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(Another one was eeBoo's alphabet puzzle). When our toddler started learning his alphabet, people started giving him lots of crappy alphabet-related gifts. He likes the book on its own, and he also loves building the letters. It really was too much, and we'd always groan on the inside whenever he got another one. This one, however, was an unexpected gem. Though he learned how to create the letters long long ago, he still pulls it out on occasion. The reviewer complaining about the letter X is correct, "X is for xmas tree" is kind of lame, but for us the point is that it's a great learning toy that our child genuinely enjoyed.
I had to throw these away because the smell was so strong. The concept of the book is great but the company should have chosen either wood or a plastic without so much of a smell.
I have loved Sara Midda's beautiful and whimsical illustrations for years--this alphabet book is darling, and the idea of the blocks is a good one--except for the horrible smell of the blocks themselves. I took them out of their wrapper and allowed them to air out overnight--no change in the odor--they just smell chemical. I would not want a child to play with them, and I think a kid would notice that they 'smell funny'. I will take them to the local teacher-education store to try to match other foam or wooden blocks so we can use the cute book and build the alphabet, and then out the stinky ones go.
This is educational in so many ways. and my 3-yr-old granddaughter loves it. It's not been used in a structured way -- she brings it to us and asks us to play with her and she directs the play. We "copy" the letters, count the pieces used, talk about words and phonics, etc.
Wonderful foam shapes teach your child how to form letters before they are able to write. Similar to Handwriting Without Tears wood shapes teaching.
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