Paint comes off (2009-06-16)
I got this for my son who is four (loved playing with it) Also my 16 months age daughter loved holding the bead ofcourse she can't put them thru the lace yet. My son got the concept down fast. But paint job is horiable. It lookS bright and colorful but paint comes off.
NOT GOOD. In two days after we had this I had to return it.
Also lace are long, if you have youger ones keep an eye on them because they or their other siblings can tie a lace around a neck which is a BIG Problem. ANYWAY PAINT COMES OFF you can SEE THE PLAIN WOOD INSIDE.
IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD.

Educational Fun (2009-06-13)
This is a great item. I love that the kids want to play with it and don't realize they are learning at the same time. Only problem with it is keeping it organized after you open it.

great activity for my busy 2 year old! (2009-06-04)
These beads are great, and actually occupied my busy 2 year old for a surprisingly long time. There are no small parts she could choke on, even though the listing says 3 and up. The beads are painted, and the paint scratches off a little easier than I'd like, but I'd still recommend this great item. It's really good for her manual dexterity skills.

simple encouragable fun (2009-02-24)
Have bought 'Melissa and Doug' toys before. They are very durable and colorful. My grand daughter loves to sit and play with these. She stacks them and strings them. They also encourage the use of shapes, colors and numbers in conversation.

great for little ones and durable (2009-02-06)
Good for about 1 year to 3 years old. I like these wood toys that are essentially unbreakable.