MomReviews

Noah’s Pals

Sometimes I have this overwhelming urge to get rid of absolutely every toy my kids have and just start over from scratch. It drives me that all of their action figures have so many detachable parts that never seem to stay on more than a week. What my kids need is more high quality toys, like these amazing Noah’s Pals.

Parent Bloggers Network arranged for me to receive five pairs of these incredibly detailed, hand-painted animals, along with Noah and his two doves. Each box contains a card, richly detailed with information about the animals, including each one’s name, gender, height, length and weight. The card also tells you whether the animal is endangered, vulnerable, or common, which countries the animal comes from, and what kind of environment they live in. And, for older kids, you get information on which Animal Family the pair belongs too, and their scientific name.

We received Noah and the doves Derek and Delilah, who are common, found worldwide, and prefer to live near the coast. Noah’s hand is molded to hold a staff, but one of the kids must have lost it, so poor Noah just stands there, arm outstretched, hand in a loose fist. The doves are very tiny and could be easily swallowed, so even though the age for the toys is 3 and up, watch carefully while your kids play with the smaller animals.

The other pairs we received are Owen and Olivia Ostrich (common, Africa, grassland), Jared and Janet Jaguar (vulnerable, Central and South America, Tropics), Christopher and Chesca Caribou (common, forest, the male weighs 450 lbs.), Matt and Marcie Musk Ox (Endangered, males are 7 feet inches long, females weigh 600 lbs.), and Kolby and Katy Kinkajou, which are also very tiny and should be kept away from toddlers, but they are VERY CUTE.

Now, here’s the best part- on the back of each information card is a scratch-off box with a code to enter at Noahspals.com. If you want to register your animals as you collect them, you’ll need to register for the site, and an email address is required, so if your child wants to register, you’ll need to enter your own email as well. Enter all the codes,using a check-off Boarding List to keep track, and as a reward for collecting all 40 pals, you will receive a special package from Caboodle!, including an extinct pair of Dodo birds.

There is, however a catch- you can’t buy the animals in online stores! They were designed to be sold to gift shops, retail stores, and zoos, so you will have to do some digging to find all of them. That’s part of the fun!

Two more very important things I would like you to know about Noah’s Pals: first of all, this company is simply two people, Steve and Janet, who want to help animal lovers make a difference in animal’s lives, so they donate 5% of their net profit to the Wildlife Conservation Society. To learn more about their reason for starting their company and their incredible philosophy, read their Vision Page.

Secondly, Noah’s Pals are not meant to make any kind of religious statement, which is great for me since we are not a religious family. In fact, when I showed the toys to Nathan, he said, “who is Noah?” The Noah’s Pals FAQ page says it best, “Intended for all, Noah’s Pals is a collection that evokes the beauty in all animals”.

Thanks again Parent Bloggers Network and Noah’s Pals for these beautiful collectible animals!