Word World

I just love toys that are more than just entertainment. A little education never hurt, and if you can do it while you play, then why not?! Well, the folks over at Word World have figured that out, and make the smartest toys on the block!

Little AG received a few Word World toys a couple of weeks ago, and we love them! Take this pull-apart, magnetic "CAT" ($9.99), for instance. All of the letters connect by magnets sewn into the product, but they completely separate as well, so that you will have the letters C A T. When you join them together correctly, not only do they spell cat, it even looks like a cat! I was a little worried about the magnets being too strong and pinching Little AG's fingers, but they aren't at all. It holds together well, without taking your fingers with it (and that's a major plus -- one less boo-boo).

She also received this Word World Barn Set ($29.99)-- which is basically a set of mega-blocks with added educational value! It is 49 pieces of fun! (I know what you're thinking -- 49 pieces! Don't worry, it comes complete with it's own storage bucket.) It has the full alphabet as well as 2 buildable word friends! Little AG really likes the wacky characters, so this is a fun set for us! Even better, this set came with a DVD -- so we have 47 minutes of DVDed Word World fun!

If you've never seen the show, it's really cute. Everything is shaped like the object it is (the Dog looks like a dog) but the letters of DOG make up his body. It's a great way for them to associate the look of a dog with the spelling of dog. Whoever came up with this should get lots of awards, seriously! My favorite episode is with the Duck and Shark, when the Duck isn't afraid of the Shark because he thinks Shark's name is pronounced "Suh-hark". The Shark is nice, of course, and just wants to be friends, and reassures Duck that he's nice and friendly, even when Duck figures out that he is really a *gulp* SHARK.

Cute stuff, very educational, and with all of the other junk out there in the world, this seems like a good buy. Check out the full line of Word World products being sold exclusively at Target!