Activities and Learning Reviews

Kids will spend hours building life-size castles and fortresses with this sturdy cardboard block set. Included are 32 blocks: six large red "brick" blocks, six medium-size yellow blocks, six small blue blocks, four drawbridges, four arches, and six turrets. This set is terrific for hours of imaginative play, and it can be used with other Imagiplay blocks to build large, life-size structures. Parents can use the castle structure to spark imaginative pretend play (who doesn't want to be a prince or princess); they can also encourage mathematical skills by helping kids discover that one large red block is the same size as two medium yellow blocks or four small blue blocks. Imagiplay blocks also enable children to explore and discover how they can control their environment and manipulate the objects within it. Made from 50 percent recycled cardboard and printed with nontoxic inks, the blocks have a smooth, water-resistant coating so they can be wiped clean. --Lauren Bernard, mother and elementary school teacher

From the popular Thomas the Tank Engine book series and television's Shining Time Station, based on the Railway Series by Rev. W. Awdry, comes Henry, the proud green engine. Made of hardwood, with shiny green paint, a three-dimensional face, and a magnetically coupled coal car, Henry is ready for hard work. Being one of the largest steam engines at Shining Time Station, eight-wheeled Henry, also known as No. 3, can easily pull several freight cars along with his 2-inch coal car. Wheel axles measure 1 inch across and fit standard Brio wooden train tracks, and similar 1- to 1.5-inch grooved train tracks. Train buffs young and old will enjoy recreating authentic railway scenes as they collect these wonderfully crafted, classic train cars, bridges, ramps, tunnels, stations, and more from the Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Wooden Railway System. --Kathryn Gustafson

"I spy with my little eye" is the chiming chorus of road trips with kids, and also now of this game for preschoolers. It develops reading skills through colors, pictures--the high-impact compositions of everyday stuff from the I Spy books by Jean Marzollo--and rhymes. Different games are possible with the same set of easy-to-read cards: listening, rhyming, and matching. Older kids can play with their younger, nonreading siblings without any rivalry. That's because, in this game, everybody wins. But in order to succeed, you gotta stop, look, and listen. --Lynne Sampson