hbqOcpqfThe One Man Band needed no introduction to my 2 year-old friends who “borrowed” his horn and blew into it. Immediate uncontrollable giggles burst forth as the little girl surprised herself with a toot! Her friend took a few turns to learn how to blow versus make a noise into it but after a few tries, he too was making music and amusing everyone. They figured out that each end made a different sound and instructed each other, “Blow the orange one!” and waited for the fun noise to start up the laughter again. Next, his rattle arm drumstick was pulled off to bang his bell hat and tummy drum. It was such fun to see kids discover all of his noise-making options as they rotated his clicking body and watched his tie and balls move from side to side. Turn the man’s head for yet another click to add to the band. Rotate the Man to keep the beat in a song or create your own composition full of toots and bells. What an enriching language learning toy this is as kids discover all the options for making music and parents have many features and actions to richly describe, putting words to their child’s actions.

Available here.