The Duplo 5380 Building Set is a 71 piece deluxe building brick set, made by LEGO.  The Duplo 5380 set comes with 71 brightly colored LEGO bricks, a figure to help inspire role-playing fun, a wagon base, and building plate.  This set has a new container to allow for easy clean-up and storage, and a transparent lid that allows young architects to display their creations while they are put away.  The LEGO Duplo 5380 Building Set is best suited for children from 18 months-5 years.

Pros:

• Set comes with a good assortment of shapes and sizes of blocks, as well as one small building plate, one  wagon base, and one man action figure.
• Because it is made by LEGO, it is easy to buy more compatible pieces to expand the number of bricks, building plates, wagon bases, and even people action figures.
• The pieces in this set are large enough for a young child to handle.  The pieces snap together easily, and can be easily removed with a little effort.  The pieces hold together tight enough that they do not come apart without taking them apart.

Cons:

• This set only has 71 blocks, not enough for big building projects.
• The blocks in this set are brightly colored, but plain.  This set is really made for youngsters that are most interested in building.  This set may not be appropriate for children that are more interested in blocks that have animals, flowers, or other designs on the blocks.
• The house building plate is very small, and there is only one wagon base.  If your child likes to build lots of cars or large houses, the set may need to be expanded by purchasing additional pieces.
• This set only comes with one man action figure, so if your child really likes playing with  little people, you may need to purchase more people figures to go with this set.

The Busy Ball Popper is an air-powered, ball-popping toy, made by Hasbro Playskool.  The Busy Ball Popper comes complete with five brightly colored balls, silly sound effects and 8 happy tunes.  To enjoy the fun, simply pump the plunger, put the balls on the spiral track, and watch them pop out of the top and either roll back down the track, or spill over onto the floor.  The experience is heightened by the addition of the fun sounds to accompany the “popping and dropping” fun.  The sights, sounds, and continuous action of the Playskool Busy Ball Popper encourage lasting play and stimulate motor development skills.  This is a toy that is ideal for children from 9 months to 3 years.

Pros:

• A great toy for teaching cause and effect, because the action will not begin until the red plunger is pushed, and the music will not play until the balls begin moving.
• Creates a great repetitive situation for teaching certain words to children, like “ball”, “push”, “stop”, “out”.
• Also an ideal toy for fine-tuning motor skills related to putting the balls in the track, picking them up from the floor, pressing the plunger, and potentially even catching the balls as they are blown out of the top.
• The balls are the perfect size for small hands to grasp, and place into the track.
• Toy that appeals to most children from 9 months to 3 years and is a toy that children of different ages can play with together.

Cons:

• For parents, the music is a bit loud and can become irritating.  Also, the balls tend to fall all over the floor and need to be repeatedly picked up.
• The funnel can get knocked off and even though it goes back on easily, it may disturb the child’s fun.
• Because the balls tend to roll away when they spill out onto the floor, they can get lost.  This toy does not work right without all 5 balls, so you may consider purchasing extras from the Hasbro website.
• The balls are not meant  to be chewed on, and teething babies can damage the balls to the point where they will no longer work in the ball popper.
• One of the older models (from 2007/2008) had a hole (where the balls come out) large enough for a small child to stick his arm into, so this could cause injury.  There is supposedly a newer version that has a cover over this hole, to keep a baby from getting his arm stuck.  You may want to check into the model that you are getting when you order.

The Sleep Sheep-Four Soothing Sounds from Nature is a toy made by Cloud b . This soft, plush sheep is the perfect soothing bedtime toy, complete with four sounds that are very comforting  to babies, including Spring Showers, Mother’s Heartbeat, Whale Songs, and Ocean Surf.  There is a Velcro tab on the sheep’s back to secure him to a crib.  The sound box has an ON/OFF switch, is removable, and has an automatic sleep timer that turns the sounds off after 23 or 45 minutes.

Pros:

• Sleep Sheep is soft and comforting, making it a perfect toy for a fussy child to snuggle up with.
• Sounds are repetitious, comforting and familiar, so it distracts babies from any other sounds going on in the house during nap time.
• The sounds time out after 23 or 45 minutes, allowing enough time for a baby to fall asleep, but not wasting large numbers of batteries from staying on all night.
• The controls are very user-friendly.  It is easy to change between the four different sound types, as well as control the volume level or turn the sounds on or off.
• The Velcro allows for easy attachment to cribs, car seats, play pens, anything.

Cons:

• There is not a continuous play mode, only two settings for 23 and 45 minutes.  This may not be ideal for babies that need constant sound while they are asleep to avoid waking up.
• The full-size toy is quite large, so it takes up a lot of room when traveling (12 inches tall).  There is also an on-the-go size Sleep Sheep that may be a wiser choice for a travel buddy for your baby.
• Older children (over one year) may find it difficult not to play with the Velcro and buttons on the sound machine in the sheep.  This could lead to lack of sleep for the children and potentially other family members as well, since the Velcro makes a fairly loud noise when played with repeatedly.
• The sound machine is not held in the back of the sheep very tightly and can potentially fall out, which may disrupt the sound, or cause other falling sounds, all of which have a potential to wake a baby.

Mozart Magic Cube is an interactive music-making toy by Munchkin . This interactive musical toy cube allows your little one to add or subtract from any sequence  of five different musical instrument sounds, including violin, French horn, piano, harp, and  flute. Each selected instrument button flashes along with the sound of the music.  There is even an orchestra button that plays all the instruments at the same time.  Mozart Magic Cube is made with rounded, soft edges to ensure safety and fun for young music-lovers of all ages.

Pros:

• This is a great toy for parents with more than one toddler, as two or more children can play together with this toy.  And it appealing for children for 3 months to 4 years.
• The cube has six different buttons. It will plays five Mozart melodies. One button changes between the five different melodies,  while the other buttons turn on and off each particular musical instruments (violin,   French horn, piano, harp, flute).
• The toy has a very sturdy construction and can withstand being frequently dropped.
• The songs provide enough variety of Mozart classical music to be enjoyable to all listeners, children and parents alike.
• The buttons are easily pressed by little hands, allowing for a child to both play and select musical instruments all by himself.
• Mozart Magic Cube allows for association between a particular button and the instrument sounds that the button makes, so it is not only a fun toy for small children, it is also educational.

Cons:

• There is not a volume control on Mozart Magic Cube, so it is one fairly loud volume.
• There is a limited song selection of only five different tunes, which could become irritating to some parents.
• The instruments do not sound life-like, it sounds electronic, tinny, and squeaky which could also be quite irritating to some parents.
• There seems to be a potentially weak point at the battery cover.  The battery cover can break if the toy is repeatedly dropped.  This may make the toy stop working, as the battery will not stay in place.