Sound Sensory Wooden Blocks Savannah | Sensory Kids Activity Toy

Eleven chunky wooden cubes, each one home to a savannah animal and each one hiding its own sound. Give one a shake and you might hear beads, another rustles like sand. For a toddler just discovering that things make noise, it is a small world of cause and effect that fits in two hands.

Little ones start by shaking, listening and shaking again, working out which cube rattles and which one whispers. Soon the cubes get lined up, stacked, knocked down and sorted, with a giraffe, a lion, an elephant and a crocodile among the friends to point at and name along the way. There are no batteries and no buttons, so the sounds stay soft and the play stays in the child's hands.

Vilac has been making wooden toys in the French Jura since 1911, and these cubes carry the brand's signature: solid wood, a size that suits small hands and bright, cheerful printing.

Suitable from 18 months, and a lovely first-birthday gift that grows from rattle to building block.