Sound Sensory Wooden Animals | Designed by Sarah Betz | Sensory Kids Activity Toy

Nine familiar animals, nine different sounds. There is a rabbit, a mouse, a cat, a bird, a hedgehog, a squirrel, a dog, a fawn and a snail, each illustrated by Sarah Betz and each hiding something different inside: beads that clatter, sand that rustles, bells that jingle.

Shake, listen, compare, swap. Toddlers quickly learn which animal makes which sound and start to choose favourites, then the animals go on parade, get put to bed in a row and star in whatever story is unfolding on the rug. With no electronics, the sounds are soft and the toy is as quiet as your child wants it to be.

Listening closely and telling sounds apart is early sensory learning at its gentlest, and the animals are just the right size for a small grip. These are made in France, in Vilac's own workshops in the Jura.

Suitable from 18 months. A lovely first-birthday or christening gift.