{"product_id":"vilac-wooden-pull-along-coach-shape-sorter","title":"Vilac Wooden Pull-Along Coach with Shape Sorter","description":"\u003ch2\u003eTwo toys in one box — and the passengers have to go in the right way round\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePulled along, it's a first walking toy. Emptied out, it's a shape sorter. Three animal passengers sit in the coach, and each one has a differently shaped base, so getting them home again means working out which shape goes in which hole. That's the bit that keeps this useful long after the wobbly-walking stage has passed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🔺 A cat, a tiger and a bear — circle, square, triangle\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe cat's base is a circle, the tiger's is a square and the bear's is a triangle. Three shapes is exactly the right number for a first sorter: enough to be a puzzle, few enough that a toddler can get all three right and feel pleased about it. And because they're animals rather than abstract blocks, they get named, carried about and put to bed — which abstract blocks never are.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🎨 Illustrated by Ingela P. Arrhenius\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart of Vilac's \u003cem\u003eFirst Stories\u003c\/em\u003e range, illustrated by the Swedish designer Ingela P. Arrhenius — the bold, flat, mid-century style you'll recognise from a good many nursery walls. It's the reason this looks like something you'd leave out in the sitting room rather than hide in a toy box.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🪢 The cord, and what Vilac say about it\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt pulls on a cord, which is worth being upfront about: any cord on a toy is a supervised-play item and not something to leave in a cot or a playpen. Vilac state that the lead has a release system designed to come apart under tension for exactly this reason. We haven't measured the cord ourselves, so we won't quote a length we can't stand behind — ask us and we'll go and measure the one in the box.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🇫🇷 Designed and imagined in France\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVilac have been making wooden toys since 1911, from the Jura in eastern France. This one is designed and imagined there and manufactured in China — we'd rather tell you than leave you guessing. It carries UKCA and CE marking and has been laboratory tested to the EU Toy Safety Directive 2009\/48\/EC for use from one year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat we like about it\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA pull-along and a shape sorter in one box, so it spans two stages\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThree passengers with three different shaped bases — cat, tiger, bear\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnimal characters rather than plain blocks, so they get named and carried about\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIngela P. Arrhenius illustration, from Vilac's First Stories range\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDesigned and imagined in France by a toymaker going back to 1911\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLaboratory tested to EU Toy Safety Directive 2009\/48\/EC, UKCA and CE\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eSpecification\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSuitable from:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 year\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContents:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 wooden coach on a pull cord, 3 wooden figures (cat, tiger, bear)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 18cm x 10cm x 14cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e wood\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDesigned in:\u003c\/strong\u003e France. Made in China\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSafety:\u003c\/strong\u003e UKCA and CE, laboratory tested to EU Toy Safety Directive 2009\/48\/EC\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCare:\u003c\/strong\u003e surface wash only\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e❓ Frequently asked questions\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThere's a pull cord — is that something to worry about?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nIt's worth knowing about rather than worrying about. Any corded toy is for supervised play on the floor, and it shouldn't go in a cot, a playpen or anywhere a child is left alone. Vilac say the lead has a release system built to come apart under tension. Keep it for downstairs play and put it away with the cord wrapped, and it's no more trouble than any other pull-along.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWill a one-year-old manage the shape sorting?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nProbably not at first, and that's fine. At one, most children will pull the coach about and tip the animals out with great enthusiasm, and the posting-them-back part arrives months later. You get two toys out of it in sequence rather than both at once — which is rather the point of buying it at one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow big is it?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n18 x 10 x 14cm, so it's a hand-sized toy rather than a large ride-behind pull-along. Worth knowing before it arrives, because photographs of wooden toys rarely give you any sense of scale.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDoes it make any noise?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nNo mechanism, no rattle, no batteries — just the sound of wooden wheels on the floor and three animals being tipped out.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow do I clean it?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nSurface wash only — a damp cloth, and don't soak it. Painted wood doesn't like sitting in water.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e🔍 Other pull-alongs, and other sorters\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf it's a first walking toy you're after:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/wooden-pull-along-car\"\u003eWooden Pull-Along Car\u003c\/a\u003e by Speedy Monkey — a 60cm cord and a removable wooden bear, so it also has a piece to take out and put back\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/pull-along-friends-rainbow-cloud\"\u003ePull Along Friends (Rainbow\/Cloud)\u003c\/a\u003e and the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/wooden-pull-along-snail-toy\"\u003eWooden Pull Along Snail\u003c\/a\u003e — simpler and cheaper, with no sorting element\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd if the shape sorting is the part that appeals, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/pounding-box\"\u003ePounding Box\u003c\/a\u003e and the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/shape-matching-puzzle\"\u003eShape Matching Puzzle\u003c\/a\u003e both do that job on its own, with more shapes than three.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e❤️ From our family to yours\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCarefully chosen products for babies, toddlers and parents. Browse more \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/push-pull-toys\"\u003epush and pull toys\u003c\/a\u003e and the rest of our \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/wooden-toys\"\u003ewooden toys\u003c\/a\u003e — free UK delivery on orders over £25.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vilac","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54127273804123,"sku":"V-7736","price":39.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0891\/3626\/7611\/files\/Vilac-Wooden-Coach-Pull-Along-Toy-with-3-Figures-Inside-Out-Toys-168365240.jpg?v=1789935748","url":"https:\/\/forthebaby.co.uk\/products\/vilac-wooden-pull-along-coach-shape-sorter","provider":"For the Baby","version":"1.0","type":"link"}