Building Set 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

Whatever you do, do not invite Kurahk to your next dinner party. And if he does show up, make sure he leaves his special staff at the door. Because whomever he strikes with that staff is instantly consumed with overpowering feelings of rage, and that, needless to say, can make things awkward at social gatherings. Kurahk is one of the Rahkshi who, in the mythology of the LEGO Bionicle series, are gathered together to capture the Mask of Light and prevent the coming of the Seventh Toa. Since he's a toy, and since the enclosed instruction booklet is so easy to follow, it's unlikely that anyone will be consumed with rage when fitting together the 45 pieces that form Kurahk. --Charlie Williams