At age 13 months my boys still have the attention spans of gnats and most things around the house interest them for two minutes then they’re on to something else. But if it’s New! and Different! and Never Been Seen Before! ….oooh…ahhhh…..maybe it can hold their attention for a whopping three minutes!

So when Parent Bloggers asked me to review two of SchoolZone’s latest offerings for babies: “Funny Animal Friends” and “Peek-a-Boo Bunny: Guess Who?” I jumped at the opportunity for the boys to test-drive a couple of new toys!

I gave Benjamin the “Fuzzy Animal Friends” package and Jonah the “Guess Who” package….. the packaging alone was fascinating for several minutes. Then we opened up the Guess Who game and found six colorful magnetic cards with flaps to lift on each one.

The idea is to attach each card one by one to the magnetic holder, read the text on the front (e.g. “Peek-a-boo! Guess who lives in the pond?”), turn the card over and attach to the holder, life the flap and read the answer (e.g.: “Frog lives in the pond!”). Frankly, I found all the attaching, turning, and re-attaching a bit cumbersome. In the end, I just let the boys play with the individual cards while we talked about them.

The magnetic holder has the torso of a stuffed rabbit attached to the top whose hands and eyes are magnetized so the bunny can easily play peek-a-boo….this is a clever feature and both boys enjoyed figuring it out. They also enjoyed lifting the flaps on the cards…especially Jonah since he loves to use his hands to fiddle with things. The suggested age is nine months and up and we can use this activity for at least another six months. The price is $11.99.

A couple of days later we opened up the Fuzzy Animal Friends package….these were a big hit….ten cards with colorful animals and textures on each side along with simple yet engaging text. Both boys enjoyed examining each card – feeling the fuzzy bird, wiggling the frog’s tongue, and listening (and attempting to mimic) as I made the corresponding animal sounds.

These would make a great baby gift – I would’ve loved to receive them. They are perfect for leaving in the crib at night or during a nap so the baby has a quiet toy to play with upon awakening.  I also keep a couple in the car for the boys to play with while we run errands.  The price is $15.99 and the suggested age range is six months and up.  My boys enjoyed the cards now and definitely would’ve enjoyed these at six months as well.  The cards are similar to board-book material and could withstand pre-teeth gnawing!