It is very sturdy and the designs are painted on which is good.Each piece is well shaped and easy enough for a toddler to pick up, rotate and handle.<br> They are overall fun to play with and a great learning tool for little ones.Baby can sort and stack and learn to identify and match shapes and colors.<br> The shapes are also numbered so the kids are learning matching, colors, shapes, and numbers.<br> Due to the small size of some of the pieces, it is very important for an adult to accompany the child while playing with this toy to prevent accidental swallowing of parts.<br>