There's a lot of passion in Japan for the wood toys. Naef, the Swiss toymaker I just posted about, is HUGE in Japan, for example. One of the bigger chain of specialty toy shops is BorneLund. [I found them mentioned throughout the Spring 06 issue of Baby Mammoth, a rather cool baby lifestyle magazine.] It's a Japanese company with a Danish name [it means Children's Grove], and they take a very playing and having fun very seriously.
Anyway, BorneLund has also created a small selection of toy designs under its own brand, including this ingenious little apple puzzle. Eight thin, gradated, plywood apples of different colors nest into a plywood block. The whole thing's only 18 cm square and 3.5cm high, barely bigger than a stack of CD's. Very nice, and it'll fit in your suitcase on your next trip over, because the website doesn't mention anything about international orders
8-Layer Apple Puzzle, 3,360 yen [bornelund.co.jp]
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We have this puzzle, only its a frog. I'll have to ask my wife where we got it, but it certainly wasn't Japan.
[I found a couple of frog puzzles, actually. Is this the one you have? It's on sale at the moment for $6. very nice.-ed.]
A similar product (layered puzzle) is at the following link. My son, 4, loves it.
That's not it; it's simpler, like the apple puzzle--just different sized frog silhouettes. I'll try to track down a link.
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