Customer Rating:  
Summary: Not interlocking
Comment: The pieces don't interlock... might be okay for an older child, but my 3 year old was frustrated.
Customer Rating:
Summary: My son knows his states and capitols!
Comment: My 5 year old has learned so much from this, as well as all of the Melissa and Doug items we have. I got it for his 4th Christmas and by his birtday he could pick up a state and tell you the capitol while he was placing it in it's location. Wonderful, I thought to myself how many pre kindergarten kids know that?? I e-mailed the company to thank them and they were just sweet. Doug himself answered me and that just made me even more impressed. The idea that it is still "mom and pop-ish" is nice. The only thing I want from them is a world globe, which I requested via the e-mail, but no luck with that....so I bought the puzzle. It works perfectly for my boy!
Customer Rating:
Summary: 3 y.o. loves it! A few geographical errors on the map...
Comment: My 3 year old loves this puzzle. I didn't think he was ready for this, but after some practice he can now put it together by himself. I was slightly annoyed that some of the state capitals are not in their correct location (for example, Sacramento, CA is shown a little east of San Francisco). Other than that, it's a great learning tool. Thanks to this puzzle, my preschooler knows the names and locations of all 50 states!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Bang for your buck
Comment: My 3 year old mastered this puzzle in 3 days. She loves it. I wish someone would make a puzzle that shows Alaska bigger than Texas! Also, I would prefer to have each individual state a puzzle piece unto itself. It's great for a 3-4 year old, 6 may be too old to have states grouped together in 1 piece.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Pieces don't stay together
Comment: I've bought quite a few Melissa & Doug toys for our kids and I'm usually impressed by the quality and durability of their products. We even have a bunch of their other puzzles and they're fantastic; big, vibrant, durable, with a snug fit between pieces. My preschooler absolutely loves the T-REX 48 pc Floor Puzzle and the Dinosaurs 48-Piece Floor Puzzle.
I bought this U.S. Map puzzle with high expectations, but was sorely disappointed. With this puzzle, it is critical that the blue border surrounding the states stay together, because the individual states are shaped like, well, states so they won't stay contained unless the enclosing frame stays put. It doesn't. The big blue edge pieces are slightly warped (maybe this is because they are so big) and they don't stay together at all. Not even on a hardwood floor. And with the outer pieces just itching to spring apart at the slightest touch, arranging the states inside is a challenge even for me. It's hopeless for my kids.
It's a shame that this flaw in completely ruins this puzzle, because otherwise it would be great. It's big and colorful, with interesting and educational pictures on the states that engage my kids. My kids and I tried to assemble it a few times before giving up on it altogether. Now Texas is a frisbee and Maine is exploring the dusty recesses under our hallway bookshelf.
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