Anyone raising small children would benefit from going to the delightful eeBoo website to browse their colorful, artistic learning toys. The company's product designers pride themselves in creating beautiful, solidly constructed toys that little ones will remember years from now. They use only original artwork from well-known children's book illustrators to create vibrant works of art that can be played with! On the site you will find sturdy puzzles, wall charts, tot towers, sketchbooks, notebooks, games, and much more.

The Mystery in the Forest Matching Game is part of eeBoo's Literacy series of products, offering pre-reading practice and play. Like most other matching games, its primary aim is to help children build recall and memory skills by finding matching pairs from cards turned face down. The unique elements of this product are that, first, the artwork is quite charming and detailed; second, the creative renditions lend themselves to story-telling or asking questions. So, while on one hand your young learner is working with memory recall, she is also using her imagination to create stories or answering questions you may ask about each picture.

You will be drawn to the well-constructed design and lovely artwork of this early learning tool. Your preschooler will have a lot of fun making up stories about the mysterious raccoon with a golden key in his paws or the three children stuck in the middle of the sea with a golden fish swimming around them. With 24 intriguing pairs to match and discuss, this simple little game will be a delight to you and your pre-reader. Suggested age is 5+, but I will use this with my 3-year-old who loves imaginary play.

Product review by Tammy Walker, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, December 2008