I have had Melissa and Doug toys before and by and large they are of exceptional quality. This folding farm is my daughter's (age 2 and a half) favourite by a mile.
I purchased this for a short holiday with a view to buying her a bigger farm for Christmas - however this is actually bigger than I expected and I feel more than adequate for a pre-school child to play with.
Lovely quality, all the wood is smoothed down and it is painted very nicely. the hinge where the farm folds is the entire length of the farm and not just 2-3 small hinges - so very sturdy. Even the screws on the inside have been covered over with rounded wood so no nasty bits for a young child to catch themselves on.
Very well thought out for children. My daughter loves the sliding barn doors which are easy for her to open and close and so wide that you can easily push animals through without any tantrums! Lots of open windows plus a wooden ladder and folding wooden fence.
The plastic animals you get with this (sheep, horse, dog, turkey, pig, cow and goat) are perfectly adequate. Look fairly realistic and stand up pretty well. But we collect Schleich animals and these fit in nicely - even the smaller horses like
Schleich Hafling Mare will fit in.
Wonderful item and on the strength of how good this has been I've ordered the
Melissa & Doug Fold & Go Castle for Christmas.