As I mentioned in my previous review, for the Lilly doll, my daughter Maddie received the Hannah Montana Summertime Surf Shop. Maddie is a huge fan of the Hannah Montana television show on the Disney Channel. On the show there is a place called Rico’s Surf Shop. Now, just in time for the summer, a Hannah Montana play set, the Rico’s Summertime Surf Shop, has been released along with four, different, summertime Hannah Montana dolls. The dolls available with this set are Hannah Montana, Miley, Oliver and Lilly.

With all of the Hannah Montana gang ready to hit the beach it only seems fitting that the Hannah Montana Summertime Surf Shop would be included in this set. While other reviewers had the chance to check out the Oliver and Hannah dolls, Maddie was thrilled that we received the Lilly doll with the surf shop. In the time since we’ve received these toys to review, Maddie has played non-stop with her Hannah Montana toys. She’s already begging me for the three other dolls that would complete this set. With her birthday coming up, there’s a great possibility she’ll be receiving them!

Positives & Negatives:

Positives
-Inspires Creative Play
-Fun for Hannah fans
-Somewhat Durable
-Easy to Assemble
-Allows for solo or ensemble play

Negatives
-Sometimes falls over
-Seems to be made of flimsy materials
-Small Parts

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I’m not sure who liked playing with the Automoblox T9 Pickup truck the most, Lil B, who is 3, The OG Kid who is 13, or the big kid, Dominick, who is 27. The boys shared and played nicely for the most part, as they switched parts with the Pickup and the OG Kid’s Compact car. Every Automoblox car you purchase allows you to customize your car more and more. Eventually, owning them all is ideal. I know the boys are already hankering for a new one.

While the Compact, which the OG Kid reviewed, has orange wheels, people and other parts, the non-wooden parts of the Pickup are green. You can, of course, mix and match these parts. That’s the whole point of Automoblox. These toys inspire creativity and help to allow boys in a family to bond with one another. I love the toys that bring my family together and this is one of the toys that does that. Even I wanted in on the fun!

Positives & Negatives:

Positives
-Sleek design
-Incredibly durable and well built
-Beautiful craftsmanship
-Easy to put together for most
-Fun to play with
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My brother just moved into an apartment. When his three year old son visits him he doesn’t have the same luxury of having all of the toys at the apartment that he could have in a house. I had been looking for something that would be perfect for my nephew and that my brother would be able to keep in a smaller location. The more compact Lil B’s toys are the better. Still, with a three year old you really can’t have small toys, so I was looking for a creative storage method so Lil B would have something to play with at his dad’s apartment yet wouldn’t be cramped with very little room to actually play.

The perfect solution arrived on my doorstep in the form of ZipBins. These are toys that actually unfold and offer storage space when they are folded up for all of the toys that accompany the bins. Each bin takes up very little space, so they are perfect for those with limited space such as a small house, small bedroom or an apartment. The bins aren’t just great for storage space. They are also quite adorable. There was a lot of attention that was paid to the detail of each ZipBin. The Racer has little additions to each side of the bin with one side folding into the image of a car and the other folding out into a race track play mat whenever my nephew wants to play.

Positives & Negatives:

Postives:
-Compact – space saving toy
-Adorable with plenty of attention to detail
-No extras needed to play with the toy
-Affordable
-Easy to Clean
-Initiates Creativity
-Excellent toy for solo play
-Durable

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I like to build things. I also like cars. That is why the A9 Compact Automoblox is really cool. I get to build a car. I really like that. I am pretty good at building things and I had fun playing with my cousin, Lil B, and my dad. We switched parts between the A9 Compact and the Automoblox T9 Pickup. The fact that you can mix up parts is part of why playing with this toy is so fun.

I’m a 13 year old kid. I know some building toys are suited better for younger kids. The car building system by Automoblox isn’t like that. Everybody in the family wanted to play with this toy. Even my mom liked it and she usually prefers playing with the toys that most girls like playing with such as dolls and My Little Pony. We all agreed this is the coolest car that we have had the chance to review and that’s why I’m writing this review.

Positives & Negatives:

Positives
-Fun
-Easy to put together
-Hard to damage/break
-High quality design
-Unique Toy

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Lego has been developing toys and play sets since we were kids. The makers of building toys have such a wide range and diverse selection of toys available it’s hard to argue with the excellence of any of their products. We both played with Legos. Our son plays with Legos and once he’s old enough we’re sure our young nephew will play with Legos. This toy is about as American as apple pie and every kid, in the U.S. or not should have at least one set to build everything their imagination has to offer.

Positives & Negatives:

Positives
-Creative Toy
-Hand-Eye Coordination Development
-Fine & Gross Motor Skills
-Helps with Logic Skills
-Easy to Figure Out
-Good, Non-Violent Toy
-All Around Fun Toy
-Suits a Wide Age Range

Negative
-Small Pieces – Easy to lose
-Not Suited for Small Children

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Car rides are especially hard on young kids. I have a nephew who is just three years old and he is constantly asking if we’re arriving at a destination. That’s a common theme for any child who is traveling, especially on a long journey. The ZipBin Mini Farm is designed specifically for car travel. Like the other ZipBin toys, this farm was designed to be durable and small enough for easy storage. It’s made of a material that’s easy to clean if it happens to get spilled on or sticky from little hands!

I can’t really find anything wrong with this toy. It inspires creativity by allowing children to make up their own adventure within a barnyard setting. It also offers a colorful, bright play area that won’t make a mess in the car. I have found that with the ZipBin Mini Farm there are no more are we there yets! In fact, it’s sometimes hard to get him out of the car because he doesn’t want to stop playing with his farm!

Positives & Negatives:

Postives:
-Compact – space saving toy
-Ideal for play during travel
-Adorable with plenty of attention to detail
-No extras needed to play with the toy
-Affordable
-Easy to Clean
-Initiates Creativity
-Excellent toy for solo play
-Durable

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I have never found another set of building blocks, shapes, etc. that are quite as cute as the Kid K’Nex Undersea Pals building set. I pulled out the chubby, blue case, opened it up (with its child friendly latch), took the pieces out of the plastic bag they come in, poured them into their case, and let my nephew son, and life partner, Dominick, go at it. The three boys had so much fun with these crazy wacky shapes and their ages are 3, 13, and 27 just for reference. You just cannot dislike this set of K’Nex. They’re just so much fun!

It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, building with the K’Nex building pieces found in the Kid K’Nex Undersea Pals building set is worth the time spent. It’s a great time for the entire family to bond together and the amazing creations by the boys (and myself) meant we spent the day taking plenty of pictures! If your child likes to build, then you need to get them the Kid K’Nex Undersea Pals building set. The pieces are durable, thick enough to not have to worry about a choking hazard, and easy to snap together. What more can a parent ask for?

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Building toys don’t always have to be for kids. They can be for adults, too. I found this out when I had the chance to receive a red case filled with K’Nex building objects. There are some small pieces that can be built into intricate, amazing designs. With the building sets, you have the ability to follow the picture models included with the case, or you can build anything you want, of your own creation. I chose to build a model first, to figure out what pieces fit together the best. Then I went on to build something of my own creation. Let me tell you, building with K’Nex is quite a workout…but a fun one!

It’s fun to play with another person, especially someone who is younger and who has imagination when it comes to building. My 13 year old son loves to build with Legos, Megablocks, and now K’Nex. He’s into building intricate patterns and objects that have depth and 3D characterizations. He was right at home, enjoying playing with the K’Nex as soon as the durable, red box they came in was opened and the parts were removed from the bag they are sealed in within the box.

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