…

Our 19 year old loves this toy! He is happy about colorful animals and also uses them as toys to get around. I thought this would also serve as a great form sorter, but it doesn't. I wish the animals would stay in place like they were in the original packaging - maybe with magnets - because the box inside the truck was destroyed early (okay, within minutes). Animals all over the ground, not with the truck. It's strictly from mom's point of view as it doesn't stop him from playing with the…

All my kids loved this truck. Ours is actually smooth around the edges after nearly a decade of use. This is a vehicle. This is a riddle. This is a small playset. They even tried to get on it and ride it (the wheels really can't handle it). They filled it with all sorts of other toys and loved that they could open and close the back themselves. The paint on our safari guides is quite worn and some of the animals are quite scratched so it's not a perfect indicator of durability but it has taken…

You can't be a lazy parent with this; You need to be creative and find creative solutions to problems. We use this as a problem solving tool by throwing animals around the room and helping our daughter figure out how to move blocks to climb and get to animals or to look under and behind things. We pick up the animals individually in the truck. Name it "Safari" for obvious reasons. At 17 months she seems to be able to remember search patterns and the process of placing the animals on the truck…

First, it's not really a form sorter. As other reviewers have mentioned, the animals really do fit in EVERY hole so I don't feel like my son is really learning anything. If you only want this because you want to buy your child a shape sorter, then DO NOT buy this. Second, he's 12 months old and his hand gets stuck in holes quite a bit, which never happens with our other, real shape sorter - it's a toy that 'needs maintenance' on the younger end of the spectrum (when I first got it). Bought from