Little People Click n' Explore Barnyard by Fisher Price

This is another fun addition to the Fisher Price Farm set. This little "barn" comes with a farmer, tractor, horse, duck, and food bin that can be easily used with other Fisher Price toys. The pond has little peek-a-boo holes so when the child spins the "water" they discover fish and frogs underneath the surface. The door of the barn opens and closes, and the rooster that sits on top of the barn clicks when turned. Strengths: This is a simple toy without a lot of bells and whistles, which I like because it helps to encourage more imaginative play rather than repetitive button pushing or door opening/closing. Another cool thing is that the food bin can be attached to the back of the tractor and moved around the barnyard. Weaknesses: If you're looking for the complete farm experience you'll probably be disappointed with this toy. It's cute but doesn't have as many exploratory opportunities as a big barn. However, it's a great supplemental piece if your child really enjoys farm play.

Little People Tow n' Pull Tractor by Fisher Price

This is a sturdy little tractor that is a great addition to any farm/barn play set. The tractor is a good size for toddlers to manipulate and there aren't any little parts that can be pulled off and swallowed. The tractor rolls smoothly on all types of surfaces and when the farmer is pushed down on the seat of the vehicle a little song about "towing and pulling" plays. One fun aspect of the toy is that the pig in the haystack actually pops up and down when the tractor is pushed, so it's a nice little surprise for little ones when they play with the toy. Strengths: The toy comes with the farmer and cow that can be taken out of the tractor and used with other farm toys. The pig is cute, but stationary. Weaknesses: The tractor and trailer don't come apart, so you can't use either piece separately. Some children seem to like the fact that they have a "big" vehicle to play with but others become frustrated that they can't get the two to come apart.

Little People Baby Animal Nest by Fisher Price

I like to have lots of options for extending the play with the children I work with, so I decided to add this little "shed" to my farm collection. It's a simple little toy that basically consists of three beds for a bunny, chicken, and llama. They toy doesn't make sounds, light up, or move, so it's really just a nice piece for encouraging imaginative play. The children I work with like matching the animals with their pictures behind the nests as well as putting together animal families into their house. Strengths: It's a simple, quiet toy that provides lots of opportunities for creative play and isn't that expensive. Weaknesses: If you want something that is high-tech this isn't the toy for you.

Little People Animal Sounds Barn by Fisher Price

Every toy collection should have a barn and a nice array of animals. This is another really solid addition to the Little People collection of "real life" toys. The barn comes with Farmer Jed, a cow, horse, pig, sheep, and goat that can be easily stored in the silo. There is also a little chicken that stays attached to the front of the barn and when you push it from side to side a hay bale moves across the hay loft. There are great sliding windows on one end of the barn that uncover baby chicks and bunnies and the silo is a fun place to drop and hide the animals. If you choose to use the toy with the batteries (I don't) the different animals will oink, cluck, moo, baa, and neigh when put into their "stalls". Strengths: This is a fun barn with lots of areas to explore. The children I work with really seem to enjoy the sliding chicken the most because you can put other animals (or Farmer Jed) into the hay loft, push the chicken and make the other characters tumble off of the roof of the barn! Weaknesses: The biggest weakness that I have noticed is that since the back of the barn is open, it's easy for the animals and farmer to fall out when you pick it up. It's not the "old" Fisher Price Barn but is still a classic in it's own right.

Jingle the Activity Giraffe by Tolo

This is cuddly, multi-coloured toy that is a big hit with young infants, older infants, and even some young toddlers. Jingle has it all - a little mirror on his side, a pull and vibrate tail, a built in rattle, and soft, silky tags that run don the length of his neck. The outer shell of the toy consists of different textures of material, so Jingle really allows children to explore in multi-modality manner. The children I work with like to hug Jingle, feed him beans, and pretend to put him to bed. He's a good size and weight got young children to manipulate, and his body is so soft there no chance to get an accidental bump or bruise. Strengths: He's portable and won't take up a lot of room in a diaper bag or suitcase. His tail is easy to pull, so it's not all that hard to activate the motion feature of the toy. Weaknesses: Because Jingle is a plush toy you can only gently spot clean his outer shell.

Pets Jumbo Puzzle by Melissa and Doug

Just like all of the other Melissa and Doug Jumbo wooden puzzles this is a wonderful one for older infants and toddlers. The pieces are large, the knobs easy to grasp, and the pictures are big, bold, and beautiful! The pieces are easy for young children to remove from the puzzle board and even if they aren't able to get the pieces back into the right spots, there's still fun to be had by matching the pictures to one another and making fun animal sounds. I really like that Melissa and Doug do "theme" puzzles (pets, farm animals, fish bowl, etc.) because it's a wonderful way to help young children learn about categorizing and similarities/differences. I have found these puzzles to be extremely durable and don't hesitate to use them with children who still like to chew or mouth toys. I've heard some complaints that the pictures will peel off of the wooden backings after awhile, but I've never encountered those kinds of difficulties.

Little People Zoo Train by Fisher Price

This is a great first train for young explorers (9 months+)! The train consists of three cars that can be easily attached/detached from one another and the animals are a great size for little hands to hold. When you push down on the animals, a song plays. What makes this piece one of their best is the movement of the pieces when the train is pushed around. The giraffe spins in a circle, two other animals are able to tetter- totter and the parrot (I've lost my parrot and replaced it with a peacock, but it still works just wonderfully) swings back and forth on his perch. Children seem to enjoy putting the train together in different combinations and like to include animals from other Fisher Price sets in their play. The pieces are bright and don't seem to fade. This is also a toy that is very easy to wash.