Uncle Goose: the building blocks of language

Those of you who do Baby Sign Language may be interested in these sign language and Braille blocks from Uncle Goose. Of course, Baby Signing serves its own purpose, but once the fundamentals are there, wouldn't it be great to carry on signing so that your child has an extra language in adulthood? And if so, wouldn't these blocks make a perfect aid?

As you might imagine, they are primarily designed for families with visually-impaired children or parents. I have to confess that I also love them in aesthetic terms.

Uncle Goose also offer multiple alphabets, including Greek, Danish (below), Spanish and Russian. They even have a replacement service, because these aren't the sort of toys where you simply shrug if you lose a piece: they're just too lovely.

Here in the UK, only the standard 'Classic Alphabet' blocks seem to be available, through Urchin and Daisy, Daisy among others. However, Uncle Goose's preferred stockist, PlayChild.com, will deliver worldwide, if you don't mind almost doubling the $30.00 price tag with shipping. I think it's worth it.