My boys are at the perfect age for pretend play with toy sets of their favorite cartoon shows. We recently received Octonauts toys for review which resulted in a tug-of-war in the bathtub the other night since both wanted to play with the same thing at the same time, of course. The GUP-B Vehicle swam in and out of the bath many, many times.
When kids play with familiar play sets based on popular TV shows, their budding imagination allows them to take the stories and go beyond. In my previous review of the Octonauts show, I mention that the writers blend fantasy with fact to create a whimsical under-the-seas “tutorial” that teaches while engaging children with clever characters and ocean adventures.
I also realized that when the boys play with the Octonauts toys, it allows me to repeat and reinforce the lessons taught on the shows. For example, did you know . . .
- The Immortal Jellyfish is the only known creature that can live forever, morphing from old to young, and back again
- Aggregate Anemones can make copies of themselves by splitting down the middle repeatedly
- Unlike other animals, it’s seahorse dads who get pregnant and carry babies in a pouch until they’re born
- Humphead Parrotfish have very strong jaws and can bite through rocks
- The Oarfish is the longest fish in the sea—so long that old sailor stories of sea monsters were probably based on it
Kids are tactile. They need to touch and feel and the toys do a good job of bringing the show to life. In a recent interview, Kurt Mueller, Executive Producer of Octonauts, answered this question:
Q: Why are kids drawn to Octonauts?
A: Octonauts is basically Star Trek for preschoolers, except instead of exploring space and fictional planets, we explore the wonders of the ocean right here on Earth. We also know that kids love to drill deep into a specific body of information and master it. Octonauts elevates marine creatures to the same status as dinosaurs and is packed with information about the strange-but-true creatures that live in our ocean.
The Octonaut toys and show continue to be a big hit in our home and I am sure we will keep watching over and over – together!!
NOTE: The Octonauts toys are from Fisher Price and can be bought at Toys R Us. The Octopod Playset sells for $34.99 and the GUP-A Mission Vehicle sells for $19.99. Perfect for preschoolers age 3 & up.
Octonauts airs on Disney Junior at 6:30 AM EST/5:30 AM CT . Follow Octonauts on Facebook and Twitter.
{Disclosure: I am a paid ambassador for the Octonauts promotion. All thoughts and opinions are my own.}
