EduToy Review- Noah's Pals

Sona Creidhe Reviews was lucky enough to have a chance to review several of the Noah's Pals line thanks to one of Caboodle's founders, Steve King. I say lucky enough because I was truly impressed with what I saw. We received the kangaroo set (Kevin & Karen), the skunk set (Steve & Shelly), the moose set (Murray & Megan), the deer set (Doug & Dawn), and Noah with the two doves (Derek & Delilah).

Each set (one male one female) comes with its very own species card telling you the kind of animal they are, their names, whether they are limited or unlimited editions, their habitat, where they can be found geographically. There is also a chart that lists their gender, length, height, the weight of the real animal, and the animal's footprint. On the back of each card is also a code that you can enter on their website to track your collection and even work towards earning your own Dylan & Danielle Dodo set.

How do you earn the now extinct pair? Just collect all 40 original Pals and the Dodo set will be shipped to you for free. When I say free I mean shipping is included so it costs you nothing at all. Yes, it's a collectible toy that actually rewards you for completing your collection. What a great concept!

Each Noah's Pal is beautifully sculpted to 1:24 scale and I would recommend them as both a child's toy and an enthusiast's collectible. One thing I noticed immediately about the animals was that they were way more detailed and sturdier than any plastic animals we've ever bought for MonkeyBoy. They are also lightweight (making them easy to carry around), handpainted, high quality, lead free, educational, and realistic (which is a must with little kids). MonkeyBoy liked how everything “matched up right” meaning each animal was to scale with the other animals. No huge skunks or mini-deer.

Price wise these sets are a very good deal. I found them on Amazon.com for anywhere from $2.98 for the skunks we got (Steve King's favorite) to around $20 for other animals. If interested, you can also purchase the wooden Ark for around $40-$50.

The only bad point I can think to share is that the doves and skunks are quite small so I would not recommend them for any child under 4 at the youngest. I definately would not have the smaller animals in the same house as an infant or toddler but all the normal sized animals should be fine.

The homeschooler in me loves the fact that we could use the animals in our studies. The Red Kangaroo set could be used with a unit on Australia or marsupials, the Moose could help with a unit on Canada, Dalmatian dogs could be used with a unit on fire safety/firefighters, seals could be used in a unit on the arctic, and the giraffes could be used for one on Africa. The possibilities are endless!

We plan on getting more Noah's Pals as soon as possible. In fact, I've already let family and friends know that these would make a great gift idea for my little guy for both his upcoming birthday and Christmas.