Modern Shape Sorter from Brio

One of the toddler's favorite toys when she was younger was a plastic shape sorter cube that had different shape themes on each side with a "bonus" toy phone that had obnoxiously loud, light up numbers on top. What the phone had to do with the shapes was beyond me, but the kid loved that toy and got pretty good at matching the 20 shapes to its corresponding slots. The sheer number and variety of shapes kept it challenging.

So I was pretty keen on the idea of a "modern" shape sorter, and while I really like the shiny gloss finish on this one from Brio (not to mention that the box is black), the variety of shapes to sort (just 3) leaves much to be desired. It just reminds me that sometimes the play value of a toy trumps the design if it keeps kids interested and occupied. It makes it easier to overlook the obnoxious beeps and colors. Well, almost.