Melissa & Doug Jumbo Numbers Wooden Chunky Puzzle (20 pcs)

Woweee!!! I read all the reviews on all the other puzzles including this one on how they are not hand painted and wood quality cheap and so on but none of my Melissa & Doug (M & D )Products so far were like that UNTIL I got this puzzle!!!! IT REALLY SUCKS from the usual/other puzzles I have from Melissa & Doug! I did read in another review that they sold the company to an overseas joint and that is propably why the quality is poor:-( PROS: A. It is the alphabet and at some point in life we have to learn it. B. The colors are vibrant and eye-catching. C. There are animals behind all the letters that start with the corresponding letter. D. The space underneath the letter corresponds/appears in the puzzle base with matching color/shape (except for letter T...color is different...oopsy on their part! E. The letters are large and chunky for easy handling. CONS: A. The puzzle base is very large (as the pieces are large). It is hard for my 19month old to reach up to the top whether she is sitting at the table or on the floor or standing. She cant really reach the top of the puzzle without help and she is off the chart for percentile in height for her age. B. The whole thing is made cheaply. The wood is some cheap pressed wood crap and it has an awful odor when you first open. We took the puzzle to the outdoors on patio initially to help it air out. THEY ARE NOT HAND-PAINTED!!! There is some sort of sticker??? as the letter pressed or glued on the top (it does stay on well...I tried to peel it. C. The letters are crooked! Not all of them are straight in the base and some are too big which allows for diffent letters to fit in the wrong spot (example: The letter H can fit in the letter N or U spot. Your child will have to be savy to learn where each letter goes! Previous M & D puzzles we own dont allow error like this. D. The cut-outs on the base of the puzzle (where the letters go) are not as deep as other puzzles so when my daughter is reaching up to place another letter and accidently bumps one already in place - it comes out!ERRRRRRR! Anyhoo..I am now a skeptic when ordering M & D products. I will now only buy them when I find them at Kohls or TJ Max. I want to be able to see the product. I also purchased the numbers puzzle like this one and my review is the same as this one...poor quality! I am keeping both puzzles because as soon as my daughter saw it come out of the box she wanted to get at it. She loves puzzles. It will do the job but I will not be able to keep this or want to for years later. I am a fan of the Leapfrog frige letters and she loves those. We also do the letters/numbers that stick to bathtub walls. If you dont care about the cons, i would say order them (although costly for the poor quality). Good luck & hope this helps!

My child like it

I have always loved the chunky puzzles by M&D and this one is great. My daughter learned to count with this puzzle and it was great to mix them up and ask her to say each number before she put it in the puzzle. She is 4 years old now and a little old for this but my friends younger children love coming over and playing with it. I love how the pieces are large and easy for toddlers to grab.

my son is only 2, so this puzzles use is a bit limited right now. But the quality and adorable factor are amazing- the colors and designs are vibrant and I know it will come to good use as my son grows. He likes playing with it and we have started working on his A,B,Cs, but I think it will only get better when he doesnt want to just throw the letters across the room. =)

Item is as described. Very colorful. My son loved it when it when I took him to be library so I purchase it for him and he learns great with it. The pieces are thick enough that he stands it up on a table. He found a creative way to decorate his Christmas tree with the letter.

This puzzle is beautiful - bright colors, nice chunky pieces - and very sturdy!

My son loves this big ABC puzzle. It was recommended to us by a friend, couldnt be happier. My 2.5 year old knows all the ABCs now and uses it constantly.

We love all Melissa and Doug puzzles. This puzzle is a little busy with all the colors and pictures, but I like that it’s a challenge for our daughter. She just turned 2, and she’s able to complete the puzzle alone

My son loves it. He is 2.5 and loves numbers and letters. A great educational tool.

This puzzle is amazing! Bright colors, great graphics, and very sturdy without being too heavy. I bought it for my not yet two year old who seems to prefer puzzles to blocks because I wanted to start familiarizing her with letters. On the positive side for someone wanting their moneys worth, this puzzle has tons of pieces, for someone with a younger child like mine in can be a con since pieces often go missing, so Ive decided to put it away until she is a little older. Like all Melissa and Doug chunky puzzles its a hit because of the fact youth dont need to hold little pegs to place the pieces.