When my children were little the Melissa and Doug company didn’t exist, or if it did, I was not aware of it. My friend Alison (Holla!) in California has young children and when I visit her, I marvel at the beauty of her Melissa and Doug puzzles.

To browse through the selection, you can click here. They have the Jumbo Knob puzzles that I wrote about on Monday as well as several other categories that we will explore later in the month.

I don’t usually plug one company over another, but these toys are really well made and will last for years even with continuous use. Take a look.