Price Tag: $24.95
Official URL: www.russberrie.com
Rating:

Little kids love trains, and that love for trains often starts young. This little train set from Russ Berrie “Bright Beginnings” is great for children that are too young to master toy trains with tracks and small hard parts.

This playset has a “Depot” carrying case with a handle, a conductor and a two-piece train. All of the parts are soft and squishy and made of a combination of soft fuzzy material and felt-like material. Details are either embroidered, printed, or made of flexible plastic material.

THE CONDUCTOR

The conductor is about 4″ tall and has cute details such as a red scarf that ties over his shoulder with two free flaps for your child to explore, and a puffy conductors hat. A rattle is embedded in his chest, making him fun to shake.

THE TRAIN

The train is made of two pieces: an engine which is about 4″ long and 3 1/2″ tall, and a caboose which is 3″ by 3″. Both of these toys are about 2 1/2″ thick. The two train parts connect with velcro and your child will have a blast pulling them apart and sticking them back together. The caboose has a window detail that is made of a shiny silver soft plastic material. The caboose has a rattle and the engine has a squeaky toy.

THE DEPOT

The Depot is about 4 1/2″ deep by 8″ wide and 8″ tall. It reminds me a bit of a birdhouse in design. It has a squishy handle at the top that is the perfect size for grabbing. Its rear wall is blank but its front wall is highly detailed with a see-through flexible plastic window, a little decorative door detail, an eave protruding from the roof with an embroidered clock, and an embroidered “TRAIN” sign in a whimsical font. The sides of the depot open up with two velcro flap closures, and when they lay flat they have a train track pattern created with aqua colored strips of felt. The outside of the right flap is a plain blue. The outside of the left flap has a screen printed train graphic on it.

BOTTOM LINE

This little “train set” is great for on-the-go play. Unlike harder toys which can be dangerous in the car if your child throws them at your head or if the car stops suddenly, this little toy is safe for play anywhere. Your child will enjoy connecting the trains, and making them chug-a-chug-chooo-chooo through the tunnel. It remains an amusing toy for a surprisingly long time, and my son is still playing with his set at nearly two years old. I let him take it to bed with him, which hekps ease the “trauma” of having to leave his other train set behind in the toybox for the night.