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Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Cube
 
Manufacturer: Melissa and Doug
Customer Rating:
 
List Price: $14.99
Sale Price: $11.91
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Product Description
Challenge little minds with the ultimate shape sorter! Bright and cheerful, it features 16 chunky, vibrant shapes that make a satisfying "clink" as they drop into the hardwood cube. Then open the lid, take them out, and start all over again.

Product Details
  • Appropriate for ages 2 and up.
  • Classic toy and childhood favorite.
  • Helps build early shape, color and size differential skills.

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Customer Reviews
motor skills
 
Review Date: February 20, 2005
Reviewer: ,
I wish they had more toys like this so kids can learn shapes and motor skills. I remember the red & blue ball when my kids were little with all the yellow shapes and that was the best! Now that I am looking for the same kind of toy for my grandson and can't find anything close to it.
GREAT Shape Sorter
 
Review Date: January 4, 2007
Reviewer: Beth E. McHenry,


I purchased this for my grandson who has all the "noisy" toys a child could ever need. This item was purchased to help him focus on fine motor skills without the competition of distraction. The product is colorful and well made - sturdy enough to take years of toddler wear and tear. The only negative is that the top isn't attached with a hinge,so parents have to keep track of the shapes inside. I highly recommend this item.
Surprised by poor reviews
 
Review Date: April 15, 2007
Reviewer: Lacosh, Philadelphia, PA USA
I bought this shape sorter for my son this past August when he was almost 2 1/2. He's been using it now for around 8 months and we've had none of the problems mentioned on the other reviews. Our lid is sturdy, doesn't fall off under regular use (unless you tip the box), no paint has come off the shapes, and only the correct shapes fit in the holes. Someone said any shape fit into any hole, which I can't understand unless they have a totally different product. I guess M&D may have had a run of defective products recently or maybe decided to make them cheaper since I bought it, but I just wanted to add a positive review here because ours is great and has held up well to lots of use over the past 8 months.

4/4/09 I wanted to add to this review that we've now had this sorter for two more years and now have another child playing with it. The edges of some shapes are showing a little wear, but no chipped paint or any other issues. Our 18 month old is sorting the simpler shapes and stacking them like blocks. We still love it!
Rating a similar item - Baby's favorite Christmas gift!
 
Review Date: December 26, 2004
Reviewer: PghYinzer, Pittsburgh, PA United States
We got the Imaginarium sorter, which was a little cheaper, only has 12 shapes... otherwise seems exactly the same.

I agree it is too difficult for a little child to figure out... and the lid doesn't stay on.

As for difficulty - well, it's a toy he can grow into. My baby is 13 months and he just got this for Christmas yesterday. Eventually I want him to have the Tupperware one - IMO that is an essential childhood toy. For now, I thought we'd get him the FP Brilliant Basics one, but DH insisted on this one over that, as it had more shapes and it's wood... he likes wood. OK, whatever. :-) So my baby is much too young to be sorting shapes just yet (I'm embarassed to admit that even I found this a little challenging... thinking I could just fly through putting everything away but some of the shapes are very similar so I had to think about it, even at the age of 27...) ... however he loves to run around the house with a block in either hand... bang the blocks together (or off of other things)... gnaw on them... and drop them in the cube. So for now he is getting about as much out of these as he would out of any wooden block set... which isn't a bad thing. He'll grow into the shape sorting feature in time, and toys that are fun over time for different reasons are money well spent.

As for the lid issue... we plan to get some self-stick velcro and put small pieces under the lid and in the notches on the cube so the lid stays on. It should work well and be a cheap and easy fix. I agree these things should be designed with more thought to the lid staying on... you have to flip the cube to put the shapes in the sides and having to hold the lid in place is frustrating.

All in all, a great toy. I didn't expect this to be his favorite but what do ya know... I guess the classic toys are still the best.
Nice Toy!
 
Review Date: July 24, 2006
Reviewer: S. Martin,
My son got this for christmas, he loves it. He will sit for a long time (5-10 minutes) and play with it. He has learned all the names for the shapes (including hexagon) and will patiently sit and put them in the correct places. I will admit that the lid does come off easily....it just sits there. and some of the pieces are very similar, but this doesn't keep my son from enjoying it...it actually presents more of a challenge for him to pay attention to the smaller differences. And when he is tired of that he enjoys pouring all the blocks out and putting them back together. As for the reviewer who said she wouldn't let her child play with it for fear or hurting himself, I have stepped on more plastic toys that have left me screaming in pain than this well sanded shape block.
A Great Challenge
 
Review Date: December 8, 2007
Reviewer: M. Smith, Seattle, WA USA
This is not a "toy", it's a puzzle. Never mind the detachable lid/no hinge thing that a lot of folks complain about. This is a great challenge for kids if you offer a little direction. It helps to actually sit down with your kid and work with them on this one. My 22 month old loves the challenge and the focused Daddy time.
A Favorite in My House
 
Review Date: December 21, 2003
Reviewer: T. M. Welch, Greenwich, NY USA
This toy is fantastic. It is a good old-fashioned shape-sorter, and my kids, ages 1 and 2 love to play with it. My 2 year old daughter even asks for them excitedly, "shapes, mommy? shapes?". I saw a couple reviews that made it seem like a negative that the top doesn't stay on. Part of the fun my kids have is taking the top off, pulling out the individual shapes, then replacing them in the box with the lid. My two year old pulls them out one at a time and tries to name each shape as she takes it out. It may only be used occassionally as a true shape sorter- the kids don't always find the holes to put the shapes back in- but I don't really let that bother me. They are learning and discovering in their own way. If you are a fan of old-fashioned, simple learning and fun, you will love this toy like my family already does!
this toy was great
 
Review Date: October 27, 2004
Reviewer: dametreise's mommy, Maryland, usa
we have recently found out that my son is developly slowly he is almost 23 months and he is at a learning level of 17 months. when i found this toy it was so great. no matter what the shape is now from him playing with this toy he can put them where they belong without having any problems..!!!!!!!!!