Melissa & DougTake-Along Wooden Doorbell Dollhouse, Doorbell Sounds, Keys, 4 Poseable Wooden Dolls, 9' H X 6.8' W X 6.8' L

I bought this specifically for the purpose of storing our collection of Whittle People. We have about 30 of these wooden figures remaining (the dog chewed up a few before we got this to safely lock them up when not in use). Some Whittle People came with our Melissa & Doug Whittle World Plane and Luggage Carrier Set, Melissa & Doug School Bus Play Set, and Melissa & Doug Whittle World Train Platform Play Set. Plus, we have the Melissa & Doug Whittle World Accessory Bundle, Pack Of 3, so there were lots of Whittle People looking for a place to live between adventures! Up to 10 of the adult size Whittle People fit in each compartment of this little house, so we have room for at least 10 more if we acquire more Whittle World people.This is the perfect storage container for the Whittle People:* It just makes sense for toy people to "live" in a toy house.* It is easy to retrieve all the people from the toybox at once as opposed to scavenging around for multiple small people.* It is easy for the real-live little ones to carry the house around from storage area to play area and back again.* Getting everyone safely "home" at the end of playtime becomes a game in itself.* It is a fun toy in its own right.* It is educational. My grandson and great-grandson are learning to identify the proper keys by their numbers and shapes, and they are developing their manual dexterity as they ring doorbells, unlock doors, and move their toy people in and out of the 4 "apartment" compartments.* It captures the interest of kids from ages 3 to 5 years.* It helps teach two house-keeping habits I want to pass on: 1) "A place for everything, and everything in its place" and 2) "Surfaces are for activities, not for storage".* The dog has been unable to figure out how to unlock this!Here is a helpful hint to encourage kids to explore the full potential of this toy and to preserve the sanity of adults in the vicinity. Give it to the children WITHOUT installing the battery at first. Otherwise they may become fixated on ringing the doorbells. Once they have thoroughly explored the silent features of this toy, you can install the batteries. Then the bells will add to the fun rather than being the primary function of the toy.I highly recommend the Melissa and Doug Wooden Doorbell House for children ages 3 to 5. It is sturdy. The designs on the four sides are appealing and have held up well despite being glued-on paper. It is fun. There are a lot of different ways to play with it. By encouraging the storage of the Whittle People inside of it, it keeps the playroom (which is also my living room) neater. I can't begin to tell you how much this has made my life easier. By the way, I was inspired to search for a house-shaped container for the Whittle People when I saw how willing my grandson and great-grandson were to put their Melissa & Doug Traffic Signs and Vehicles away in the VW Volkswagen T1 Camper Van Toiletry Wash Bag - Red - Multiple Color Options Available.This is a really great toy, but there are three things that would make it better:1) A wooden chimney instead of the cheap-looking plastic one it has now.2) Including four Whittle People figures instead of the play people that currently come with the Doorbell House.3) A choice of ethnicity for the people.And the play people that came with this? I gave them away, still in their original packaging. They seemed more suitable for a traditional dollhouse than for this Doorbell House.

Our 3 year old son recently went to the dentist and fell in love with this toy. He plays with it for long periods of time. It's very stimulation and he's able to learn numbers and shapes to correspond with each door! Love that they keys are attached to it so we never will lose them and its small enough that he's able to bring it everywhere.

This is a great educational toy. It's made from wood and has vibrant colors.It has four doors. Each door has:-different color-designated number from 1 to 4-different shape and doorbell sound- different lock with it's own keyEach key has a number on it from 1 to 4.There are 4 dolls in whom the color of their outfits match the coresponding door color.My two year old just got this toy and so far loving it. He names the numbers and colors of the different doors as he is trying to open them. He needs help with opening some of them and afew he can do himself. He really tries working on opening and closing these dooors !!! He loves the different doorbells. Its fascinating how much fun it is for him to press them over and over again.The little dolls are very cute.Great for pretend play.This toy keept his attention for a long time as well as teaching him about coordination, matching colors and numbers. Opening and closing the doors with the key can be a bit of work at the start but our child is already making progress.

Loved the sturdiness of the toy and that the keys are permanently connected to prevent loss and child loves little people dolls

Our little boss doesn't have the longest attention span so we're always on the look out for toys that we can "use" to keep him busy/distract him when the situation arises (e.g. cutting his hair, feeding him, cleaning his runny nose when he's sick, brushing him, guests are over, etc.). This little dollhouse has lots to offer; you've got the (different) key and lock on all sides, a little doll with matching colour outfit inside each locked door, numbers on key and door, and a doorbell next to each door with a different chime. Plus it looks like a little house with a chimney. This keeps him busy alright (well, at least for a decent amount of time). It's also a bonus that he won't figure out the locks/keys thing until he's older so it might prove its use even later on.The quality is the usual Melissa & Doug built. It's typically mostly wood and metal so it says some durability/style, but it's just barely so (the cuts/trims and overall craftsmanship are lacking. E.g. metal parts are thin and they didn't even cut in straight lines for the wooden pieces) so that it's still affordable. Don't get me wrong; for the price, what you get is reasonable yet there is room for some finer touches, but it's completely ok given this is a toy and will take a beating no matter how well it's made.So anyway, we bought like 4 of these for our kid and friend's kids. This and the M&D Wooden Latches Board are our go to "misdirection toys"... at least for a little while they were.