Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Toy Review: Little First Act Discovery's Shake 'N Stack Instruments

I was given this toy to review. I guess you could say that it's Baby's first toy. Emma certainly thinks so. When people give you things you might assume that a favorable review is expected. I'm one who usually loves to do the unexpected. However, in this case, I like the toy.

Little First Act Discovery has taken the familiar silhouette of the baby's stacking pole and added clever surprises. Once you remove the rings of graduated sizes you find the pole and the base. It turns out that the pole detaches from the base and becomes a maraca. The base becomes a tambourine. While the maraca is everything you'd expect, the tambourine makes more of a clacking sound than then familiar clinking sound. Small price to pay for the safety of plastic parts that will be easy on the baby's mouth (where we all know it will end up!).

I like the texture of the toy. It's soft but firm plastic so when Mommy gets the inevitable clonk on the head she'll probably survive it. Apparently Little First Act Discovery's goal is to provide toys that will promote a lifelong love of music in children. This is a worthy goal. Even the tiniest tots are musically inclined, based on the sheer joy they show in banging a wooden spoon on a pan. The Shake N' Stack Instruments will provide quite a step up from what's found in your kitchen cabinets.

On a side note Emma couldn't wait for me to take it out of the box. It came in the mail the same day that she got her $40 Fur Real Kitty. Which toy do you think she took to bed with her that night? The baby's new toy. And the next day when I picked her up from Grandma's (after M had dropped her off that morning) she had the Shake N' Stack Instruments toy along with her at Grandma's all day. Big sister certainly likes it; I can't wait to see what the baby thinks.