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Puzzles are a classic toy which will always fascinate and be enjoyable for children.  My daughter absolutely LOVES doing puzzles, for it fills her with a great sense of achievement when she can finally figure out just how those pieces fit together and she views the completed picture.  Since I am always searching for a great source of quality children's puzzles, I was thrilled when I happened upon Carson-Dellosa Publishing. They have such a wide selection of puzzles, which all look very stimulating for children.  I had the opportunity to review two of their giant floor puzzles, the Ocean Depths Floor Puzzle and the Solar System Floor Puzzle.  As a former Science teacher, I couldn't have been happier with the puzzles' subjects!  Keep reading to learn much more!

Carson-Dellosa has such a huge variety of excellent floor puzzles, that it was really hard to choose just two titles from their selection.  Finally, I settled on the Ocean Depths and Solar System floor puzzles, for each looked extremely detailed and beautiful.  The Ocean Depths floor puzzle was a little too complicated for Riley to play with right now, since it is designed for children ages 5 and up and contains 100 pieces.

I was thrilled with the quality and the overall picture of the Ocean Depths Floor Puzzle!  This 100-piece puzzle is FOUR FEET TALL.  Now that's what I call a floor puzzle!  It depicts the different zones of ocean life which exist because of the differing amounts of sunlight received as the water's depth increases.

There were 51 creatures of all kinds shown on the puzzle, with a handy identification key on the back of the box so that you and your child could learn their names.  The pieces were all very thick and made out of durable stock, so that they could withstand years of play from your child.

A unique feature of this puzzle is that it comes with 19 search and find "action" pieces.  These pieces are cut-out figures of some of the same sea-life organisms already occurring in the puzzle.  These cut-outs could be used for imaginative play with the completed puzzle serving as the background.  Then, your child could be challenged to locate their counterparts on the puzzle itself.  A search and find feature which adds to the overall interest of this puzzle...what a neat idea!

Riley was able to help me review the Solar System Floor Puzzle, since it is recommended for children ages 3 and up.  This puzzle contained 48 pieces and measured 3 feet x 2 feet when completed.  These pieces were just as sturdy and durable as the Ocean Depth puzzle pieces, yet were twice as big for easy handling by little hands.

I really liked the overall picture of the solar system itself, for the top view showed it as a linear landscape, so that children could learn the order of the planets, while the main picture showed the circular nature of the Solar System and the orbits of the planets.  I felt that showing the Solar System in both ways like this would make it easier for young minds to understand and grasp, making it a wonderful learning tool.

A unique feature of this puzzle is that it is actually accompanied by an activity book.  This activity book is geared for children ages 3-6 and includes mazes, hidden picture pages, dot-to-dot puzzles and more!  Now, they can take what they learned from putting the Solar System puzzle together and apply it to the puzzles in the activity book.  I thought this book helped make the Solar System floor puzzle a great teaching tool for any young student.

If you are looking for a huge selection of super fun, extra-large children's floor puzzles this Christmas, then I would highly recommend shopping Carson-Dellosa Publishing.  I was very impressed at how well-made and interesting the two puzzles we received were and I know that Riley will be enjoying and learning from both of these floor puzzles for many years to come!

Disclosure:  I received the Ocean Depths and Solar System Floor Puzzles from Carson-Dellosa Publishing in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received. This product review is based on my own personal experiences with this item and is completely honest and objective.