Tolo Toys Musical Shape Sorter
This is an activity toy that will get used, thanks to its multitude of entertaining, developmentally challenging functions; and it has a clean, happy design that'll please parents, too. The plastic tray has four shapes that can be removed from their respective holes and replaced. Each shape has an adorable, simple picture of a farm animal. When the shape is placed correctly, the animal can be pushed to sound a realistic "moo" or "oink." There's a musical function, too, where a song is played instead of an animal noise. The shapes themselves make cute rattles when they're removed. And if that weren't enough, when you flip the thing over, there's a selection of the old reliable baby-amusers: a rotary dial, a mirror, and a line of beads. The whole affair is topped off with a nice carrying handle. Highly recommended.--Claire Dederer