Gina the Musical Giraffe

Gina the Musical Giraffe — she plays Hush Little Baby

Pull the cord on her lower front and a mechanical music box inside plays "Hush Little Baby" all the way through, then slows and stops. No batteries, no speaker, no app — just a clockwork movement in a soft giraffe, 21cm tall.

Which tune it plays is the whole decision here, and it is the thing most shops forget to tell you. We sell four of these animals and they each play something different. You will hear the one you choose several hundred times, so pick for your own ears as much as your baby's.

🎵 Why "Hush Little Baby" is the safe choice of the four

It is the one most people already know the words to, which matters more than it sounds: a tune you can sing along with turns a music box into a duet rather than a gadget. It is also unambiguously a lullaby — slow and repetitive by design — so it belongs at the end of the day. If you want the one that is not a lullaby, that is Tim the Tiger, further down.

🧩 A mechanical movement, which is rather the point

Clockwork rather than electronic means no batteries to replace at bedtime, no volume that creeps up, and a tune that winds down naturally instead of stopping dead. That slowing at the end is a far better signal to a baby that something is finishing than an abrupt silence.

The trade-off is honest: a mechanical movement plays one tune, at one volume, and it will eventually wear out. These are lovely for a few years rather than heirlooms for three children.

🦒 Soft enough to be a toy as well as a music box

She is a proper plush giraffe, not a hard music box in a fabric jacket — smooth-textured, light, and with a long neck, which is the easiest part of any animal for a small hand to hold on to. So she works as a cuddly toy between performances, and gets carried about once your little one is walking. At 21cm she is the tallest of the four, alongside Jackson.

🌿 PVC free, and quiet in the nicest way

Little Big Friends make these PVC free, and the range runs on muted colours rather than primary brights — which is why these tend to end up on a nursery shelf rather than in the toy box. She carries UKCA and CE marking and is suitable from birth.

What we like about it

• Plays "Hush Little Baby" — the one most parents can sing along to
• A mechanical music box, so no batteries and no creeping volume
• The tune slows as it ends, which tells a baby something is finishing
• A pull cord on the lower front, so a toddler can start it themselves
• A soft plush giraffe at 21cm, with a neck built for holding
• PVC free, UKCA and CE marked, and suitable from birth

Specification

• Suitable from: birth
• Tune: "Hush Little Baby"
• Mechanism: mechanical music box, started by the pull cord on the lower front. No batteries
• Size: 21cm tall
• Materials: soft plush with a smooth texture. PVC free
• Safety: UKCA and CE
• Care: wipe clean with a damp cloth and air dry. Not washable — there is a music box inside

❓ Frequently asked questions

There's a cord on a toy for a newborn — is that a problem?
It is the thing to know first, so here it is. The cord sits on the lower front and retracts into the body as the music plays; it is how you start the tune, not a pull-along lead trailing behind a toddler. Even so, our line on anything corded does not change: this is for supervised play, and it should not be left in a cot, a pram or a playpen with a baby on their own. Start the music, put her beside them while you are there, and take her out of the cot when you leave the room.

Can she be washed?
No — wipe clean with a damp cloth and let her air dry. There is a clockwork movement inside, so soaking or a machine would be the end of it. For a from-birth toy that is worth planning around: she is better placed near a baby than clutched and chewed all day. If you want something built for the dribbling phase, a squeaker rattle or a silicone teether takes that punishment and this does not.

Will I get sick of the tune?
Probably, and we would rather say so than have you find out in week three. One mechanical movement plays one melody, and a favourite musical toy gets played every day. That is exactly why we list all four tunes rather than leaving you to discover yours — "Hush Little Baby" is the most familiar of them and wears better than most, but if another suits your household, buy that one instead.

What does a newborn actually get from it?
At first, a repeated sound in your arms, which is plenty — newborns settle to repetition and to a familiar voice singing over the top of it. Around four to six months they start turning towards the sound. By a year they have worked out the cord and will start it themselves, over and over, which is the point at which it becomes their toy rather than a thing you do for them.

Does it make a good gift?
One of the better new-baby ones, because it is a present for the parents as much as the baby: it adds a step to the bedtime routine rather than another thing in the toy pile. If you are building a set, the matching Tiny Friends Gina is the same character, small enough to hold, and a good deal cheaper.

🎶 Which tune? All four musical animals

Same soft make, same mechanical movement, same pull cord. The tune is the real difference, so choose on that:

• Gina the Giraffe — this one, 21cm. "Hush Little Baby". The familiar one, and the easiest to sing along to.
• Vincent the Elephant — 19cm. Brahms' Lullaby, which is the tune most people picture when they think of a music box.
• Jackson the Musical Lion — 21cm. Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata". The grown-up choice, and the one adults pick for themselves.
• Tim the Tiger — 17cm, the smallest. "Talk to the Animals", which is not a lullaby at all. The daytime one.

Three lullabies and one that isn't — worth knowing before you order the tiger for bedtime.

🐒 The rest of the Jungle range

Gina appears across the range alongside Tim the tiger, Vincent the elephant and Jackson the lion:

• Tiny Friends Gina — the pocket version with a rattle inside, from birth
• Gina the Pull Along Giraffe — the same character for a new walker, from 12 months
• Tim the Tiger Comforter and his squeaker rattle — the flat, grabbable end of the range
• Jungle Activity Spiral — for the pram and the car seat
• Wooden Activity Arch and the Reversible Playmat — the floor-play pair
• Activity Cube and Roly Poly Balls — for once they are sitting up
• Soft Activity Book 2 in 1 and the Jungle Soft Baby Book — fabric books in the same cast
• Jungle Baby Gift Box — the ready-wrapped way in, if this is a present

The whole lot sits together in our Little Big Friends Jungle Collection.

Our guides to the Little Big Friends jungle collection and baby musical instruments go into more detail.

❤️ From our family to yours

Carefully chosen products for babies, toddlers and parents. Browse more baby musical toys and our toys suitable from birth — free UK delivery on orders over £25.