Bronty Linen Dinosaur Toy

Bronty the Brontosaurus — the tall one, and the one with a built-in handle

A hand-finished linen dinosaur standing 26cm tall. That makes him far and away the biggest presence of the four — the others are all long and low, Bronty goes up. And the long neck that gets him there turns out to be the most useful thing about him, because it is exactly the right shape for a small hand to close around and carry.

🦕 A neck that works as a handle

Watch a toddler pick up a soft toy and they grab whatever sticks out. On most dinosaurs that is a tail; on Bronty it is a long, smooth neck that a hand fits round properly. He gets carried from room to room more than the other three, and a toy that gets carried is a toy that gets kept.

📏 The one you can see from the door

At 26cm he reads as a proper animal on a shelf rather than a small soft toy. If the dinosaur is meant to be the thing in the room — a cot-side companion, a nursery shelf, a first-birthday present that needs to look like something — he is the one of the four with the presence to carry it.

🧶 Linen, which is not what most baby toys are made of

Most soft toys at this age are synthetic plush. Linen is a different thing in the hand — smooth, dry, with a faint grain, and it softens every time it is washed rather than matting the way fur does. It is also why Bronty looks like something a grown-up chose rather than something that came free with a magazine.

What we like about it

• The tall one at 26cm — nothing else in the set comes close
• A long neck that works as a carry handle for a small hand
• Linen rather than synthetic plush — softens with washing instead of matting
• Hand finished, so each one has its own character
• Enough presence to be the toy on a nursery shelf rather than one of several
• Suitable from birth and still wanted at four
• No batteries, no sound, nothing to switch off

Specification

• Suitable from: birth
• Size: 20 x 26 x 6cm
• Materials: linen, hand finished
• Safety: UKCA and CE marked
• Care: hand wash only. Do not bleach, do not tumble dry, do not iron
• Designed in: the UK by ThreadBear Design

❓ Frequently asked questions

Linen — is it actually soft enough for a newborn?
It is soft, but it is not fluffy, and it is worth knowing the difference before you buy. Linen is smooth and dry to the touch with a slight grain, where plush is deep and furry. Plenty of babies prefer it — it doesn't cling to a damp face the way synthetic fur does — and it gets softer with every wash rather than going matted. But if you are picturing something fluffy, picture linen instead.

Hand wash only, on a toy for a newborn?
Yes, and that is the honest trade-off for linen. Hand wash only, no bleach, no tumble dry, no iron. In practice: a bowl of warm water with a little non-bio, a gentle squeeze rather than a wring, dried flat away from a radiator. Linen dries quickly, so it is less of a chore than it sounds — but if you want something machine washable, our Nattou cuddly toys go in at 30.

Is he too big for a newborn?
No — he is tall rather than heavy, and a newborn will mostly be shown him and have him propped nearby rather than holding him. If you want the one a very young baby can have lying beside them, that is Steggy, who lies flat.

Does he make any noise?
No rattle, no squeaker, no crinkle. A quiet toy, which some parents are actively looking for by the third month.

Is he a good gift?
The best of the four for a present, simply because he looks like more. Linen and a hand finish read as considered, he is suitable from birth so there is no waiting, and at 26cm he has the presence a gift wants.

🦖 Which linen dinosaur?

Four of them, all linen, all hand finished, all from birth. They differ by shape, and the shape is what decides which one suits:

• Bronty the Brontosaurus — this one. 20 x 26 x 6cm. The tall one, by a long way, with a long neck that works as a handle. The one with presence.
• Steggy the Stegosaurus — 25 x 13 x 6cm. The longest and lowest, so the only one that lies flat. Best for the youngest babies.
• Trike the Triceratops — 24 x 12 x 7cm. The deepest and so the chunkiest to hold, with three horns to grab.
• T-Rex — 19 x 16 x 6cm. The smallest of the four, which makes him the changing-bag one.

More dinosaurs elsewhere in the shop: the Dino Surprise Puzzle with six eggs to open, Never Touch a Dinosaur! for a touch-and-feel read, and the Happy Stacking Dinosaurs in wood.

See the whole range in our ThreadBear Design collection, or more cuddly toys.

Safety information

Adult supervision recommended. Inspect the seams and stitching regularly and stop using the toy if anything is coming loose.

Our guides to when soft toys and comforters are safe to introduce and the best toys for babies under 6 months go into more detail.

❤️ From our family to yours

Carefully chosen products for babies, toddlers and parents. Browse more cuddly toys and the rest of the ThreadBear Design range — free UK delivery on orders over £25.