Londji The Fox & The Mouse Wooden Shape Set

It is a wooden building set of 16 beech wood shapes that children arrange to make a fox, a mouse and other animals. Concepts by Can Seixanta guide the figures, and kids can also invent their own creatures freely from the same pieces.

As one of our childrens wooden puzzles, the set asks a child to fit flat wooden shapes together into a recognisable animal. Unlike a fixed jigsaw, the pieces recombine many ways, so the same 16 shapes make foxes, mice or new figures.

The set includes 16 wooden pieces cut into different shapes. Londji suggests a series of animals to copy, yet the real fun is open play, laying out the pieces to build whatever a child imagines, then taking them apart to start again.

They are made from beech wood grown in sustainable forests and finished with water-based stains. The natural grain gives each piece a warm feel and a soft sound when the shapes tap together, adding a sensory side to the building play.

It is made for children aged three and above. The set has small parts, so it should be kept from children under three. Older children enjoy the challenge of matching Londji's animal ideas or designing their own creatures.

Arranging the pieces strengthens fine motor skills, spatial thinking and imagination. Choosing which shape becomes a leg, ear or tail encourages problem solving, while free building lets children tell their own stories with the finished animals.

Wipe the wood with a dry or barely damp cloth and avoid soaking it, since water can lift the stain and grain. Store the 16 pieces in the cardboard box, roughly 22 by 32 cm, so none go missing between sessions.