Javelina's Full Review: Mudpuppy Rainbow Fish Floor Jigsaw Puzzle 24pc
I am lucky that one of my friends has been passing along a lot of her kid's toys to my daughter. She gave us a ton of puzzles and my 2.5 year old is suddenly obsessed with puzzles, so it has been great to have them on hand for when she decides she wanted to do a puzzle.
"Children will be swimming in delight when you give them this great big Rainbow Fish Floor Puzzle! Marcus Pfister's charming children's literary characters and breathtaking illustrations are sure to bring happiness to your child! With its 24 jumbo pieces, this puzzle helps to develop fine motor skills but the best part of all is that children have hours of fun!" (amazon.com)
The Puzzle
This puzzle comes in a sturdy, glossy box with a rope handle. There are 24 pieces and the finished size of the puzzle is 2' x 3'. I did not purchase this puzzle, and I am surprised to see it selling for upwards of $20! I haven't seen this puzzle in stores.
My Thoughts
The puzzle itself consists of an image of a large rainbow fish as well as a smaller fish and some small plants on the ocean floor. This is probably my biggest issue with this puzzle, is that the colors are all sort of muted and there isn't much "going on" with this puzzle. In other words, there are numerous pieces that are just light blue water, and then the pieces with the fish on them are all just bits of blue or turquoise.
This puzzle is unique in that it does have little bits of holographic "fish scales" which makes it appealing.
My daughter does these puzzles at 2.5, and I realize this puzzle is for ages 3 , but I have to say other than the holographic designs, this puzzle is definitely one of the more 'bland' puzzles. Her other puzzles are all busy and bright, and the pictures make it easy enough for her to learn how to put the pieces together. This is the only puzzle we have that has "blank" pieces that she has to try to fit together.
With our other 3 puzzles, which are bright and "busy", I can easily tell my toddler to match up pieces of people and things, but with the Rainbow Fish puzzle, I have to do quite a bit of the puzzle myself since I can't really coach my daughter to put specific pieces together.
The pieces of the puzzle are very sturdy and durable, and I don't have any concerns about the puzzle pieces breaking or bending. I got this puzzle from a friend whose kids used it quite a bit, and still, the puzzle is in good condition. My 2.5-year-old isn't always gentle with this puzzle either, often stepping on pieces, and it is surviving.
I actually don't have the Rainbow Fish book by Marcus Pfister, which is very popular and very well known, but I imagine that if we had the book, my daughter would be excited to make the connection between the book and the puzzle.
Overall
This is a nice puzzle especially if you have the Rainbow Fish book, but I really wish it were more bright and colorful. For ages 3 it is noticably plainer than our other puzzles and also a little more difficult than most others we have (that are marked 3 ) because of a lot of plain pieces. I don't dislike this puzzle, but it certainly is more "muted" and difficult compared to our other 3 puzzles. We will probably just set this one aside for a little bit longer than the others.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 17 gift Type of Toy: Puzzle
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
24 piece jigsaw puzzle Pieces have holographic foil stamping Helps to develop fine motor skills For ages 3 and above, Recommended age group: 6 - 10 ye...More at Amazon
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